𝑨𝒓𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒑𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒎𝒚 𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒅𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒗𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒚𝒔.”
Sometimes art calls to me. In times when I overthink things, when there are more questions than answers and I need a time out, there are two "go-to's" that I choose between ~ sketching and walking/hiking.
The weather has been miserable the last few days, it's been overcast and rainy. The wind has been exceptionally cold and I've been hermitting through a lot of it. I've been struggling with a bout of flu to top it off.
Taking out my pencil case and paper, I realised that both of my clutch pencils didn't have lead, but I found a piece about 2cm long that I used for this sketch, it was enough. I tend to try stay away from stationery shops as long as I possibly because I know I won't leave with just one thing. Who has this same problem?
This is a silver sugar spoon that I bought simply because it is beautiful, ornate and I've never seen one like this before. It's got hallmarks but I haven't looked them up. I love this spoon for it's flowing design and intricate details, not only because of how old it is.
My mind was full of things so I wasn't paying that much attention when I started with the handle, you can see how many squiggly lines I drew. My mind wasn't on the sketch yet, but I let it flow, my movements slowed down and I started to transition from everything I was thinking to everything I was seeing and drawing instead. My focus shifted bit by bit. It was wonderful because within an hour, my spirits had lifted and I was concentrating on the fine details, the patina on the metal and the shine on the different raised sections of the swirls and little flower petals. The drawing isn't true to life and if you look clearly you'll see that I missed some details on the right hand side and the bottom left is a bit wonky. I don't mind though, I never strive for perfection.
The sketch started to develop into a more 3D version when I started shading. The shading is my favourite part but it also takes the longest. When I was in school, I remember shading sketches after school ended and feeling so calm afterwards. My art teacher was always amazed at my shading because she told me she never had the patience for it. She preferred to paint, but she would often give me different assignments in class to others because she knew that pencil work was my biggest strength. I still, to this day can't paint to save my life, but I try every now and then.
I had to get some sleep so I left the rest for yesterday.
I then had to tidy up the squiggles on the handle and put in some shading there too. You can see how different the lighting was between the night (artificial lighting) and the morning (sunlight) casting a much deeper shadow but bringing up the shine on the metal nicely.
I have no idea what I'm going to do with the background of this sketch, I might try a completely different style to contrast with the spoon. Maybe I'll paint it? Ultimately I wanted to transfer something onto paper and it felt nice to relax a little through art. My kitty got many head scratches through the process too, so I think she was happy as well.
Got ideas for me for the background? Let me know in the comments, I'd love to hear them. When was the last time you used art to transform your thoughts and feelings?
First of all, I'm sorry to hear you're sick, so get well soon as being sick is not fun.
The spoon is absolutely lovely. I've never seen anything like that, but I can appreciate these vintage objects a lot.
Your drawing is as lovely as the spoon, so congratulations and I hope to see more :)
Thanks @erikah I appreciate the compliment and kindness. I am so happy you also enjoy vintage trinkets like this, they are pretty special. I'm sure I'll survive this flu, it happens :) Have a good day/night.
Ciao dearest Emma @emma-h ! What a beautiful and thoughtful article,(and beautiful drawing of course) - thank you so much for sharing your process with us - and I hope very much that you are feeling perky again!
I really appreciate you contributing so meaningfully to our new Art. community - it gives me hope that we can bring some deeper perspectives on Art., health, freedom and sovereignty to the Hive!
And yes, mmmmmm stationary shops are one of my favourite kinds of place to splash out... too many useful things to get creative with... but I haven't been to a large stationary store in a long time, what with living in a small rural town...
Big LOVE to you xx
Thank you Clare, it's a work in progress. I'll post the finished piece when it's done, I've so enjoyed it. Thank you for the get well wishes, I appreciate them. I'll get better, nothing keeps me down for long before I kick it and carry on going. There's a warrior in each of us for moments exactly like this 😉
I love your community, it has the right intention behind it, to be able to create from within without fearing judgement, but for the love of the universal creative spirit.
You must really treasure those times when you do get to visit stationary stores, I can just imagine how exciting it must be.
Big hugs and love to you too. Have a splendid day my friend 💙
Yes! Getting 'better' is a gorgeous process: I spent numerous hours as a teenager just observing flowers and leaves, and perfecting my capacity both to see and to respond in pencil and oil pastel and paint... It was such a meditative process, and so healing and calming, like you mention - and at the end of it, I had incredible drawings to show!
It is so satisfying to delve deep into this learning process - which really is, like you say - our connecting with Source, and accesssing all this potential inside of ourselves, that is not obvious to us in the mainstream everyday: it becomes so obvious when we sit and draw for long periods, though!
Re-enlivening all the microcosmic orbits!!
I am so glad you are here in this community, too!
That's definitely me..it just seems so impossible to pick just the thing you came for. I had to start giving someone the money to buy it for me instead because I'll start impulsively buying.
As for the background, I'm thinking a concept of a spoon in an sparkling sea or something, then some gorgeous scape overhead.
I'm not so much of an artist apart from calligraphy and making detailed doodles on my journal.(which I'm not conscious of most times.)
Lol, it's hard isn't it? There is always something else that catches my eye. Impulse buying is real.
I like your idea for the background. I'll get creative with it. Thanks for the idea!!
You do calligraphy? That's fantastic. Have you posted any here before? Please link posts! I used to doodle a lot while talking on the phone, it's wonderful for your mind.
You're welcome. I'd love to see it when you're done.🤗
And no, I haven't posted any of my calligraphy or doodles. It is indeed wonderful for the mind. But I end of designing something bizarre or even worse....a person's name.😂
Hi Treasure
You should totally post your calligraphy, I for one would enjoy seeing it. There's nothing wrong with bizarre and I'm sure that every gal has doodled someone's name before, I did that in my teens 😁
I might post the painting when it's done, I went with water from your idea, but it's slightly different, so thanks for the suggestion. I'm still working on it. Have a good day 🍁
Oh... someone has searched my name out!😅
Sorry for the late reply. I hope you're doing alright. I could just take you up on that suggestion and post it.
I'm looking forward to seeing the painting when it's done. Sure it will be a beautiful sight to behold.🤗
You are such an amazing talent and so patient. Your kitty seems to love the work as well. He appreciates the detail as much as I do. Especially in the patina and the shading. Regarding the possible background, I don't have a good imagination so I will leave that to those with better visualization.
Thanks for the kind words Joe, I appreciate it. Yes, my kitty is a sweetheart. Snuggles with me every night. The patina is something I love about silver, it gets such character. I found a beautifully patina'd ring a few days ago that I'm hoping to buy, just because it's not super shiny. I'm weird like that 🤣
I think you have a good imagination, but we'll see what it ends up looking like. It might work, it might not, but my art teacher always used to tell me there are no mistakes in art, just happy accidents. Thanks for taking the time to read. Have a lovely day.
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