Life for me is only a series of high’s and lows, mostly low’s. I have had a good week, but after a while, my brain can’t take it anymore and I end up crashing into depression. I have always been that way. Even on anti-depressants, I am still suffering these unexpected low’s. I feel really good for a few days and then I wake up depressed, down and alone in my soul. Its tough but even if it is, I am not stopping to work hard on my art. It’s sometimes all that I feel I am good at and that brings me joy, even if it is just a bit in this sea of darkness I am in today.
Last night, I worked on a new drawing. It was not easy and it is not perfect (darn eyes!) but I am getting better at it. I do this freehand in a A6 sketchbook that I always carry with me with my mechanical pencil and kneadable eraser. It’s all I need outside of my studio. I have a kit of graphite that has everything from 10H to 12B, with blending stumps, makeup brushes, erasers of different sizes, shamoy and anything in between. It is huge and I leave it in my studio for my bigger work. But, when it comes to studies, a simple small sketchbook with a mechanical HB pencil and an eraswer and I am all set. But for me, used to using all those grades of pencils for 30 years makes it really hard to only use one, but trust me when I say it is a huge teaching moment to use only one. I actually have to learn to gage my pressure on the paper and it is far harder than one thinks after 30 years of doing it all differently, but it is a lesson that I deeply enjoy. I am starting to wonder how I will go back to my wood pencils when it will be time to work on a bigger drawing. I have no idea, but I do know that I will adapt and thrive in my art.
Until then, I do hope you like this study. See you next time.
©SHould Art 