I am always impressed by anyone who can just pick up a pen and draw a picture. Sometimes I mistakenly think I have this talent. I’ll look at something — like one of my cats — and I’ll say, “Hey, Rooster (my elderly orange cat-boy), hold that pose while I dash out a quick (but first-rate!) drawing.” This happens when my brain tricks me into believing I’m something of a Vincent Van Gogh. Then I look down at my “picture” and immediately feel the sting of presumptuousness. I console myself by saying, “Well, I may not be an artist, but at least I still have both of my ears.” It’s always important to look for the silver lining, right?
Perhaps doodling is a better description for my feeble forays into artistic genius. Doodlers know that making squiggles and scribbles on a note pad boosts the brain’s thinking capacity — especially during interminable meetings. What I would like to be able to do is to doodle everyday, physical objects in addition to my nonsensical swirls. Right now my go-to doodle is a circle with a group of lines radiating outwards — kind of like the Zia Sun symbol found on the flag of New Mexico. (Permit me a brief aside: I wonder if there are interpretations for doodles like there are for dreams? It’s possible I’ve just stumbled across the next big thing. I just ask for a little bit of credit if you decide to run with this idea.)
Native American sun symbols are fine and dandy, but I’m craving a tad more substance in my artistic efforts. So, how to go about learning how to draw an ant, or, let’s say, a tomato? Once again my quest for knowledge takes me to the library. And, once again, the resolution comes in the form of a book: in this case, Sachiko Umoto’s decidedly charming guide to illustration “Let’s Draw Plants and Small Creatures.”
I really like how Umoto starts her book: “They say that ‘learning begins by imitating,’ so I have filled this book with a lot of illustrations that you can draw by copying.” Already I know this book is for me because I’m a quick study when it comes to copying! She also takes the pressure off of budding artists by counseling us to “work at (our) own pace, when (we) want, where (we) want.” And that’s not all: she encourages singing while drawing — tra-la-la!
