Drawing Challenge

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.

Daily Drawng #143, Hot Times Need A Cool Breeze

| Whitt’s End Art

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 #140, Life is a Landscape

| Whitt’s End Art

When I survey the landscape of my life I see may empty places I could have filled opportunities not fulfilled. Well enough of the waning philosophic. The drawing today is entitled, “The Mostly Barren Landscape.” It is a study piece for something I plan today later in acrylics. I hope to put the piece on as an extra offering sometime in the future.

While I usually try to write some kind of inspirational epitaph based on situations in my life this time it is a little tougher. You see my landscape (life) has never happened the way I envisioned. I thought when I was a teenager the rough times would be all behind me, back beyond the trees. I was wrong. There are many decisions I have made which I’ve wished I could unmake or get a redo. None of them have been major choice just ones where a second opinion or some advice from others would have been helpful.

So all I can say to anyone reading this is to not go it alone. If you’re in the process of some decision, big or small, first pray about the decision and then seek out wise council. You’ll be glad you did later. Also there will be less crabgrass and weeds growing in the landscape of your life.

Daily Drawing #139, A Teddy Helps You Bear All Things

| Whitt’s End Art


As a kid one of my favorite things was my soft (word of the day) and cuddly teddy bear. There were times my teddy bear was a source of comfort. I would hold it next to me in times of high stress to give me comfort. Other times I would drag the poor teddy all over the place getting him dirty and in need of a bath. Sadly the need for a teddy bear dissolved as I grew older. To this day I do not know what happened to any of by old teddy bears.

Comfort is something we all need when things go wrong. Some of us look to comfort in all the wrong places, drinking, sex, drugs, buying things and the list goes on and on. Comfort, however does not come in any of those things. It only comes in a close relationship with Jesus. In my life Jesus has been my comfort through so many trials and tribulations. The most recent being cancer surgery. I know many who read will be turned away or be turned off but I cannot help but talk about what I believe in my heart.

Daily Drawing #138, The Circles In Your Life

| Whitt’s End Art

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.

Daily Art #137 Pika, Pika, Pika Shoo

| Whitt’s End Art

The drawing prompt today was to draw a living thing be it an animal or plant. I usually lean to drawing cats which on another blog I am up to cat drawing #24. I also draw a lot of faces so I didn’t want to go in that direction. In searching for something to draw I found an article about how China is killing of the Pikas. I clicked on the link and to my surprise I found a Pika is a real animal. I sketched one and created my drawing, “The Little Pika is Going Shoo.”

When my son was growing up he watched Pokemon episodes and also collected the toys. One of my favorite characters was the little yellow creature known as Pikachu. The only word he spoke was “Pika” even when he was animated. No pun intended. I was amazed to learn the students at the school where I work still watch Pokemon. I had thought it fizzed out years ago. I guess Pokemon is not a true fad because it seems to have staying power.

There are times in life we get caught up in the fad of the moment. Need I mention Pet Rocks, Cabbage Patch Kids or Beanie Babies. Sadly for some becoming a follower of Jesus Christ is a fad. They rush in whole heartily like people do with fads but somewhere along the line things change and the luster of the moment wears off. This is when they turn away and lay their supposed live for Jesus on the fad shelf.

The problem with many is they don’t realize when you walk with Jesus there is no promise of a joy filled and rosy life. I have found in my own life that things seemed to get harder. It is not easy to stand up against opposition for what you believe. Maybe this is the reason people walk away from their faith. I don’t know. All I know is that that true faith in Jesus is not a fad it is a relationship which is built on love and faith.

Doodle #130, Takin’ Your Life for a Stroll

| Whitt’s End Art

It is a simple law of physics which states, “a body in motion tends to stay in motion unless something acts on it to stop it.” My wife and I love to go for strolls. At times we walk through our local neighborhood. If it is cold outside we will walk at our local mall. One of our favorite places to walk is out in Amish Country around some of the local landmarks and villages which is the inspiration for today’s doodle, “Strolling among the Shops.”

Life is also a stroll once set in motion will not stop until in reaches the end. There is also no slowing down life, no matter how hard we try. Billions of dollars each year are spent trying to regain a youthful look or lifestyle. My question is why? Since we have no control over time why not regal in fact we are aging?  We could the wisdom and knowledge we have gained over the years to help those who are younger to try and understand how to live their lives more fully. This is what Solomon did for his son and others in the Book of Proverbs.

Wisdom after all is best used when it is shared. So take your life on a stroll and use your past experiences to write a blog, volunteer in your local community or do what I do and create some art and add a few words to each drawing.

Doodle #129, The Open Doorways

| Whitt’s End Art

In the course of a year long drawing challenge there are times when your mind and your pen get a little blank. This is one of those times. The challenge was to draw a couple of perfectly aligned doorways in your home. My home is not that perfectly aligned so I used another person’s home. I hope you understand. The piece is entitled simply, “Doorways.” I could also give you some speech on how life is like these doorways. Sometimes it feel perfectly aligned but there are times when one door is closed and you can’t for the life of you understand what is going on ahead.

I am thankful many times some of those doors are closed because I do not want to see what is ahead of me. When I was a child my doorways seemed perfectly aligned. Go to school, come home, do homework, go out and play, eat dinner, go to bed, next day rinse and repeat. As an adult the doorways are seldom aligned and I find myself many times praying I could have but a glimpse to what lies ahead behind closed doorway number 2. Still we must push on another day, another drawing. I leave these words of wisdom from Ecclesiastes 3:

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:

a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.

 

Doodle #128, Under an Orange Sunset

| Whitt’s End Art

I have lived in the Philly area for many, many years. While there is a lot of places I still love to visit within the city limits, I still don’t like the hustle and bustle of city life. I am a country boy at heart. Not to far out in the country but far enough the traffic is not bad. One thing about the city I like is the city skyline from different observation points. I especially like the view during sunset when the sky has an orange glow.  My doodle, “A Philly Sunset,” is a loose rendering of such a sunset.

When I was a new driver, at seventeen years of age, driving around Philadelphia was something I enjoyed. The city had many more places than the suburbs to frequent, like record stores, concert venues, shopping and much more. If I didn’t want to drive I could hop on the EL or subway and get to places I wanted. I spent many hours of my young life in Philadelphia. Thirty Four years ago I moved away from Philly. I now live about an hour away in the suburbs. I get down to Philly from time to time. It is where my son lives now so my wife and I visit one in a while

The weird thing is, like many things from my youth, Philly has lost it’s youthful luster. I guess it is because may of the places I frequented in my youth are not there anymore. Many of the people I knew are no longer there anymore. The city has changed so much over the years. I guess the old saying is true, “You can never truly go home again.” As a follower of Jesus Christ I am glad the Bible in Hebrews 13:8, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.” It is good to know that no matter how much I change, the world around me changes, Jesus never changes.