On mornings in the Great Smokey Mountains, the peaks hold the clouds.
Entries Tagged as 'watercolor'
Doing What Works
Tuesday, August 19, 2014
“When it’s over, I want to say: all my life
I was a bride married to amazement.”
—Mary Oliver, “When Death Comes,” New and Selected Poems
I realized again why I don’t like sketching or painting live on scene. When I’m amidst beauty, I can’t draw or paint it. I feel totally overwhelmed, any skill I have rendered useless. I admire other artists who can work on-scene, but that capacity did not come standard on my operating equipment.
I tried yesterday, sitting on a smooth rock in the middle of the rushing Pigeon River. A man was fly fishing upstream, and children were swimming and squealing in the far distance. Late afternoon light was filtering through the trees, dappling the clear water and river-bottom stones. I attempted to sketch, but I couldn’t communicate even the smallest bit of that beauty to the page. So I put away my journal and just sat, and watched, and eventually walked a ways.
When I got back to the cabin, though, I wanted to sketch. Then, making art felt as natural as emptying my pockets of acorns, seeds, and river rocks. Self-permission to discover and do what works for me is the best kind of freedom.