Never say bad art

When we went to the canal festival a few weeks ago we both sat and drew. My hubby did a quick sketch of the large chimney at the back of the museum. You can see that although he doesn’t normally draw he’s got the idea of perspective and the regular lines on top of the bricks are the iron bands supporting the chimney all the way up its length. He’s also included a roof and trees and a brick wall.

Art isn’t something he generally does. He will pick up an adult colouring book sometimes but he tends to colour in with lines rather than shading things in fully. I think that is because he has a lot of anxiety and his mind bounces about and he doesn’t settle to one thing. But he is willing to try. I think that’s important. Art should be for everyone. They might not be Raphael or Titian but who knows what might emerge? Art is, I think, very important to humans, for aesthetics or design, communication or lifestyle. Just do it! ❤️

Movement

I do odd doodles in my sketchbook. This wS a drawing of someone falling, then I added stick figures of jumping and handstands and other movements. Why not? It’s a good mental exercise to try and think what the positions of limbs are when the body moves. It’s a bit scruffy, but I’m trying to get the shapes right. I think the falling one was hardest. Positioning of hands and arms from a memory of someone falling is not easy!

Odd story

I saw the twins again today, she said. They are getting older, but they still look the same. Craggy, serious, hard.

Yes, I know, he said, they were never cute, but they certainly have character.

I think I will ask them if I can draw their portraits she said. It would be interesting to chat with them and find out a bit about them.

So three weeks later she say down with a pen and paper and started to draw Kim and Jen. She started slowly, trying to find their differences and their similarities. Chatting with them she found they finished each others sentences. Kim was a Chemist, Jen was a Jeweler. Both had problems with their lives. The world couldn’t get its head around identical sisters. Well, not exactly that, she could see what they meant.

Wooden puppets! Who knew they could be alive and walking round the world. Pinnochio had a lot to answer for!

People

One thing that was missing from my drawings today were people. And the museum area and festival were crowded. I tried to rectify this by drawing a woman in front of the steam roller and a couple walking hand in hand away from me towards the forge that is on site. The blacksmith there, Charis Jones, runs a business called Sculpted Steel. I am sorry I didn’t get to see her but I spent most of my time drawing as you can see!

It was probably the biggest gathering of people I have seen for months. I wasn’t quite as nervous today, but my heart was still in my mouth!

Steam roller

I also had the opportunity to draw a steam roller that was parked up outside the museum. Felt pen drawing again. I found out they are not waterproof as a few spots of rain fell and left drip marks on the drawing! I actually saw this driving along the street on Thursday. I asked the owner and he said he had taken three hours to drive the twenty miles from Stafford. It’s certainly an impressive beast!