I’ve had the worst cold in history.  This cold virus should be packaged as a weapon.  After the first two days, going stark mad with boredom but having trouble standing due to dizziness, I finally got my wits about me and said, “Duh, draw.”

I chose difficult subjects at first but could not make it through a whole drawing before my energy gave up.  Then I hit upon a great idea.  I would draw one object, my Vietnamese soapstone carving of Buddha’s face, Again and Again and Again.  And that is what I did for a week.  I chose pencils and Pitt pens, but added Neocolor II watercolor crayons because I always hated them (unwieldy with a fat point like a child’s crayon) and yet, they were the right size for the bed and I could use my new water-in-the-brush toys.  I would conquer the Neocolor!

In the beginning I did a couple of folded books with Pitt pens, but that was cheating.  Within my comfort zone.  I wanted outside my comfort zone, which is pencil, pen, eraser.

I began tentatively adding the Neocolors to the sketch, sketching over pencil.  I enjoyed the way the colors moved with the wet brush and emphasized lines.  Above are two sketches I actually like.  Hooray!

But the point was to push into my discomfort, so I began sketching with the Neocolors, off with the training wheels of the pencil.  Using lighter crayons and advancing to darker as I got more certain of the shapes.  Wet brush began to do more than just define line, it began to shade.  “Crazy Sick Woman Who Thinks She’s a Buddha With Hair Curlers” appeared in my sketchbook.  (I cheated and dragged myself out of bed for Prismacolors — also within my comfort zone — just to save her from dark ugly black lines all over her face as I destroyed her for all posterity.  Now she is laughable but okay.)  I made “Aries Buddha” with the ram horn purple nose, also laughable but okay.  Then Lucille Ball Buddha and Glamour Pin-up Girl Buddha — or “Indian Woman disguised as Buddha with a Funny Hat” came into being, and I was frustrated all over again.  NOT what I wanted to do, but laughing cures colds, surefire.

Then I had a long talk with myself.  I realized I was still playing it safe.  So I stepped off the page.  I love the colorful buddha face above — all Neocolor, fast, wet.  I tried just showing the shadows, and that was a grand experiment, below, then I gradually brought back some detail.  I was having some fun now.  I almost like the purple Shiva-Buddha With 5 O’Clock Shadow) and Mitchell loves Coral Buddha.

Out of that batch, the two below are my favorites.  I have a long way to go but I am not well yet — so there will be a Worst Cold Part Two!

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