More Hope

 

A year ago, experts wondered whether a vaccine could even be developed within 12 to 18 months, let alone distributed. This week aggressive production has led President Biden to say, “We’re now on track to have enough vaccine supply for every adult in America by the end of May.” I have doubts about whether those vaccine doses will make it into the arms of all adult Americans in the same timeframe, but that news still makes me hopeful and optimistic. Despite the many setbacks we’ve had in fighting this pandemic, vaccine development is one area that has been amazingly rapid. If production and distribution continue apace, perhaps I can look forward to enjoying some part of the summer after all.

By “enjoying the summer,” I don’t mean traveling, partying or going into bars and restaurants. I long ago accepted that we will not be returning to the carefree, unmasked normalcy of 2019 for quite a while. But I do look forward to someday sketching at Gasworks Park or walking around Green Lake again without anxiety. If there’s one thing this pandemic has taught me, it’s never to take for granted the simple things I used to do so freely. So unthinkingly.

All my hand sketches have been about life size. I shook things up this week by working on scaling down – a continual challenge when I’m sketching on location. When I see a vast scene or building up close, I have difficulty getting it to fit on the page. The one-fourth scale I used was not easy (and some nearly fell off the page!). I like the way they look four-up, though. I’ll do this challenge again sometime.

Next up: white!