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Sometimes art calls to me. In times when I overthink things, when there are more questions than answers and I need a time out, there are two "go-to's" that I choose between ~ sketching and walking/hiking.
The weather has been miserable the last few days, it's been overcast and rainy. The wind has been exceptionally cold and I've been hermitting through a lot of it. I've been struggling with a bout of flu to top it off.
Taking out my pencil case and paper, I realised that both of my clutch pencils didn't have lead, but I found a piece about 2cm long that I used for this sketch, it was enough. I tend to try stay away from stationery shops as long as I possibly because I know I won't leave with just one thing. Who has this same problem?
This is a silver sugar spoon that I bought simply because it is beautiful, ornate and I've never seen one like this before. It's got hallmarks but I haven't looked them up. I love this spoon for it's flowing design and intricate details, not only because of how old it is.
My mind was full of things so I wasn't paying that much attention when I started with the handle, you can see how many squiggly lines I drew. My mind wasn't on the sketch yet, but I let it flow, my movements slowed down and I started to transition from everything I was thinking to everything I was seeing and drawing instead. My focus shifted bit by bit. It was wonderful because within an hour, my spirits had lifted and I was concentrating on the fine details, the patina on the metal and the shine on the different raised sections of the swirls and little flower petals. The drawing isn't true to life and if you look clearly you'll see that I missed some details on the right hand side and the bottom left is a bit wonky. I don't mind though, I never strive for perfection.
The sketch started to develop into a more 3D version when I started shading. The shading is my favourite part but it also takes the longest. When I was in school, I remember shading sketches after school ended and feeling so calm afterwards. My art teacher was always amazed at my shading because she told me she never had the patience for it. She preferred to paint, but she would often give me different assignments in class to others because she knew that pencil work was my biggest strength. I still, to this day can't paint to save my life, but I try every now and then.
I had to get some sleep so I left the rest for yesterday.
I then had to tidy up the squiggles on the handle and put in some shading there too. You can see how different the lighting was between the night (artificial lighting) and the morning (sunlight) casting a much deeper shadow but bringing up the shine on the metal nicely.
I have no idea what I'm going to do with the background of this sketch, I might try a completely different style to contrast with the spoon. Maybe I'll paint it? Ultimately I wanted to transfer something onto paper and it felt nice to relax a little through art. My kitty got many head scratches through the process too, so I think she was happy as well.
Got ideas for me for the background? Let me know in the comments, I'd love to hear them. When was the last time you used art to transform your thoughts and feelings?