Bella in Repose

Bella is my daughter-in-law’s cat. Bella lives with my son, daughter-in-law, two children and one spoiled dog. Ginger, the dog, has free range of the house during the day; while Bella lays low & naps. Once Ginger is kenneled at bedtime and the house is quiet, Bella comes out to claim her kingdom. One of her favorite spots to keep an eye on things is in the great room (kitchen, dinning room & and more.). Each night Ginny, Bella’s guardian carefully puts out a folded quilt for her to recline on while reigning over in her kingdom. When I visit my son and his family, I often get up in the night to get a drink of water. I always find Bella there on her perch. She doesn’t seem at all that pleased to see me, but does tolerate my movements as long as I don’t try to get too chummy. I am always taken by her calm and yet authoritative air…thus the above drawing.

The above drawing helps me make an important point to all of those who love to create paintings. You can never practice your drawing skills enough. Regardless of choice of  painting style (representational, abstract, expressism, impressionism, etc), you are always in good stead if you can draw. Some beginning artists think that they can skip the drawing part and go straight to the “fun” part– Painting.  Often I hear, “I can’t draw” or “it is too hard”, I don’t like to draw”. Regardless of your reason, if you are serious about painting and for that matter sculpture, you should make yourself comfortable with a piece of paper and a pencil. I try to draw every day. Most of the time the drawings are quick notes, but occasionally I like to make a finished composition, like the one above of Bella.

When I am doing quick daily drawings, I don’t use an eraser. I use the pencil or pen in the fashion of  the lead/nib is stuck to the paper. Mostly I don’t pick up the pencil/pen as I quickly try to capture the essence of the scene, I use multiple lines and values to make the movement in the drawings. I have a sketch book that I keep nearby at all times, so that I can quickly take notes of scenes that interest me. Sometimes those scenes work their way into my paintings but the main purpose of the sketch book is to practice, practice, practice my drawing skills.

When I first started in art, I tried to skip the drawing part, but my instructors wouldn’t let me get by with that. I am really glad that they forced me to learn how to draw. The funny part of learning how to draw, if you take a vacation from it, you get rusty, but it is like anything else a little practice brings you right back to your skill level.