Drawing Me

So I've begun reading through, and completing the exercises in, Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by Betty Edwards. The very first exercise is to draw a self portrait, a face from memory, and your hand. I like to think two out of three ain't bad. I'll continue to attempt the third, but I won't show it until the face actually resembles a human. As it is, you're lucky to be viewing the wanted poster style self portrait.

I realize the eyes are a bit intense, but mine are very hard to draw because they are such a dark brown. I think I was a bit too honest with the other "features" of my face (read "wrinkles").

Moving on...



Much happier with this lovely hand. Yep, that's mine...I'd recognize it anywhere.

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The Ridiculous

I'd like to think this wouldn't be the first thing to run through my mind under similar circumstances, but one never knows.

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Fellow Victim of a Delayed Train

While journaling this morning on the train, I looked up to see this man reading his paper. Little did he know he was to be victimized twice in a mere matter of moments: once, by me sketching him, and again, by a malfunctioning signal that delayed the train by 6 WHOLE MINUTES!!!! Is such an injustice to be born?!? I'm sure he wouldn't want you to pity him, but to always remember.

This concludes our moment of melodrama for the day.

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All Things Lunar

The quote (since it gets a bit lost in the gutter): "Beauty is a form of genius—is higher, indeed, than genius, as it needs no explanation. It is of the great facts in the world like sunlight, or springtime, or the reflection in dark water of that silver shell we call the moon." —Oscar Wilde

Why a shell? What are the properties of a shell that the moon shares? A pearlescent glow upon viewing? Or is the reference more to an apparent fragility like the egg shell?

Probably the latter since beauty in some forms is fragile. True beauty continues its pearlescent glow no matter what time elapses. In fact, an egg shell is very strong if force is exerted in a certain direction, and the blemishes on the moon of colliding heavenly bodies implies strength since the moon continues to exist in the hostility of space.

Not a bad metaphor after all.

But back to the main point, "Beauty is a form of genius." This aspect of beauty suggests a character trait—the nature of beauty. Or it is the outward manifestation of the genius of creation. The former an aggressive form that we bring to our lives and the lives of others. And the latter a passive form that is bestowed upon us by the probable arrangement of particles based on genetic disposition.

So we continue, "It is of the great facts in the world like sunlight, or springtime, or the reflection of that silver shell we call the moon." All of these great facts are passive probable arrangements of particles. As beauty is one of these great facts, so it is the passive and out of our hands.

Adequate for those who see a beautiful reflection in the mirror. Inadequate for those who don't use the mirror's reflection to find the presence of beauty in their lives. Adequate for all if the mainstream "vision" of beauty holds no sway, and in the mirror's reflection is found the genius of creation's beauty in all its varied manifestations.

The last point assumes facts not in evidence in the original quote, but it's a warm fuzzy, so I'll go with it.

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Illustration Friday: Theory

This Illustration Friday assignment is a week old. The blank frame stared at me for a full week, and the only theory I had was that if I didn't fill the frame, I would forever be stuck on that page.



And then I theorized that as long as I was making progress via birds, and eagle would suit President's day just fine.

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Taxes

I've got that tired feeling, but it could just be that it's night and past my bedtime. Don't want to rule out the obvious. Nevertheless, I'll have to do some deep soul searching every time I feel sleepy now—that's some pretty serious navel gazing. Ok, maybe I won't.

Drawn from Memory

Since I infrequently wear jewelry or a watch, this had to be a memory drawing assignment. These earrings are distinctive enough that even I could remember what they looked like. I couldn't swear that the lizard was polka dotted, though. I might have taken a liberty there.

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From the "You Got Chocolate in My Peanut Butter" File

Tee hee.

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6 More Weeks!?!?

How's this for old news?



Speaking for myself, Phil's shadow (or lack thereof) barely registers as a blip on the radar. Yet an entire town dresses up for the occasion—proof positive that winter can drive you a little batty. Anywho, I had put the frame on the page well in advance of the date, and I simply followed the command of "Groundhog Day".

Phil might say 6 more weeks. It feels like it's been 6 long months. I'm looking forward to spring. I'm going to go to the garden shop and see if there are any seed packets available yet. My orange juice cravings are through the roof, and the sunlight this afternoon was a shock to my eye.

Winter is very beautiful, but I think Christmas comes a little early. Maybe we should switch it to February simply to have something to anticipate in these long, cold months. Maybe I should just move closer to the Equator and keep my suggestions to myself as I invest in a grass skirt and discover the subtleties of a waggle and a wave. Maybe I just need to build a snowman and be grateful for the opportunities I have. So many options...

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The "Eyes" Have It

This is a man's eye. Really it is. A couple of lines wrong and the whole thing goes girlie.

Ach, is it an eye? Aye, aye. I guess the ayes have it. I'd keep an eye on them if I were...ok, I'll stop now.