Chipmunks and COVID

My last blog post was before COVID19 rolled into town. So many things happening around the world; my heart is breaking for all the lives we have lost to the pandemic already and for those who will still lose their lives in the coming days, weeks, and months. My heart is hurting for George Floyd and his family and I am doing all I can to read and learn and try to be a better human. Counting my blessings each and every day and so thankful that my little family has so far been healthy. Creatively speaking, this has been an exceptionally hard time. This chipmunk didn't even hit my sketchbook until early July. It has been hard to draw, hard to think, and I am giving myself a break and trying not to put extra pressure on myself because it is all just too much. Spending time outside helps. Knitting helps. I'm not sure if anyone even reads blogs anymore... If you are reading this, I hope it finds you healthy and safe. Take good care of yourself. Be well. xoxoxo

Foxes and Carving Soap

This sketch is drawn from a few different photo references. I tried to get all of the proportions as correct as I could. I would love to draw creatures just as they are in the natural world, but I have so far been unable to create beautifully rendered realistic art. What I picture on the paper and what actually happens on paper are two different things, but I think one informs the other.

When I was in jr. high, we were given a knife and a bar of soap to carve (seems a bit devil-may-care on the teacher's part now that I think about it). I had such grand plans to carve an exquisite horse (or unicorn or pegasus) and I just ended up with smaller chunks of soap... That was such a great lesson for me and I still think of it often when I draw. I rarely get things to turn out on paper the exact way I hope they will and I am ok with it.

What I am trying to say is that if you try to draw a real gnu and end up with something that looks like this; it's all good.