Light

Sherrie McGraw pointed out that there are drawing drawings and there are painting drawings. Painting drawings are what I've been doing the last couple of days. That means putting masses of dark and light next to each other to create form. Drawing drawings create form using only line. I'll try to do one tomorrow to show what that means.

Sherrie McGraw's drawing class was excellent, I can highly recommend it to anyone considering studying with her. Often, art instruction suggests to "Just draw what you see". Sherrie's instruction is different, she emphasizes using line to convey only relevant information. She says "Don't copy, understand." Understanding what makes an image come alive on a page is the difference between a drawing and a rendering.

Waiting

For this one I rubbed powdered graphite and charcoal into the paper, then carved out the lights and darks. A student at Studio Incamminati showed me this technique. I loved Studio Incamminati and have been daydreaming about the day I can go back again. I will share more details as soon as I get the chance, if that day ever comes!

I was thinking about the bosatsu, and how their deep compassion allows them to postpone their own nirvana in order to guide every living being toward enlightenment. It just seems like they will have to wait a damn long time. I guess when you're enlightened though, you're not waiting for anything because you're already there.