Saturday, June 27, 2009

Trees Don't Move

They just won't stay still, will they? If it's not a hand, it's a head. If it's not their legs, it's their arms.

Or they'll leave. They'll just leave! Then what? What do you do with that half-drawn nose on the blank page? What then, huh?

The nerve of people.












Why can't they just stay put?








Now trees, that's another matter. Trees are calm. Trees have dignity. Trees are patient, and they'll pose for me.

So let's salute our friends the trees, who are there when the people fail us.



Upper right gentleman with Pilot Precise V5; all other drawings: Lamy Safari with Noodlers ink, the last two with watercolors, in a Moleskine

12 comments:

  1. Well you managed to catch a pretty good sketch of her and of the tree well done.

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  2. Too true! Shame trees dont interest me as much as people though. Great studies of both! Cant believe our blogs are so similar :P

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  3. You did a great job with both! I understand your frustration with drawing people and also appreciate the patience of trees.

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  4. Very nice, I understand about things not staying!!!! Even my dog moves away whenever I try to draw him!!!!

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  5. Sorry Dan...Hunter is actually my son, I left my power cord plugged into the 5th wheel over 200 miles away so I'm on my son's laptop and for some reason although I'm logged in, it his showing him on blogger. lphopkins2002 and peachtreedart on blogger...:())

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  6. You're doing pretty well even with them moving, these are great!

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  7. Really lovely expressions of the people. And I really like the cartoon feel of the tree...makes me totally happy!

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  8. Hey Dan... Thanks for the bit of warmth you spread last week, it helped a lot... the sun is shining as I type!! Love the drawings...know the feeling when they move just as you are getting into the drawing...but I have to say it's the movement that keeps me drawing people instead of trees!!

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  9. I know what you're talking about - you start to draw someone who's been immobile for at least 10 minutes and they immediately get up and move! You do a wonderful job anyway!

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  10. I agree with Hunter, or lphopkins! I try to draw the cat, who sleeps all day long, but I swear he feels my eyes on him, wakes up and walks away!

    These are great. I especially love the hands at the top!

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  11. Finally! I got around to adding your rss feed to my reader. About time.

    Tress are so interesting. They are almost human in their individuality and sensuality (all those curves and knots and leaves and other goodness) - they may not have emotion themselves but they never fail to evoke emotions that parallel the seasons and our seasons of life. Yes, it is handy that they stay put and in that they are totally unlike we humans.

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  12. Thank you everyone - I am so glad to hear the shared experiences. Your feedback means so much to me. My post was not to gripe - really - I wanted to write in a humourous way about the challenge of people moving. Like Sarah, I love drawing people much more than trees. That will probably always be true. But as Owen says, trees certainly seem to have personality too.

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