What I drew.
Small waterfall indoors, Carson 2009.
Pencil on watercolour paper, 7"W by 7.25"H.
Robert Henri said,
"Realize that a drawing is not a copy. It is a construction in very different materials. A drawing is an invention."
Not a portfolio photograph :-) but a snapshot of the drawing stuck on the whiteboard by my desk.
What I saw.
"Wings of Paradise" Butterfly Conservatory, Cambridge, Ontario, Canada.
Rocks, water, philodendron or two. Upper left, out of frame, a palm frond frequented by finches all afternoon. Far right, eye level, out of frame, a butterfly feeding station. Foreground, out of frame, the paving had some tiny pebbles on it and finches regularly landed and tried to eat them. This seems to be their primary strategy: It's small enough to be a crumb of food so I shall pick it up and try to eat it. Is is a crumb? No, not this time. Walk around, try another pebble. Is this one a crumb? Return to first pebble. Is it a crumb yet?
I wonder if finches have a crop. I know how all the gravel gets in there. Is it really aiding digestion, or is that just rationalization for generations of finches who can't be bothered to distinguish crumbs from pebbles?
Wayne Hunt said,
"Sketching is not really about the finished drawing, which is usually no great thing anyway. It's about looking and drawing as a simultaneous activity. It's really about the art of being there."
Drawing is a verb. It's how I examine the world. Babies clutch things and put them in their mouths; I run my pencil all over everything I see. The piece of paper is a souvenir, not a product.
Go somewhere & draw something.
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