Timothy Whitt

Not So Shiny After All, Doodle #71

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It might seem odd me to offer up a horse and buggy for a prompt such as shiny but it’s not really. I live near Lancaster, PA so for the last thirty plus years I have my share of the black and grey Amish horse drawn buggy’s. The Amish from what I was told when I first moved to this area do not like shiny objects. There are various reasons why but  leads me to an explanation of today’s  drawing.

Life is made up of two types of people the shiny people and the people like the Amish who try and avoid being shiny people. Shiny people are those who love to flaunt what they have every chance they get. They brag about everything shining their accomplishments in your eyes trying to blind you to what lies beneath.

On the other hand people who are not so shiny do their deeds in the background. They shy away from shining the light on themselves. These are the people who may or may not have a lot themselves but use what they have to benefit others. One of the aspects of the Amish community I love is the fact that when one member of the community is down the others rally around them in order to help them get back on their feet.

One of my favorite verses is Philippians 2:3 which reminds me as well as others to, “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.”

A Monochromatic World, Doodle #69

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The doodle prompt for today was the word monochromatic. As an artist I normally like to work with vibrant colors and take days creating a piece of art. However working with one color and it’s varying shades was something I was looking forward to since I saw this prompt on the March list.

There is something bold about setting down a drawing using the barest of colors. In the back of my mind I rattled around the idea for today’s doodle of doing a simple shades of grey landscape but pushed it aside.  Instead I used a picture of the city I live in and created and abstract monochromatic picture in red.

The picture I created made me think that there are times when we view the world and the people around us in a very monochromatic way.  What we see is what we know and filter through the lens of our own biases.The problem is we don’t live in a monochromatic world.  We live in a very colorful every changing world.  As believers we are called to see the world around, the colors, the shapes as God sees the world as if we are looking at the people through His eyes. The best way to find out how we are to see the world is to go right to His word.

 

A Line at Work, Doodle #67

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Artists look at perspective two ways. The first is using a two dimensional surface to create a three dimensional picture viewed from a particular point in space. The second way an artist uses perspective is by creating pieces of art influenced by an internal point of view (perspective).

Using these two points of perspective an artist is free to create a piece as elaborate or as simple as they would like. Perspective is also a part of life where we see a few line as in my piece “A Line at Work,” and think we know what the whole picture is about. Many times we are wrong. While my doodle is obviously a man… there is still a lot missing like color,depth and where he is working.  What you see is not the whole picture only one little piece.

Since our external view of the world is influenced by our internal perspective we must be careful not to make snap judgments about what we see based on what we think we know.. The Bible says in Proverbs 25:8, “Don’t jump to conclusions-there may be a perfectly good explanation for what you just saw.”

So the next time you see something strange don’t judge the situation strictly by what you see. Take the time to find out the truth.

Walking With Courage, Doodle #66

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Courage, The first thing that popped into my head when I saw the prompt was the lion from the Wizard of Oz. The second thing which popped into my head was Cowardly the dog from an old cartoon show. What do both these characters have in common. They both were cowardly but in the face of obstacles they stood tall and did brave acts.

Courage may come in finally standing up to a bully in school. It may come when you walk into a doctor’s office and hear those three life changing words, “You have cancer.” It may come when you face the end of your life. The main point is no matter how much you try and avoid it there are time in your life when you must stand up like a lion, be brave and walk with your head high into the battle even when you want to crawl under a rock and hide.

If you have faith in God the Bible says in Ephesians 6:10 that we can, “Be strong in the Lord and his mighty power.”

I hope you like today’s doodle and my brief ramble.

A Look At Yourself, Doodle #65

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The dictionary defines reflection as

  • 1. the throwing back by a body or surface of light, heat, or sound without absorbing it.
  • 2. sending back, throwing back, casting back2. serious thought or consideration:

I chose to do a combination drawing of both. My self portrait is both a reflection as done in a mirror but it also a time for me to think back to earlier days in my life

We all tend to look back at our life and play the what if game. What if I had done this or that, but we can’t “what if” our past lives we must always deal with the “what is” part of life, working through what is happening now. There is no changing the past there is only preparing for the present and the future.

In an art life as well as the rest of life we must not worry about what we did but focus on our new creations and our new days.The Bible says “Forget the former things; Do not dwell on the past,” Isaiah 43:8.

Rope the Night Sky, Doodle #64

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There are times as an artist when you hit a creative wall. When I saw the prompt for today was night  I thought it was going to be easy to be easy to come with a good representation of the prompt.  Boy was I wrong. I went through a number of quick drafts and then tossed them aside.

After all the fuss over the prompt I finally came to one conclusion I was trying to hard to create the perfect drawing. Art is all about spontaneity. The more we try to create the perfect  brush stroke or put down the perfect pen mark the more we stifle our creativity.

While looking for something to inspire me I was redoodling  pictures on my iPad. Today’s offering is one of them. I don’t usually put theses doodle out there but it is a reminder of what we as artists do sometimes “Rope the Sky,” in order to find inspiration for our art.

Old Woman and A Guitar, Doodle #63

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The themes for today’s doodle was something musical. Like all the other es the idea for what to draw is open to inspiration. I came across a free to draw picture on Something to Draw.com of the woman pictured playing her guitar. While the piece  is not a perfect reproduction of the picture it is a reminder to us all that no matter how old you are you are never to old to learn something new.

A Man and A Violin, Doodle #62

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The prompt for today was saturation which could have led me in a lot of drawing  directions. The first thing which popped into my head was a picture featuring water. After all I live near a river and figured I could do a location doodle. To bland. I then pondered about what else saturates besides water. Somehow I ended up thinking about mu and all the concerts I ever attended. The music saturates the air with sound. The picture I drew was actually inspired by my days in junior high playing the viola.

I still love the sounds of a string instrument. One of my favorite musicians is the fiddle player from the Celtic Women. I  love the way her performance takes over the stage. Our lives need to be like that of a musician. Whatever we do in life needs to be a beautiful sounds which saturates others with joy.

The Boston Terrier, Doodle #60

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The doodle prompt for March 1st was to doodle something ordinary. Well what is more or ordinary or more comforting then the face of your favorite . Whole I currently don’t have a pet my son does have a Boston Terrier the one pictured is not his.