Living the Life of an Artist

It’s funny how I can look at a photograph and think, “Oh, this will make a great, easy drawing.” When I get into it, I realize it’s not so easy after all. The drawing refuses to look like the photo. I ask myself how I missed that mountain or tree. I stare at the photo for what feels like hours and my eyes will totally slide right past things and then when I start getting into the detail, I realize I did not put in background shading in a particular spot. At that moment, it is so glaring, that I feel stupid for not seeing it before.

Maybe it’s the drawing’s way of doing what IT wants. Maybe there’s some intuitive feelings coming through me that wants the drawing to be its own work and not be a copy of a photo. (Not that any of my drawings are ever really a copy of the photo.)