Draw Through It

A little less then two weeks ago I picked up drawing again. It's an on again - off again hobby that spans my whole life. From the tiny two year old that drew yellow suns on yellow paper to today, with a few stops in between. Zach likes to draw too. When I go through a drawing phase he does as well. 

When I was in the 7th grade I was an artist for the school magazine. I drew pictures to go with stories and articles. I tended to draw pictures with a lot happening and a lot of detail. Only one in my memory got published. That May, (1994) part of a bigger picture was used for a summer story by ironically the kid who was always in the locker next to me because of our alphabetical order last names. I remember this because I keep remembering being asked to sign right under the picture of the kid reading leaning against a palm tree.

I didn't take art classes after 8th grade. I didn't really draw much in high school. I was too busy with school work and dancing. But, my senior year in college, drawing became homework for a dance class. 

There literally was a class labeled "Relaxation" required for my Dance Degree. It was about all sorts of relaxation methods meant to teach more about maintaining your body and mind. Dancing better requires the body to work properly. A stressed out mind effects the body. So, one homework assignment was to choose something relaxing. I tried drawing again, liked it, and did it for a while. 

But, life happened. I still have that sketch pad and look through it. But, a lot of other things took over. Until Zach was about 5 years old. He likes art and is good at it. When he was 5, in Kindergarten, he had artwork from school selected to be in a county display at a local mall. So, I started to draw pictures too. 

Most were of seasonal or month themes. But, I had a separate sketchbook for drawing pictures for Josh and Zach each night. Josh got funny ones like the running faucet with the comment, "gotta pee?" He also got ones to represent shows we watch together. Zach got favorite characters and superhero logos. I would be doing that late at night after they both were in bed. I used to leave them out to be discovered the next day. A pace I was never going to keep up. 

But, lately, before the state "stay home" order, I was in the mood to draw again. I had started March making new monthly word search puzzles. But, what to do for the seasonal puzzles? I had toyed with the idea of a hidden pictures. But, I would have to draw them. After making those puzzles, I kept drawing!

While looking through the old pictures I drew when Zach was 5 I realized something. There is perfection in the imperfection of art. I have always been a realist. I prefer paintings and drawing to look as much like the real thing as possible. So, when there is an imperfection in my drawings, I used to get frustrated and think they weren't good. 

But, the real versions of things are imperfect. I can try to draw a perfect flower. But, the petals aren't all the same on real flowers. Life in general is imperfect and that is what is so perfect about it. I appreciate my drawings more knowing that.

So, tonight, I share with you a drawing I made while Zach has been home from school. It's a hobby I encourage as we all around the world are stuck at home looking for variety to our activities. Family "drawing sessions" work too. Everyone can grab paper. Put communal colored pencils or crayons in the center of the table. Just draw.