Sketchbook 10.31.16

Scum off the top. That's what my artist friend Annette calls it, the work that one creates after a hiatus from one's regular art practice. Just like a sedentary body will experience aches and pains when returning to regular exercise, the unused artist muscle has to be re-trained. And the aches and pains are the scum off the top; the initial, clumsy works that must be slogged through to get to the good stuff.

While I recognize the need to re-train my hand-eye connection and ability to draw from life - to realize the textile works (like this one) that live in my imagination - I'm starting smaller. I haven't drawn since 1992. I'm not quite up to the intense exercise regimen required to regain my ability to draw. Instead, I'm easing into art exercise slowly by re-training my photographic eye and learning to adjust from film to digital. It's not going to hurt as much as re-learning to draw and positive results will be quicker to achieve. I'm going to need the positive reinforcement to get me through the scum off the top of drawing, folks.