Stuffed Animals

Another drawing expedition with another friend!  This time we partied at the WA Museum, which is FREE.  I must say it was a very pleasant way to spend the afternoon: good company, good pencils and dozens of small children running around the biggest still life setup you could ask for.

I remember museums being eerie, muffled spaces with static animals watching you from every corner. It took so long for me to get back there and over-write those impressions.  The lighting is dim and the walls are sound-proofed; once you enter the space, your senses take time to adjust from the bright, echoing foyer. I found this affected my drawing; I wanted to spend longer on each drawing, relaxing into a rhythm, just drawing for the sake of feeling the pencil against the paper. I used a H conte pencil.. took a while to warm up and find what kind of marks it was good for, but perseverance is rewarding.

Drawing at public displays is extremely good for developing your concentration. People are watching you and you have to ignore them to a large extent. As you learn to acknowledge and engage your audience in a relaxed manner, you really appreciate how encouraging it is for people to watch you developing a skill that is becoming less and less common. I love it when kids tell me how they draw all the time, and when parents say "see, keep practicing and you'll be that good." People need more ways to express themselves, the more languages you feel comfortable with, the better.