In His Own Words

I drew this several days ago and added lots of quotes from President Trump since the virus came to the USA. Or at least since we've known it's here. I try to always listen to him whenever he speaks, hard as it is with his rambling style, because I can decide what I think instead of relying on a recap by the news.  As much as he complains about the press, all of the press actually makes him sound more concise in their effort to distill the main points of his speech.

When I draw political or religious or social leaders, I like to put their words around them rather than my opinion, though on some pages when I'm trying to sort something out, I might journal in written form about what's going on in the news.

This is not a political blog, but journaling is about recording life, and politics is part of that, for better and for worse. So, even if you don't agree with my take on something, it's no matter....do pages with your take. That's what journaling is all about.

Yard work while sheltering..

A couple of days ago, it rained all day, then two days of sun,and my lawn grew a foot! Usually I barely have time to mow my yard during the months the shop is open. But now, even with making masks, I can take a break and mow and plant some little marigolds I picked up. The reason we are all locked down is very serious, but I think it's wise to try and notice and appreciate the way we are slowed down, and what good things it adds, as well as the losses.  I'm trying to learn the lessons in all of it.

Lately, I've been drawing from life more, in the spirit of urban sketching. But now I'm kind of combining drawing from life and drawing from photos, because I want to include myself in the drawing. Sometimes I find a photo reference, like I found a picture of a woman mowing the lawn, and as I was drawing her I made her more curvy like me,  gave her shaggy hair like mine, and made the lawn mower look more like mine. Then I drew my yard around her/me. It's pretty much an experiment. I guess I could take pictures of myself, but that would be complicated and I'd probably never do the drawing if I had to do all of that.

Masks in my Covid19 Journal

I have been spending a lot of time at my sewing machine making masks. I stated out making them for my SO's daughter who is a nurse, and it's taken on a life of it's own since then. Today I ran out of elastic again, but I have a spool that is supposed to arrive tomorrow, so I can continue filling orders. I drew this tonight, from a photo I took of myself when I was trying one on and figuring out how to make them. I tweaked it so it was comfortable and easy to breathe through. The original pattern is free at https://www.craftpassion.com/ , but now I make them a little bit differently even though I still use her pattern.

And here is a gem by Shel Silverstein...about a different kind of mask: