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Because I also have a job this drawing is taking longer to finish.
The main reason I prefer cats over dogs is because much like myself, cats won't tolerate your bullshit. Dogs will. I just witnessed yet another dog bowing down to his master while being dragged by the collar and yelled at. That is the real reason men who do, hate cats, and me. I won't tolerate it. Here in the Las Vegas sweltering 113 degree summer heat, I see so many dogs being dragged on boiling hot concrete and metal escalators by their uncaring humans, burning the fur and flesh off their dog's paws without a grain of concern for the dog, but the dog always takes it. No fight in the subservient animal whatsoever. Men like that. Women are just stupid. But men like to see the hurt in a dog's eyes. They like things that bow and don't fight back. The bigger the subservient dog, the more he feels like a man. I see animal abuse repeatedly in Los Angeles, and Las Vegas. Pathetic.
Miso kitty cat, reminds me of Simone, of E. Gordon, my dad, Rick, Dod, Byron, my beloved childhood friends. He is an abandoned stray who belongs nowhere and everywhere. Loved by none and by only those who matter. I would take Miso away from here, away to where the fish and firewood are plenty, the weather always comfortable, and to where nothing and no one would ever disturb our peace.
Miso is a smart cat. He'll eat until his tummy is full in my apartment, then he goes next door and naps over there, then goes across the street and climbs his favorite tree. So spoiled is this beautiful kitty even the little neighbor girl wedged a nice cushy barstool against the tree, about two months ago, so Miso has less of a jump up and down from the first tree branch. All little girls should have a cat to love. Smart kitty. He knows how to get what he wants. Meanwhile, in the empty yard across the street, this man is dragging his bulldog by the leash. He dragged his dog across the entire parking lot size yard, and then continued to drag the poor dog by it's neck across the hard gravel street, the dog's paws dragging behind him. And as he dragged his dog he screaming at the poor creature at the top of his lungs. The man screamed so loud he was incoherent. And should this dog ever fight back one day, society will put this dog to sleep. You know this is true. No thanks. I rather be a stray cat.
I've never drawn a cat before. I pained and labored over him for an hour and forty-one minutes. After which time I surrendered and moved on. The morning I drew the cat, Miso stopped by for his breakfast, a big can of chicken cat food meant for two, after this his usual handful of hard food, then some kitty treats, then we played for a half hour until he got tired and decided to relax underneath the sofa cover for twenty minutes. His little hind legs poking out. I love this cat. Humans are vile disgusting things. We don't deserve cats. Perhaps that's why I don't like drawing portraits. I'd have to enjoy looking at them for the length of the drawing and I simply cannot. Not anymore. My faith in humanity is too rarely restored.
The driftwood has taken so far three days to draw. I've seen some amazing driftwood over the years cross country. Dead trees that became earthly statues severely twisted into a devil horse, burnt flesh, and ghostly weeping women.
I was originally going to add a silhouette of a woman in the drawing but the more I studied the sailboat in the movie (Pride and Prejudice) the more I began to believe the sailboat was a toy for a child, therefor I chose to draw footprints instead of the silhouette. The spotty markings in the sand now are for reference only. The footprints might move in the final drawing. Be that, adult or child, you'll see in the drawing what you want to see. That's the beauty of it.
No matter who he paints, the painter always paints himself.
To keep myself sane in this barren desert wasteland with zero bookstores and even less sophistication, I listen to movie commentaries by my favorite film directors. And while I may not agree with everything they have to say, it's still two hours of listening to someone I actually find interesting. Men far superior than anyone I've dated in the last two years. I could listen to ANG LEE talk about film making for hours and hours and never get bored.
When people learn I'm a conservative, I'm always then asked how it is I'm also an artist. And the answer is simple. I'm both a conservative and an artist as my act of rebellion against what is acceptable behavior in today's society. My generation is the last generation of children that wore Sunday clothes. Even if you didn't attend church, you still wore Sunday clothes. You dressed well, behaved well, and respected yourself even if only one day a week. Art is a reminder to feel something more, be something more than everyday fumbling stupidity society has now deemed acceptable.
DRAWING LESSON 4
You there, young artist, whatever creative path you venture down, to thyself be true. That's Shakespeare, by the way. There's no such thing as being original.
Keep your life simple. Let only those worthy into your life. Practice and dedication to your craft will often times alienate you. This is very common. If you hate being alone more often than not, art may not be the society for you. Be friends with other artists, love them, rival with them, it is the best way to keep art in your life every day.
Drawing only what you love will eventually make you boring. You might get ten years out of it but they absolutely will lose interest in you after that, and then you'll have to do something else. Something else entirely. A new style. New methods. Every lifelong artist goes through phases. For about seven years I drew nothing but nudes until they stopped selling. Then I had to find something else to draw. That was more difficult than I imagined. Don't just do the one thing. Draw what you love. But on occasion draw what you don't love. Draw something else. If for no other reason than just to see how it feels.
Storing your art doesn't require much money. Not in the beginning. Not ever, really. You can use the drawing tablet you're tearing pages from as a portfolio, or you can make a cheap portfolio to store drawings at home until you can afford a real one. Go to the dollar store and pick up two of the biggest sheets of poster board or poster paper equal in size. 99 Cent Store sells them. Get two sheets of poster paper equal in size, the bigger the better, a paper puncher, and some cheap ribbon at your local craft store. With one sheet of poster paper on top of the other, lined up perfectly, punch three or four holes down one side, two inches from the edge, like a book binder, then tie strips of ribbon through the holes holding the two sheets of poster paper together like a book. It's a cheap homemade portfolio but when you break it down, that's pretty much what an actual portfolio looks like, two hard surfaced boards held together like a book bound with black ribbons. Anyway, slide your home made portfolio under your bed, or in your closet, and now you have someplace flat to store your drawings. Never put anything on top if it.
For my sailboat drawing I'm using seven different drawing pencils. Sometimes I use up to ten different pencils. Because I draw rather large drawings my pencils last for two drawings and then I need new pencils. And as much as I'd love to support all art stores, I always find a small local art store and buy my pencils there. Why? Because the pencils are at least .30 cheaper at a local art store than a big name chain art store. It adds up. And that's just (graphite) pencils.
When someone asks what your medium of art is, say graphite. Not drawing. There are different mediums if drawing. Graphite. Pastel. Colored pencils. Charcoal.
If you decide to go into painting and someone asks what your medium is, say oil painting, or acrylics, or water paints. Don't just say painting. Be specific. Art society has its own language. The more accustom you are to using it, the more others in the art society will acknowledge you.
Regular graphite pencils aren't made with lead anymore once lead was discovered to be toxic. If you decide you want to try other mediums of drawing, just buy individual colored pencils, individual charcoal sticks, individual pastel sticks. Never buy the complete sets. Stores sell art sets to novices who don't know any better - and when no one is around to teach the young aspiring artist otherwise. You might not like a particular medium after trying it. Why waste money on a complete set?
Pastel sticks are unique in that when used as a stick it resembles chalk, but break and crumble the stick into small pieces and add water it turns to paint. The more water you use the thinner the paint. Personally I don't like pastel sticks. I don't like the color of pastels. That's me. But you might?
Ok that's it for now. Go draw!
Practice practice practice.
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