creativity

Daily Drawing #151, Curiosity by Candlelight

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In our society we don’t do much by candlelight anymore, well except those scented kind which rid the home of unwanted smell. In by gone days candles were the chief source of light along with oil lamps. I have often wondered what it was like reading by candlelight or any other task like sewing. People managed and people filled their, “Curiosities by Candlelight,” the title of my quick little drawing for today. The drawing is one of my practice illustrations. The curious little candle comes down off of his pedestal to read.

As a child reading was my thing. Others played sports, played in the band or just hung out but I liked to read. I read anything I could my hands on, fiction or non-fiction. I have lost count of the number of books I have read in my lifetime. The list keeps growing each day. The one book which is my favorite,The Bible, is still my go to book every morning, and at times in the evening. The Bible offers me advice, the Book of Proverbs, it give me direction for my life in Psalms and the New Testament. The Bible is not antiquated like some say. It is still relevant. I would read it by candlelight if I had to but the Bible is the one book I will pick up again and again.

Daily Drawing #150, Time to Play Broomball

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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

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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

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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 #145, Dancing Beneath the Streetlight 

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The title of today’s offering is based on the prompt, “streetlight” hence the title, “Dancin’ In the Streetlight.” The simple reminder for us all with this prompt and my brief message for today is this, light illumines, darkness hides all. We live in an age which many say is growing darker. Lawlessness seems to be growing. While that may be true I have been reading some old Life magazines and it seems like what we are going through now was true of earlier times. Some of the magazines from the 1950’s talk of gang violence and more. Back then they even dealt with the same diseases we’re dealing with now like cancer, diabetes among others, .

While each generation seems to think the good ole days were much better than the  world now things are not always as they appear. The only truth is this, no matter how the times appear, good or bad, as followers of Jesus we always need to be dancing in the light of God’s word, our streetlight to navigate through what is up ahead.

Daily Drawing #144, Silly As You Should Be

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The prompt for today was to draw a silly face. Here is my offering, “Silly Girl.” I am one of those guys who has a hard time not taking myself seriously. I don’t know why. I like to joke around with other people and I like quirky people, places and things. Still when it comes to creating art which is a little quirky or different I revert to trying to create traditional drawings. I want to let go and be myself when I create art. I am trying to branch out. The silly face drawing is one example.

I feel in life as in art we can’t always be serious. As children we do things which are off the wall, spontaneous and free from thinking. When we turn into adults we are taught to grow up. Well growing up is a good thing. In fact the Bible tells us to put away “childish things” when we age. The Bible is talking about being adult like in our dealings with with things like money. parenting etc.  Still in other areas we need some time to do things which bring a smile. Some of these things can be of like a “childish nature” like creating art.  Someone use to tell me when you think old you’re going to feel old. I think it was good advice to live life.

Daily Drawng #143, Hot Times Need A Cool Breeze

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I just realized I did a variation on the his picture before. This one is entitled, “Hot Times, Cool Breeze.” I am not a beach person, my wife, well it is hard to get her to leave. She loves the sea shore, the sand the ocean. Need I go on? While I am not a sandy beach person there is one thing however I do like about the shore, the ocean breeze. After a blazing hot day at the shore, driving up and down the highway looking in all the thrift stores, there is nothing like sitting by the ocean with breeze blowing in off the ocean. The cool air washes away the heat of the the day making you feel refreshed.

I often think of Sunday morning church in the same way. After a long week in the hot sun of a daily work week in our hectic world there is nothing like the cool breeze of a church service. The music, the fellowship, the sermon, the worship wash over you giving you a refreshed feeling like sitting on the beach at night. All is calm, all is bright.

 

Daily Drawing #142, An Upside Down World

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The drawing for today is entitled, “Upside Down Glasses.” The inspiration for the drawing came from this guy I used to run into where my mom worked. It was boarding house with a little bar attached. The guy was able to put a coaster on top of a glass filled with a liquid, flip it over and pull the coaster away without any liquid seeping out around the rim. No matter how many times I tried to replicate his trick I would spill some of whatever was in the glass. Of course the people who worked there didn’t like his trick because they would have to remove the glass and wipe up the liquid.

There is a verse in Isaiah 29:16 which says:

“You turn things upside down! Shall the potter be regarded as the clay, that the thing made should say of its maker,
    “He did not make me”;
or the thing formed say of him who formed it,
    “He has no understanding”?

Isaiah is talking here about our relationship with God. Like the glasses turned upside down we sometimes look at our relationship with God from the wrong perspective. We think God is there to do our bidding while we were put on this Earth to seek His will for our lives. I for one ask God every day what it is He needs me to do on that particular day. It is not wrong to give your petitions to the Lord but we must be careful not see God from the bottom up instead of from the top down. We live our live in a vertical relationship with God and must always be diligent to remember who made who.