A Pause in the River

6/3/24 Wedgwood neighborhood

After several days of hard rain and wind (enough to cause power outages, flooding and fallen trees in some areas), we got a break on Monday. Still, it was windy enough that when I got out of my car to sketch, a gust nearly took my little sketchbook out of my hand! I decided to sketch from inside my car instead. All of these were made from the same parking spot, one after the other.

Comparing the comics-like page above to the one-off sketch below, I’m pleased with the way the comics tell a more complete story of a sunny but blustery morning in the Wedgwood neighborhood, especially with the addition of the haiku. The one-off sketch is really no different in terms of content or style, but its story feels lacking.

5/20/24 Green Lake neighborhood

It’s much harder now to go back to making the one-offs that I used to do so regularly before – I feel compelled to look around and find one or two more sketches that could complete the story better. I think one definition of a creative breakthrough is when it’s no longer possible to go back to an old way of doing something because my thinking has changed in some fundamental way. I think the last time that happened was during Ian Roberts’ 30-day composition challenge a couple of years ago, which changed the way I see. The overall goal of my creative life is for things like this to happen, so I’m thrilled when it finally does!