Thursday, August 1, 2019

thankful thursday



Well, here it is August.
My, my, my.

What does that remind me of?

I know! It's another #drawingAugust!


A jar of corks without the jar, 2014


I couldn't remember when I first joined this informal twitterfest of shared artwork...
was it three years ago? four?...so I searched my own blog. (Very handy.)


It was 2014. Yikes! This will be my 6th year.


This post describes what Drawing August is about: fun and sharing and encouraging others and possibly even making artsy friends from around the world. Back in 2014 there was an actual sign-up list of participants. Each year the number has grown, and now a few people post reminders that August is coming up, and then it's just "try to do a drawing each day, and post a picture with the hashtag so everyone can see them all." In other words, an informal international event has become even more informal as it has grown larger - how often does that happen?


by the millstream with Piper, 2015


Each year I have had Very Good Company on my outdoor sketching adventures.

at the pond with Piper, 2016 (in progress)



I hope the heat, humidity, and biting bugs will lighten up
so Piper and I can head out to the woods this month.

At the pond with Piper, 2016 


For four years, my number of August drawings varied quite a bit.
I never made a full 31, and it didn't matter a bit.
It was still fun, and still interesting to see everyone else's work.


Missing the Sea, 2017



And then, January 2018 rolled around.
In a moment of optimism with no apparent foundation in reality,
I decided to attempt not one month of daily sketching, 
but one year of daily markmaking.

Iris, 2018


And to my astonishment, I did it. And am still doing it. Today was day #578.

Here's a thing I'm going to say to anyone who feels even a tiny urge to do #drawingAugust 2019:

if you do 10 or 12 sketches in a month,
you are bound to to be pleased with at least a few of them.
Which is a lovely feeling!
Why not give it a go?

I never imagined that the time spent sketching something - anything - every day
would become a peaceful harbor for my mind and spirit.
But there it is.

Moxie, 2018


I sometimes wonder if I post too many daily markmakings here on the blog,
and if you are getting tired of them.
I hope you haven't.
I hope you won't.

Because just as I am thankful for Jean Stevens,
the wonderful printmaker who encouraged me to give it a go in 2014,
and for the camaraderie of twitter's #drawingAugust folk,
I am thankful for you, my blog readers, who have responded so kindly
through comments or emails or even mail with a stamp.

Thank you. So much.
~~~~~