Worthy of a Second Look

Not long after I came back to the art studio following my very long “hiatus”, I began drawing pears. After a while, I grew tired of pears, and I know you were as tired of seeing them as I was of drawing them!

So now, instead of pears — or any other fruit — I’m drawing shapes and forms. At least, I’m trying to draw shapes and forms. My current vision impairment is making it increasingly difficult. I’ve nearly gave up on severasl drawings. But anytime I manage to get something on my sketchbook page, I feel good about it.

Today I thought long and hard about skipping out on my morning drawing practice. In the end, though, I reminded myself of the need for persistence. I have a goal, and yes, I have challenges, but that’s no reason to give up. In fact, it’s all the more reason to keep pushing.

And so I dutifully arranged my set-up. Two white, wooden eggs and a cone-shaped wooden block. I took a deep breath, reached for my templates — now essential parts of my drawing toolkit — and I managed to get the basic shapes in the proper position.

Next, I decided to just do my best at shading the eggs. I wasn’t going to concern myself too much with the cone. As long as I shaded the eggs a bit, I could feel that I’d made a good effort. In the end, I did go ahead and add shading — and a bit of texture — to the cone. I then sighed, reminded myself that this is just practice, that my vision is limited, and that I can’t be expected to turn out masterful drawings right now, if ever!

I went through my usual routine of scanning the drawing into the computer, and then asked myself why. I saw no reason to post it. After all, it’s just another drawing practice of more wooden eggs and blocks. Just as the pears once grew tiresome, surely nobody wants to see any more shapes and forms!

No problem. I busied myself with other things. Today’s morning drawing practice was set aside and all but forgotten… until I later scanned a document and opened my “saved scans” folder. There, I saw a rather nice little drawing of two white, wooden eggs and a wooden cone. I blinked in surprise. Was that the drawing I’d scanned earlier? Was that the drawing I’d set aside, thinking it was unworthy of posting?

Yes, it was. I really did a double-take. Taking all factors into consideration, the drawing doesn’t look so bad. In fact, compared to other recent morning drawing practices, this one — in my poor eyes, at least — shows some signs of improvement in my skills. What do you think?

Maybe it’s just my bad eyesight. Maybe that’s why I had to look twice at this. And, by the way, yes, I need to brush dust and eraser crumbs away from the scanner glass. I’ll be sure to do that before I scan any more drawings.

I’m proud of this drawing. I feel that my efforts to improve my shading skills are starting to pay off. I’m hopeful, too, that eventually more vision will be restored to my left eye. It would be so nice to draw again, to actually be able to look at what I’m drawing and see the shapes and forms!

I’ll close by apologizing for sharing another boring “shapes and forms” drawing, and by asking for good thoughts, please. Our family can certainly use them right now.

UPDATE NOTE: The latest — and most devastating — news is that my daughter’s cancer has returned. She will be seeing her oncologist in a few days to outline a new treatment plan. What they found was small — and we’re praying they can catch this, eradicate it, and she won’t have to go through this ever again. Please, if you’re so inclined, pray with us. If prayers aren’t your thing, even a few good thoughts will be appreciated.

All is still “on hold” with our retinologist. Word is that he is out of the hospital and having rehab three hours daily. He is hoping to return to his office “soon” — that remains to be seen.

And little Butternut is doing much better. We’re providing him with the most nutritious kitten foods we can find, adding a lysine supplement to his diet, and making sure he has plenty of fresh water. While he’s still not as playful as he was, he’s made marked improvement. He’s quite alert, up and about, jumping up on chairs — and my computer desk — and has been trotting up and down the stairs with his little tail high in the air. His life expectancy may be only a few years — although exceptions to happen and miracles can occur. Our hope is that we can make his life as happy and comfortable as possible.