Illustration

Daily Drawing #159, First the Storm Then The Calm

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. The prompt for today is the word, “calm” and the drawing I created is called, “After Storm, Calm Lake.” In life we’re going to have storms. These storms usually come quickly giving us little time to prepare. I myself have been through many of these storms in the last couple of years the most recent being a bought with cancer and tumultuous school year which saw many changes in the classroom I was in even a change of classrooms. People often ask me how I can keep a smile on my face after all I have been through. The key for me is to weather the storms and wait for the calm.

I would be remiss if I didn’t admit to times of depression and worry which come with the storms. These are the times when I like Peter take my eyes off of Jesus and start to sink. Still I weather even these moments as well as the storms by keeping my faith in God and knowing He is there walking alongside me keeping me safe during the high winds and battering seas. This may sound cliche for some or tiresome for others but it is how I get through the storms and will get through those yet to come for however many years I have left.

Daily Drawing #158, Try Being A Wise Guy or Girl

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The word prompt for today is, “evening.” I chose to draw an owl because it was the first thing which popped into my head. When I was young and out walking around at dusk I would look for owls. We had a lot of woods around us and I figured there had to be owls making their homes in the tree. I don’t remember if I ever saw one or not but I have seen barn owls and such.

Owls are birds which have always been associated with wisdom, hence the phrase, “as wise an owl.” Now I am not an owl expert but I am an expert on wisdom. The reason I say that is there are many times in my life when I failed to use wisdom in my decision making process. This has led to many missteps and difficulties. Oh yeah, it has cost me a lot of money and unwarranted debt.

I have learned in these the later years of my life not to make any rash decisions. If I am unsure how to proceed in a certain situation I seek the wise council of someone who has more knowledge in dealing with the situation. Wisdom I think, is not something you’re totally born with it is something which grows inside you as you learn and age. The more you grow through the more wisdom you gain. So you younger people don’t write off us older adults. We’ve been there, done that and are willing to offer advice free of charge.

Daily Drawing #157, Seeing Things From Different Angles

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As a child we see the world looking up. Everything seems so big, so out of reach. As we grow the world around us shrinks and we no longer need reaching things. As adults we see things from a different angles sometimes below us like my drawing, “Down in the Valley,” or sometimes above us like the mountains in the background.  Why all the talk about angles mainly because we need to be careful not to look down on anyone.

We are all in the same race, the human race and as such we need to do as Jesus instructed us in Mark 12:31, “Love your neighbor as you love yourself.” The next question is who is your neighbor? It is not only the people who live around you. It is all the people you come in contact with on a daily basis. Treat everyone with a high angle by looking upward to God to give you the wisdom to deal with even those who you deem worse off or not up to your standards.

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 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 #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.

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.