Art Disrupts Life

Phin and I have been taking drawing lessons for the past several weeks.  It is not going well.  Certain skills required to capture an image into a life-like drawing seem to be missing.  The week before we had to sketch horses - a different blog post for another time.  This lesson was another animal, one of our choice.  After a woeful attempt at a penguin, the instructor, a kind-hearted soul, demoted me to trees.  The scribbles that made up this particular tree were a welcome relief and a bit therapeutic after my artistic disappointments.  Below I present Exhibit A - Generic Tree:

The instructor declared that this tree, more like a shrub, had good shape.  Along with this first piece of encouragement, he said,  "Make sure you pay attention to the lines that should be dark and the lines that are lighter.  You can squint your eyes and see how the dark lines interact in an image."  I squinted and began to re-draw.  When I fully opened my eyes, the shrub had been transformed into a Shrub Monster!!!!!  Vines had become tails, and various leafy bulges had become appendages!  Apparently the Shrub Monster had been hiding in my sketch just waiting for the right moment to pop onto my page.  Although he endeavored to be fierce, the Shrub Monster was not scary.  I had to laugh and share his visit with Phin.  

As trees are not usually humorous, the instructor came to see what was causing our mirth.  When he saw the Shrub Monster, he shook his head in resignation and said, "Realism is not really your strong point, is it?"  It has become quite clear, both to me and the instructor, that this art class is not the place for me.  However, two days later, I saw something on my car that makes me question his take on my reality.  The Shrub Monster, not content to stay in my sketch book, had danced on the hood of my car.  Apparently, his leaves had turned vibrant colors and he just had to frolic.  

The Shrub Monster is now gone no matter how hard I squint my eyes.  His muddy leaf prints are still there to  illustrate the energizing mystique of the Fall Season, and serve as a reminder that being artistic is more than being able to draw realistically.