The artists of being alive

And yet, I know artists whose medium is Life itself, and who express the inexpressible without brush, pencil, chisel, or guitar. They neither paint nor dance. Their medium is Being. Whatever their hand touches has increased Life. They see and don't have to draw. They are the artists of being alive.
"The Zen of Seeing: Seeing/Drawing as Meditation" by Frederick Franck

Begin it now

This is the quote that my sister-in-law shared with me in Cape Town:

Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back… Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth that ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come this way. Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now.
Goethe.

Is there something you want to begin today? I want to re-start drawing daily, because it is one of the most enjoyable things that I can imagine doing. Since I struggle to find time to do things that are purely for myself, I may have to be a bit more accepting about the amount and the type of drawing that gets done everyday. Today it was the face painting.

Starting again

I'm trying to get back to drawing everyday. I know that eventually I'll want to draw everything: I'll see interesting lines, combination of objects, unusual angles everywhere. But for now the hardest thing is choosing something to draw. So to prevent my indecision from sabotaging my resolution I printed out Every Day Matters challenge list, but to make it even easier for myself I'm starting with watching Channel 4's Life Class: Today's N*de and drawing with the great artists.

Days without naps

I drew this sketch back when I was drawing everyday. I’m glad I did, as it helps me to remember the exact way she looked while sleeping at that age. So many moments fly away too quickly to be savoured and remembered.

She no longer naps, I no longer draw. There are advantages to the days unbroken by naps, but I’m still too new to this stage to savour them fully. She wakes up so early, we enjoy the day, she falls asleep also earlier than before. However, as morning person myself, after the fullness of the day I feel stuck in the dim fog. What were those brilliant ideas I thought up in the morning? Why was I excited about all the little things I noticed throughout the day? What did I want to share with you? Too tired and lost I start doing whatever happens to pop into my mind first. I used to wake up before everyone else to plan my day, to assign priorities, to choose few tasks to start or even to get done. Without the morning planning I feel that my life and my surroundings are too cluttered. I wish to step outside the front door, to hide away from my own life. Yet I know that I will adjust, I will figure out a way to simplify, to plan, to keep the excitement, to dream. I just need to give myself enough time to puzzle out this new shifted landscape of my life.