January: The Month of Drawing, Part II

Art, through copying.

I'm out of practice.  Out of practice with imagining.  You know how hard it is to come up with something to draw every day?  Surprisingly so.  You wouldn't think it would be difficult...look around and draw the first thing you see--a mug, a fork, the corner of the room.

I let my kids select for me.  It's delightful to see what they come up with.  No apologies, no prefacing ideas with "This is silly but...".  Just suggesting things that bring them joy or interest them.

I'm out of practice with the process of drawing.  I start with a pencil, then trace in thin sharpie.  I enjoy the refinement.  Sketching basic shapes, double checking the perspective, figuring out to change a gradient of shadows and corners into lines.

There is something to be said for the focus that drawing, especially copying, requires.  I sometimes feel like a compulsive multi-tasker.  I listen to podcasts while driving.  Music while cleaning.  Cross-stitch when watching TV.  If I'm sitting in a meeting with an attentive look on my face, I'm most likely mentally preparing which doctor appointments I need to make or what to cook for dinner.  On the other hand, if I'm doodling circles in the margins of the agenda, you can bet that I'm processing every word and hanging onto every word.

Drawing, both from life or from a photo, is not conducive to multi-tasking.  I've enjoyed the moments of laser focus, of being in the present, of comparing the two images side by side and searching for the flaws or the trick of perspective. 

A quick note about my drawings here:

• Space suit, drawn from a photograph of Buzz Aldrin
• Beanie boo.  Drawn from real life, a toy that belongs to Ellie.
• Fluttershy from My Little Pony.  Drawn from a cartoon, requested by Ellie.
• Chase from Paw Patrol.  Drawn from a cartoon, requested by Noah.
• Rose, drawn from a photograph
• Death, drawn from Neil Gaiman's character in Sandman series comic book
• Kero-chan from Cardcaptor Sakura, drawn from cartoon, requested by Ellie
• Owl, drawn from photograph
• Olaf/Frosty mashup, drawn from two cartoons, suggested by my husband Jim

 As much as I've been enjoying this, I had to wonder:  is this art?  Do I feel artistic as I copy images?  I enjoy it, yes, and I'm good at it.  But I'm not creating anything from whole cloth.  I'm not so much as reclaiming artistic as I'm copying artistic.  It feels like cheating.

So next up:  my attempt to create.  No copying, no cheating...and so much more difficult.