Day 7: Burnt Sienna

I was at an a Capella conference with my sister at UCLA today, and I was sitting in one of the workshops while I drew this. The other drawings so far have been very abstract, and I felt like creating a more representational piece. I almost always draw while I am in a class (I have been doing that since, well, since I have been taking classes - 3 years old). I often draw figures while in a class.

I think this dancer came out because I was attending a class on something which I know very little (music), but it is not so dynamic to draw a singer as it is to draw a dancer. I know even less about the world of dancing. I used to draw musicians a lot when I first started dating my husband and he was working as a professional musician where I sat through many many gigs by myself as a groupie.

The floor tiles became a little obsessive, but my mind likes that while I am listening to a lecture. I believe that the only reason that this dancer is naked is because I prefer to draw the body than to draw clothes. I realize that this lights in this drawing look like breasts, but I was copying the actual lights in the class room. However, this particular teacher was very pregnant and her breasts were huge, and I remember thinking that at the time. There are no accidents in art.

I used new technique with the crayon - I drew very heavy, and than I scratched out with my nail - muting most of the color, but leaving a darker outline. I like that affect (except for the crayon left under my nail).

Day 6: Spring Green

Sawyer, my daughter 15 year old, picker out this color. It was a difficult color because it is so light. I had a hard time getting much variation in tone until I started melting the crayon. (Amy, my sister, liked the smell of the melting crayon). About half way through I wished I had drawn on colored paper -I will do that for the next light color. Sawyer says this is her favorite drawing so far because there is so much going on and she wants to look at it all. This is my least favorite because there is so much going on - it feels chaotic and disjunct (have I said that about a previous drawing? Yes, I said that Blue Green was chaotic too). So far, with everyone of these drawings, I have not liked the drawing as I was creating it, but became attached and appreciative of its uniqueness after the fact. I need to stop being so quick to judge.

I started with the heart in the middle and everything grew out of that (I like the way that sounds metaphorically - "start with the heart and everything grows out of that"). I do like the combination of the organic and the architectural. For the past 16 years (from the time that Sawyer was born) I have really liked to draw stairs and ladders. They seems to be going somewhere - even if they're not. There is a scene in a 1953 musical fantasy film (5000 Fingers of Dr. T), by Theodor Seuss Geisel (aka Dr. Seuss), where the main character is running away from the bad guys, and he climbs up a huge ladder that goes nowhere - so he has to climb back down. I love that idea of the climb to nowhere. Its unexpected and nonsensical.

Maybe that is why I have always felt a deep connection to Dr. Seuss' drawings. I need to embrace my inner chaos and nonsense. This project so far has been great for forcing me to commit daily to something, and it has also ripped me out of my comfort zone (crayons have never been my medium of choice.)

Your thoughts?

Day 5: Cornflower

This drawing took about an hour - longer than the other drawings so far. This is also the first time that I was not alone in the room while I drew - I was talking with my sister, Amy, who is visiting from Marblehead, MA.

Since this crayon is called "Cornflower" I felt, at first, that I needed to draw a flower. That is how it started out, but I was quickly disappointed with what was evolving. This drawing kept changing as I drew one thing, drew over that, scratched out and redrew. I tried using different pressures to create several shades and multiple lines and shapes (IE circles, straight lines and squiggles).

It no longer looks like a flower, but I want to deny that it looks like a lion or dog face, but it does - I have to admit that out loud. Now that I am looking at it, I think it is kind of sweet as a lion-face. In fact, if I were to draw my family as animals (which is an assignment that I often give to my clients) I would draw my sister as a lion. She has long, red, curly hair - like a mane. So, I guess this drawing is an abstract interpretation of my sister. I will title "Amy in Blue".

Day 4: Carnation Pink

This color felt yummy, like cotton candy or bubblegum ice cream (not that I like bubblegum ice cream, but it is definitely childhood yummy). These shapes seem light and airy and floating - there is a lot of movement. Most of the shapes are clustered together, while just four seem to be escaping.

This is the first drawing that is horizontal - it needed to spread out. Expand.

My interpretation: I am in a place in my life right now where I feel more independence. My teenage daughters are moving out in their own directions, and I have more time to focus on me and my passions (like when I was in my twenties). "Me" is taking up more space in my world and I am moving out in new directions. This is exciting and new (and yummy). Even child-like.

Day 3: Orange

This started out with the dark center line- which was originally supposed to be grass-like, but now it feels more like an EKG (a life line). There seems to be mountains that are growing up and out of that lifeline - moving upward. Underneath I interpret this as multiple layers of Earth - very subterranean and/or tunnels.

Near the end, I was pressing really hard with the crayon to get the darker orange color, and the crayon broke. So I removed the wrapper from one half and spun it on its side to create the half circles - which now look very celestial - sun and moon like.

I am interpreting this as if there are many layers in my world - things that may still be unseen below the surface. I am feeling as if I need to start digging deeper to get to something new - get passed the superficial.

This feels a lot more positive than yesterday, and even inspirational.

Day 2: Blue Green

I wanted to use the crayon in a different way, so I decided to melt it. I was getting frustrated because the candle wax was mixing with the crayon wax and I had some difficulty getting the paper wrapper off. Once I decided to embrace the elements that I was trying to avoid (the wrapper and the candle wax), the whole picture started to come together. Once I had melted about 3/4 of the crayon, I blew out the candle and reverted to using the crayon in it's traditional way.

I do not like this drawing. I feels forced and contrived. I feels confused and disjunct.

Usually "Blue Green" would be a calming color for me, but not today. It is early morning, and I feel as if I am in a rush. Also, my 15 year old daughter is ill today and is staying home from school. She has been sick for the past two weeks, and she was getting better, but there seems to have been a relapse. I am frustrated and confused as to how to care for her. That is why this drawing reflects those feelings.

If I learn from this drawing, it may be to allow the outside elements to contribute to the whole picture. Maybe my vision is too myopic right now. I have to include things that I thought were trash and needed to be discarded.

Your thoughts are welcome and encouraged!

Day 1: Red Violet

This drawing seemed to evolve out of the color. It feels very organic, but almost in the opposite color than I would expect it to be. I've always thought of "Red Violet" as a Victorian and uptight color. This does not feel like that.

I am open to your interpretations. And I am curious to see if others want to draw their own picture with a "Red Violet" crayon.

Crayon has never been my favorite medium. I am going to have to explore unconventional ways to use this art material. Any suggestions?