It’s been quite a long time since I picked up a pencil. Over the past year, I’ve moved out of the city of Philadelphia to a suburb across the river in New Jersey, about 30 minutes away from my usual places of inspiration for drawing. That, coupled with the strange feeling of suspended animation, with life teetering between “back to normal” and “the new normal” due to COVID, there hasn’t been much opportunity or, quite frankly, motivation to do any art-making. After the sculpture class I attended a few months ago, there has pretty much been a dry spell in my artistic well.
But, thanks to the inspiration from a dear friend on the other side of the world, who has reignited my creative fire with our shared love of poetry, art, music, and all things creative, today we met via Zoom to draw together from a photo reference. I can’t adequately describe how wonderful it was to sit in silence in the company of a kindred spirit, concentrating on the same task, occasionally offering gentle words of encouragement or a small respite of conversation or laughter. It was a joyous experience that reminded me how much I love drawing and creating. The Philadelphia Sketch Club, a historic club that still exists in Philadelphia claims to be America’s oldest artist club, has a historical marker outside their building which states that the artists who founded the club in 1860 “found that social interaction enhanced the creation and appreciation of art.” That social interaction is what I’ve been missing these past few months, and it has noticeably impacted my artistic output.
My sincerest thanks to my dearest friend Magda in Poland for the inspiration and encouragement. I hope we get to do this much more often. The result of the session was the drawing in this post, “Kendell,” my first expression study and the first head or bust portrait that I’ve tried in a very long time. As with all things in my creative sphere, I have a lot to learn and refine, but I am looking forward to the journey again.
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