Thursday, October 25, 2018

What the eldils had told [Ransom] about the possibility of such discovery he had received, while they were with him, almost without wonder. In their eyes, the normal Tellurian modes of being—engendering and birth and death and decay—which are to us the framework of thought, were no less wonderful than the countless other patterns of being which were continually present to their unsleeping minds. To those high creatures whose activity builds what we call Nature, nothing is “natural.” From their station, the essential arbitrariness (so to call it) of every actual creation is ceaselessly visible; for them there are no basic assumptions: all springs with the willful beauty of a jest or a tune from that miraculous moment of self-limitation, wherein the Infinite, rejecting a myriad possibilities, throws out of Himself the positive and elected invention.
—C.S. Lewis, writing in That Hideous Strength, 1945

Wednesday, October 24, 2018

Homeward bound

Virginia rest stop, morning view on road home
Our trip was quick, and I didn't sketch as much of the architecture and landscape as I expected, since we were usually moving. The beautiful brick structures of the Virginia rest stops, geometric and symmetrical, made a striking impression. After we toured Monticello, I could see the influence, and wondered how much of the style is found throughout Virginia, and how much of it was due to Thomas Jefferson's designs of his home and the University of Virginia buildings
The last drawing was done in the early misty morning, from the window of a hotel in northwestern Virginia. A pale periwinkle bank of clouds roughly paralleled the profile of the mountain range.
I was surprised by the wide variety of people, geography, and patterns of settlement in the state. The government of such a diverse land and population must face sobering challenges.
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I used colored pencil over a few areas of the watercolor in these drawings.

Tuesday, October 23, 2018

One short flight for man

View from the Black Pelican restaurant---sand and sea
We recently took a short trip to the mid-Atlantic coast, making pilgrimage to the North Carolina shore where Ohio’s Wright brothers performed their famous experiments. We lunched at the Black Pelican, formerly the Kitty Hawk lifesaving station, weather bureau, and telegraph office, from where Orville sent his historic telegram, December 17, 1903:
"SUCCESS FOUR FLIGHTS THURSDAY MORNING ALL AGAINST TWENTY ONE MILE WIND STARTED FROM LEVEL WITH ENGINE POWER ALONE AVERAGE SPEED THROUGH AIR THIRTY ONE MILES LONGEST 57 SECONDS INFORM PRESS HOME CHRISTMAS. OREVELLE WRIGHT"
Wright Brothers Memorial, Kill Devil Hill, NC

After lunch, we visited the Wright Brothers Memorial, where the brothers conducted their first flights. The little dots at the base of the monument are people. My husband walked to the top and said it was much larger than it appeared from below. A lifesize model of the glider rested near the parking lot. (The little gumby in the foreground is a water fountain.)

The brothers had a single-minded focus, the command of a wide range of relevant practical knowledge, and a willingness to toil in relative obscurity that would be rare to find in a person today.

Sunday, October 21, 2018

Ohio Pen Show

The annual Ohio Pen Show has rolled around, once again. Vendor rooms will be open to the public November 2-4, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Dublin.  The entry fee is $5/day or $10 for a weekend pass. Come for the history, the ink, the pens, and the paper; you will find many friendly people.

Deborah Basel’s Journal class ($20) will be of special interest to sketchers. Deborah usually offers calligraphy workshop for adults and children, so this is a new addition. She is a good instructor, so I’m sure it will be a worthwhile session. (She will also be offering her customary calligraphy classes.)

Saturday, October 20, 2018

Women, waiting

Women, in lines

A few weeks ago, while we were waiting on pizza, I drew a few quick contours of women waiting in line for take-out. They moved just fast enough for me to do a rapid sketch and move on to the next, a good opportunity for people practice.

It is always surprising how looking back over these drawings brings back clear memories of moments in time: the loose perky bun, the vacation suntan, the crisp duckcloth tote bag, the yarn-knit hoodie, the happy leafy shorts.

I added graphite and  pastel pencil, later.

Friday, October 19, 2018

New Chopsticks

A grid of line, color, and texture is a quick and easy way to organize impressions when you're in a hurry or don't want to reduce a drawing to one focal point. It's a good exercise for beginners who think they can't draw, because anyone who can write their name can fill in a simple grid of close-ups.

I seldom use a grid, but on this day remembered the previous one I'd sketched at New Chopsticks. It's always fun to return to places and repeat drawings, and see how your vision has changed over time, what catches your eye, how you see differently.

Thursday, October 18, 2018

Art & Fear

Airborne

Solid Ground

I've not read the popular Art & Fear, which sounds as if it helps artists overcome interior mental and emotional obstacles to making art. Since my sketches are kept in an illustrated journal, as a personal record, I've not been inhibited by fear of creating them.
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I've been more interested in art as an aid to coping with negative emotions: fear, sadness, anger, or stress. Drawing the cabin of the airplane, above, turned my focus outward for a few minutes, during a recent plane flight. The physical movement of my eyes and hand anchored my thoughts, and pushed fears of  flying to the side.

When you're looking for a job, the people of the world are divided into two groups: employed and unemployed. When you're in great pain, people are either pain-free or they're not. When you're airborne and afraid of flying, people are either in the air or on the ground.  This post documents my grateful transition from group one to group two, in the latter case.
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In the lower drawing, I focused on the interesting pattern in the rock wall of the terrace overlooking Red Rocks Park in Colorado. The architects did a wonderful job allowing historical structures of the region to influence their use of local materials in creating the hardscape of the park.

I found the Colorado hills and mountains especially interesting because I have watched both Gay Kraeger and Shari Blaukopf draw them in their Craftsy classes (which I recommend).
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Both of these sketches ended up with several layers of different media, applied over several days. Re-working helped process connected emotions and re-live enjoyment. Enhanced memory is one of the benefits of keeping an illustrated journal. Drawing fixes experience in the mind more securely than does pressing the button of a camera.
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If you are interested in Craftsy classes, and are on a budget, keep your eyes open for a holiday sale over Thanksgiving weekend, on either Black Friday or Cyber Monday. You will find discounts on individual classes and on the monthly or annual Bluprint subscription (full access to all classes).