Two Halves

Here are two drawings in progress, that I'm stalling on, and hoping to boost my motivation by sharing. The wedding picture is cracking me up, and is for a co-worker, who has wooed my heart with her sexed-up-soccer-mom ways. Plus, she is a huge part of why I can cook now. Ordinarily, I never, ever do commissions, except for the occasional mural. I love to make art for other people, but I don't take money, and I don't draw images from other people's heads. The conversation intro of "you draw, right?" is usually followed by a yellowed photograph emerging from someone's pocket, in hopes that I can recreate it into something that doesn't require a magnifying glass to comprehend. When I balk, the reply, is "but I'll pay you," to which I say then Hell No. See, when someone asks me to paint a vision from their head, it can only look like my interpretation of that vision. That can disappoint. When you add money into the mix, the pressure of matching visions escalates and skews the entire process. I feel guilty if I disappoint, and the fun is gone. So, I had to laugh when this lovely woman produced this blurred image from her pocket for me to reproduce. I refused her money, firmly planted the word "interpretive" in her head, and said yes. Because I like her that much. Now, it's close to complete, and I fear it's muddiness. I fear the tree on the left, and I'm not sure of the mountainous forest in the background. I'm never unsure of my own visions, this is what happens. Let's not gloss over the psychobabble angle of drawing a wedding picture from a fresh divorce standpoint either. My dear-pain-in-the-ass co-worker suggested I think of this as therapy and pay her. I admit, she has a point. But, although it's a bittersweet project, I'm still a Pollyanna romantic, and the springtime happy image makes me smile. I just hope I don't regret my choice of watercolors, because they sure muddy up in an unskilled hand.

Next, half a lizard. The endangered chicken-foot lizard. He's just hanging out, wondering if anyone will ever finish him. Trouble is, there is a burning building on the flip-side that is slightly more demanding.