artist

Daily Drawing #146, Last Leaf of Autumn

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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.

Replicate or Recreate, That is the Question

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When I first started to draw and paint I wanted to be one of those artists who replicated what they saw. You know what I mean. One of those artists whose paintings looks exactly like a photograph. So over the next few years I struggled and put a lot of pressure on myself trying to grasp the secret or making an exact copy of the image before my eyes. Art became more of a chore and less fun. One day I decided replication art was not my cup of tea.

I felt art should be more about re-creation than replication. As an artist I felt the need to recreate what I saw. Right then an there I decided to create paintings and drawing using my frame of reference with a little whimsy thrown in here and there. I leave replication to those artists whose talent rests in creating exact pieces. There is nothing wrong with being exact it just never settled into my temperament. These days I find myself creating a lot more abstract paintings consisting of a little exactness woven into a tapestry of whimsy.

In the end the question for all artists is going to be whether to replicate or recreate? The choice for you is going to be found in your heart

Daily Drawing #138, The Circles In Your Life

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One of my favorite movies is Disney’s The Lion King. One of my favorite songs in the movie is the, “Circle of Life.” The songs deals with the cycle of life, death and then new life again. While I think our linage is renewed and lives on in our children I don’t believe life happens in a circle. We are born, live our lives and then we die. However in life I do believe there are many circles.

Growing up we have our circle of family. the first few years of life we are dependent on our parents and loved one to care for us. They feed us, nurture us, protect us and so much more. As we age we move on to a new circle..friends. Added to the circle of family is our school age friends some of who we spend years with. Friends bring a whole new circle of influence in our lives.. They help to develop our views of the world outside of  what is taught to us by our family. Friends also can lead us to our next circle…work.

Once we are done with school, however many years that takes, we move on to the circle of work. Many times in work we develop a whole new circle outside of family and friends. We have our work friends and our out of work friends who may never meet. Both groups still assert many of their attributes and traits on how we think. Added to all the circles already mentioned are any other circles you may be involved in such as church, a shared hobby etc.

What is important anytime we enter a new circle is not to let the circle influence us in. negative way. We must always be the light which shines out of the circle to the others. So take the time to think about all your circles and determine are they shaping you or you being a light to them.

Doodle #131, 3 Reasons to Reflect on Your Reflection

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Each day I get up for work and look in the mirror. I stand there for a few minutes and reflect on my reflection. No I am not going off the deep end. It is just that I ponder about who I am to other people. I know they see me and know my appearance but can they see me for who I really am…a follower of Jesus Christ who is supposed to exemplify his love and caring in this world. It is with these thoughts i have come up with 3 reasons to reflect on your reflection. Not a refection like in a mirror or a puddle like my drawing, “Seeing Yourself in the Water,” but a pondering of how others see you.

  1. People see your ways. No matter how much we feel like we live in isolation someone is always watching our movements. This is especially true of those who claim to be a person of faith. Do one thing out of character and people will be all over the misdeed questioning the validity of your reflection.
  2. People hear you words. Part of your reflection is what you say. As the saying goes, “if you’re going to talk the talk you need to walk the walk,” or as the Bible says, “Let you yes be yes and your no be no.”
  3. People follow your lead. What we say and what we do leads to the third part of your reflection. People will not follow what you claim, they will follow what they see. A hypocrite is a person who claims or preaches one thing but does the opposite of what they tell you, you should be doing.

As you can see looking in the mirror and pondering over your reflection is not all about just seeing how old you look these days. It is about making sure what your reflecting to others is what us truly in your heart.

3 Reasons to Art; A Brief Overview

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I have delved into creating art for most of life. The reasons I started to create art are various. Here are three.

  1. I returned to my love of art over three decades ago. One of the reasons is it helps me to relax. At one point in my life I dealt with anxiety issues. One of my doctors suggested I take up a quiet hobby. I used to doodle so I figured I would try my hand at cartooning. One thing led to another and I started to create more fine art projects. Art still helps me to relax.
  2. The second reason I love to art is the challenge. I am a self taught artist. A lot of what I know comes from books and lately YouTube videos. Trying to become a better artist is not only restful but it also challenging. I also look for drawing projects which are hard for me to draw. This I feel helps me grow as a person as wells as an artist.
  3. The last reason I art is because I love sharing with others what I create. I know I will probably never become rich off of my art but it doesn’t matter. My goal for creating art, other than it relaxing nature and the mental challenge it brings, is to maybe bring a smile to someones face. Art by it’s very nature is a participation media. Artists create so others can see or hear the fruits of our labors.

These are the three maim reasons I create art. Maybe you can add your reasons as comments to this article.

Doodle #127, Don’t be a Wimpy (Sponge)

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Sponge is one of those words that has more than one meaning. it is a sea creature as pictured in my rendering, it is used for household cleaning as well as in a surgical procedure, but it is also a person who borrows stuff without the intent of giving the borrowed item back.

When I first saw sponges was today’s drawing prompt I thought of Wimpy from Popeye the Sailor Man. He is the guy who is famous for the line “I’ll pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today.” Wimpy was always begging for the burger with no intent of ever paying Popeye back.  When I was a kid I knew a lot WImpy like peers. Most of what they borrowed was free rides, “Take me to Philly and I will pay you for gas on Friday when I get paid.” The problem payday Friday never came.

Adulthood has brought it’s share of Wimpys to my life. My problem is I have to learn to say no to people instead of giving to people. The Bible is clear on this subject  Proverb’s 12:24, “The hand of the diligent will rule, while the slothful will be put to forced labor.” I have learned that by giving in to the Wimpys of life I am really doing them a disservice. If a person is always given what they ask for they will never learn to work for what they really need. Don’t get me wrong it is good to help someone out when they ask but if they make a habit of it, take stock of the situation and make sure they are not being a Wimpy.

If you don’t know who Wimpy is click here.

Doodle #125, Yellow, The Color of All Things Bright

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Today is yellow day. No it is not a National Holiday is it on the list for the May 5th drawing prompt. I could have went in a lot of directions with this prompt like a piece of lemon meringue pie, a banana, a yellow flower, a sunset among many other yellow items.. In fact I actually drew a lemon but switched to the more, “Whimsical Girl with Kitten,” for today’s drawing instead.

Yellow has always been one of my favorite colors to paint or color with because it exudes warmth, brightness and happiness. Yellow has also been associated, in our society, with cowardliness. Hence the phrase, “You’re yeller because you won’t fight me.” I added a little Southern in there due to my heritage. Whatever way you choose to look at the color yellow remember this there are a lot of colors which would not exist without this primary color.

Life is kind of like the primary color yellow. It is filled with a lot of happiness and warmth and maybe a little cowardice but when you add other colors to it, life can be so much more. As a young man I had a lot of friends come and go in my life most of whom I didn’t stay in contact. Still those friends who I left behind are important to me because they mixed into my life and added something to my primary color which helped me be who I am today. So the next time you are with your friends thank them for mixing into your life and helping you paint a beautiful portrait. Proverbs 17:17 says, “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.”

Doodle #120, The Rock Amidst the Water

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The drawing prompt for today is the word, rock. My drawing is a yet untitled rock formation with some weeds growing amongst them. The Neshaminy Creek was right down the side street from the house where I lived when I was a child. The creek was a fascinating place. You could go fishing, hang out on the rocks at rapids when the tide was down, search for bugs among other things. Right in the center of the creek by what we called the new bridge, for obvious reasons, was this humongous rock sticking out of the water.

During low tide you could wade out to the rock, climb on top of it wand look up down the creek in both directions. The rock seemed like a place of refuge in the midst of the water. My friends, particularly my friend Jeanie, had a lot of lot of good times at that rock and along the banks of the creek. Those days seemed so peaceful.

Today’s prompt also remind me of some words of Jesus in Matthew 16:18, ” on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” While some feel this verse is about Peter being the foundation for God’s church, while others feel Jesus is talking about the solid rock of the Word. God’s Word is like the rock in the middle of the Neshaminy Creek, floods and storms came and that rock was still there. As far as I know the rock is still there though I haven’t been down to look in over twenty years. As Christian’s we need to remember to stand on the rock of God’s Word through the storms and in the good peaceful days.

Doodle #119, Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

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The word of the day is, “hair.” The title of my doodle for today is, “Girl With the Pulled Up Hair.” Back in the day there was this little musical called “Hair.” The musical from the 1960’s was a rock musical born out of the hippie counterculture and sexual revolution of the time. While most of the musical was controversial back in the day the title song by the Cowalls is still one of my favorites:

“give me a head with hair, long beautiful hair
Shining, gleaming, steaming, flaxen, waxen
Give me down to there hair, shoulder length or longer
Here, baby, there, momma, everywhere, daddy, daddy
Hair, hair, hair, hair, hair, hair, hair, hair”

A lot of people like from the 60’s and 70’s had long hair. It was sign of the times. The only problem is mine would always frizz and get curly but still I would let it grow to my momma’s dismay. Years later, now sporting a grey buzz cut I think back in fondness to all the hair I used to have. I realized years ago as my hair started to turn grey and I developed the middle aged look that you cannot hold onto the past. It is not something to be grasped in you hand . Our outward appearances change. Even our hearts desires change.  Still I sit back and wonder what happened to all the friends I used to know.  All I have left to say is something I heard somewhere, “Hold onto you memories tightly but hold onto your friend even tighter.”