Drawing Challenge

Daily Drawing #155, Oh What A Colorful World We Create

| Whitt’s End Art

As an artist I love to throw splashes of color on a page and see what I can create from the random colors. There are other times when I create a pen or pencil drawing and fill the drawing in with colors like today’s offering, “A Colorful Flower.” Color is very important to an artist. Color is the conveyor of our story. The teller of tales we wish others to read visually. Artists see diversity in color a thing to be grasped and learned.

Diversity is also something we need to grasp, not just in art but in life. We need to look around us and see the people of different cultures and learn from them. I live in the greater Philadelphia area. The city I live in has a very culturally diverse population. I never shy away from meeting people of all cultures because I look at each conversation as an opportunity to learn something new about a culture I know very little about. God made each of us different for a reason. If we were all the same it would be a very boring world. In life create art but also take the time to create friend because who knows what they be able to teach you.

Daily Drawing #154, The Befores and Afters of Life

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The prompt for today was to draw something, “before and after.” My drawing is simply entitled, “The Dandelions.” I guess technically a weed but before they are a bright yellow flower and after those puffy white seed pods which carry in the wind. Each year people spend millions in order to get rid of the dandelions before they can reproduce or even just grown. Still dandelions are persistent little buggers which come back it seems no matter how much we try to get rid of them.

In life there are befores and which depending on how we handle them can lead to good or bad afters. The Bible says in Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” In other words pray about your before situation and trust in God’s good decision making and the after will be a lot smoother. I like to say think about it twice and make a decision once.

When I was growing up I wasn’t always a good decision maker. My befores were usually spontaneous and off the cuff. In the end it left me paying for it in my afters. Some of those poor before decisions I am still paying for in my after to this day. So it summing it all up “think before you leap.”

Daily Art #153, The Noisy Pencil

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The prompt for today is the word,”noisy.” Right away my thoughts turned to music because I work at a place where the students are always listening to music…out loud. I like music but when you’re trying to help the instructor teach a lesson it can be downright distracting. My mind also hearkened back to when people actually used a pencil to write on pages. Words on a page can make a lot of noise when read out loud or just to yourself.

When I was in school teachers used to tell us to read our papers back to ourselves so we could find our mistakes. Still in my case the choice of the pencil for my drawing entitled, “The Noisy Pencil,” was more because as an artist my favorite tools to create my noise on paper is the pencil. I love to draw and create using a pencil first then filling in the details later. There is something fulfilling about picking up a pencil and creating. God who is the ultimate artist put the desire to create in our hearts. It is up to us to use our gift and create.

Daily Drawing #152, A Couple Means Being Together

| Whitt’s End Art

The prompt for today was the word, “together.” I came up with all sorts of ideas for things which go together like PB&J,  ham on rye or the Lone Ranger and Tonto.  Over the years there have been many great pairings many of which would have made great drawings. I chose the drawing of the girl and boy entitled, “Together,” because a couple must be together in all things. There is an old adage, “Divided we fall, Together We Stand.”

This is true in a relationship, in marriage, at work and at church. There are times in the life of a church when we forget God put us together to do His work. These are the times when the church loses its togetherness and becomes a group of people all with their own agendas. This leads to broken relationships and hurting hearts. The key to being in a healthy relationship is a paraphrased version of an old JFK quote, “Ask not what the relationship can do for you, ask what you can do for the relationship.” No matter what the relationship is, husband/wife, employee/employer, church member/church leader. As God says seek to out others higher than yourself and life will feel so much more fulfilling.

Daily Drawing #150, Time to Play Broomball

| Whitt’s End Art

Wow my 150th published drawing. It is hard to believe. Of course there are many more drawings which I drew in the course of this challenge but which I don’t know if I’ll publish. We’ll see. Today’s drawing is entitled “Broomball.” When I was kid we liked to play baseball. The problem was many times we didn’t have a bat. So we would get inventive and use what ever we could round up, sticks, brooms or maybe even a badminton racket. Brooms are a good choice because they have a big end which allows for better contact on the ball.

My advice for the day is this, don’t let the lack of something keep you from doing what you love. I love art but their are times when I am not near any if my art supplies so I improvise by finding a pen and a piece of paper. Even scrap paper will suffice. I then draw what I see and save the drawing to transfer or redraw later.

As a follower of Jesus there are many times we have to improvise, not by changing God’s message but in the way the message is delivered. There are some people who are ready to hear the message but others may not be ready. Let the Holy Spirit be your guide and you will be sure to deliver the right message at the right time.

Daily Drawing #149, A Soothing Moment Each Day

| Whitt’s End Art

My art may not be noteworthy. My art may not hang in a gallery or in your home. While those things would be nice not being is okay with me.  You see I don’t create art I use are as my soothing moment each day to unwind from the chaotic world which surrounds daily life. We all need something soothing to occupy our down time. Some time where the cares of this life are let out of our minds. On this Memorial Day take the time to do something soothing and remember those who gave their lives for the freedoms we enjoy. God bless. See you on the morrow for the next drawing. By the way the drawing is entitled, “Plain White Daisy.”

Daily Drawing #148, The Woody Woodpecker Show

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Of course the drawing is not Woody Woodpecker, trademark issues being what they are but the bird is a woodpecker. Growing up Woody was one of my favorite cartoons along with many others like Magilla gorilla and Quick Draw McGraw. Each week I would sit in front of my television and watch episodes with great delight. Woody and the others were the foil of each episode (the things which the needed to be stopped). He was usually seen trying to take food that didn’t belong to him. Over the years I have seen less and less of those old cartoons but still enjoy them from time to time.

Woody is another one of my bird pictures. Like I have mentioned many times I seem to draw a lot of birds but feel they are not my greatest renderings. Bird drawings seem simple to draw but in the end are very complex in their renderings. I guess I will keep on drawing my feathered friends because as they say practice makes perfect.

Daily Drawing #147, Burger and Fries Please

| Whitt’s End Art

One of my favorite foods is a good burger and fries. Sorry to all of you who don’t eat meat.  Over the years I eaten I’ve had the pleasure of dining on burgers and fries in many different places from burger chains to mom and restaurants. Sadly, as I age, my body has been telling me burgers are no longer welcome. Recently I eat more chicken sandwiches if I eat meat at all. I find I love my salads more theses days.

In life all things change. No matter how much we try to hold onto our youth it is just not going to happen. Just as our diets need to change with age so do out exercise regiment and need to keep our bodies moving. I plan to keep working as long as I kind, no not full time but at least a few hours a week at least to give myself so exercise after all the Bible says in Ecclesiastes 10:18, “Through sloth the roof sinks in,and through indolence the house leaks.” I for one don’t want a sunken and leaky life.

 

Daily Drawing #146, Last Leaf of Autumn

| Whitt’s End Art

I know it is a little early to be talking about autumn but I go where the prompt takes me. The title of today’s drawing is entitled, “Little Boy Waiting.”  As a little boy of a single parent home one of my chores was to do all the yard work. In the summer that meant hours spent mowing the grass, pulling weeds and in the fall raking leaves. At least I got a break in the winter because we didn’t have much of a sidewalk to shovel.

As an adult, my work load has increased. It seems at times all I do is mow the grass, pull weeds and do edging in the summer, In the autumn I rake the leaves which blow into my yard from the neighbors yard. In the winter, well let me give you a word of advice do not buy a corner lot with wrap around sidewalks. Sorry got into a sort of rant there.

Back to why the tree and the one last leaf of autumn. The little boy is patiently waiting for the last leaf to drift down to him. This is a lesson to us all. We live in a world which seems to have lost it’s patience. We want what we want and we want it now. I call this the Violet Syndrome, you know the little girl from Willy Wonka, she always wanted to be instantly gratified. I come from a poor family and am still not what I call well off so I have to save up and get something when I have enough money. This makes me more thankful for what I receive. So to wrap all this up, be patient, take your time to enjoy the moment and don’t be to quick to rush around.