Each day has its own individuality of colour.
— Hawthorne on Painting
Flowers are in bloom here in Quebec, just in time to cooperate with my slowly recovering energy levels and the urge to draw. For those of you who did not know, I had an operation and now all is well — finally. I am starting to live again and it feels so good. Here in Rigaud the bugs are alive and feisty as we had a cold spring and I think that all of the mosquitoes waited to emerge at the same time in my backyard… real little pests they are, but the birds are singing galore and they are feasting and feeding their hatchlings.
I had never realized this before, but drawing and painting need high concentration levels and energy. You have to be in the moment and you have to stay in the moment, for quite a while I might add… so could we call drawing or painting a “meditation in observation”? Well I guess that it depends if you draw/paint directly from observation as plein-air artists do, or if you draw from your imagination with references? Or if you draw from your imagination without references? Have you ever tried without references? It is really hard but it is essential in developing your visual memory.
So no matter which way that you draw, and I do recommend that you rotate your habitual way of drawing to accommodate all three ways, drawing is good for you!
Fountain Pen: Pilot Falcon SEF
Ink: De Atramentis Document Black Ink
Paper: Stillman & Birn, Gamma Series 9″x6″
Painting to see : Peindre pour voir 
I’ve missed you and wondered if your absence was due to all the flooding which sometimes involves RIgaud. Glad to hear you’re on the mend. I love your ink drawing and it’s timely as I’m wondering whether color improves or detracts from good line drawings :-)
That energy thing you talk about is something I’ve been dealing with. Rheumatoid arthritis limited my mobility and hand use to the point where I couldn’t draw at all. It also made me very tired all the time. Now that a rheumatologist is getting the arthritis under control, I’m trying to draw but the fatigue still takes its toll. I concluded that the real problem, for me, was starting a drawing, not doing them, though I agree that fatigue diminishes your ability to concentrate a lot.
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Hi Larry — I live on the mountain… very far from the flooding as this takes place on the shore of the Lake of Two Mountains so we are safe thank you! What is interesting is that many painters do not know how to draw… as you do not necessarily need to know how to draw to paint abstractedly or emotionally. I guess that Urban Sketchers are in a league all of their own as there is alot of drawing to be done while urban sketching… and I have ruined some perfectly good drawings by painting afterwards. So sad about the rheumatoid arthritis Larry — my little sister had an attack when she was 22 years old and she has been on pills ever since, which has almost eliminated it. They are dangerous for the eyes, but for the rest they seem to be making her life much easier. My energy levels being low are due to the operation… and a nurse said that it would take about 1 year to get back in full energy. Can you imagine? It is true also that to start the drawing is almost having finished it… and what helps me out a lot is when I sit down and just start drawing without thinking beforehand… saves alot of time and energy. However I think that because of the general anesthesia that I had, my concentration levels are wayward… on and off non-stop — hah-hah! And I am also getting older LOL -)))
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I don’t even have to imagine long-term recovery periods. I couldn’t believe how long I felt worn out every day when I had my prostate removed. You try to fight it. You “know” you can overcome it, but that worn out, somewhat cloudy feeling just won’t go away. I was told to just ‘go with it’, taking advantage of times when you feel good and to not worry about those times when you don’t. It is frustrating, though, when you can’t achieve normal concentration levels while drawing.
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Welcome back, I have missed your posts! I hope you are getting fit and well! The early summer weather will lighten your spirits greatly!
Beautiful drawing, great composition too! Your eye goes everywhere! So happy
To see your post!
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Hi Angela — thank you so much! I have been on « hold » for 3 months now but slowly I am recovering and can’t wait to paint and draw again -))) I hope that you are well Angela!
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