8/21/21 plum on our neighbors' tree
It’s a lazy Saturday afternoon. Between our yards, our
neighbors to the west have a plum tree now heavy with ripe fruit. For a while,
the purple plums were too high for me to sketch, but I’ve spotted a few next to
the fence that I can see easily. As I sketch, a Steller’s jay quietly watches from our nearby lilac tree, waiting for me to put out peanuts.
To the north, another neighbor is out on his deck painting a birdhouse. To the east, four children chatter and giggle on the patio, all masked (one is a visitor).
Meanwhile, in another part of the world, terrified people fear starvation, chaos and death every day, while in our own country, another kind of senseless, easily preventable death occurs regularly. Here in Maple Leaf, though, my only problem is trying to render the bloom on the plum’s surface that dulls the deep purple-red underneath. Or at least I can pretend it is for the duration of the sketch.
After I finish, I put out peanuts for the jays.
Sketching gives me a mental break, especially useful during these crazy, sad times!
ReplyDeleteI agree with Cathy that we can usually count on sketching to give us a mental break from a lot of the insanity in the world that is out of our control. I am so grateful that we have that.
ReplyDeleteCathy and Joan -- yes, sketching is definitely a soothing break we all need!
ReplyDeleteYour post speaks about 'where I am', the luxury of thinking about pencils, journal sketching and being useful to a few folks as well as my tiny terrified (of everything, it seems) tiny black rescue dog! In the past year, I've shared your posts with a number of friends who are delighted with them. Today's is especially on target. You should be happy to know that one family has begun sketching! After protesting of never thinking they could! Success comes in the trying and giving oneself a chance. Again, many thanks for this plum meditation! I will return to it to share as the heartbreak days roll by.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comments... I'm happy to hear that other people are inspired to find solace in art, too.
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