Given that we are all still sheltering in place, the NYT crossword puzzle and a long afternoon helped to make this a pretty good Father’s Day for an awesome dad.
Something I am beginning to appreciate about Zoom is the visual distortion made by the camera’s placement. Usually, the part of the body farthest from the eye appears smaller than the closest parts, but with Zoom, it seems to be even more so. Tonight the camera was placed very close to the models’ left leg and hand, and so they are much larger than expected. I like the effect very much.
I have never grown corn or peas before and, although I can see now that these plants might have been happier in the ground, I love the way they look together in this cloth pot.
I drew on Zoom with my cousin’s group in Fresno again. The model was lovely and had an upright air about her. When it came time to finish the sketch, I looked outside to my garden wall and fitted it around her.
Three people I know were very happy to leave Zoom and work together in person, on our patio. And I was happy to sketch them, masks and all.
Via Zoom on my computer in San Diego, I painted with my cousin’s sketching group in Fresno. The model stood in her own back yard by her fence and flowering hedge, while we all painted from our own homes.
As I hide from Coronavirus and paint flowers, I have been thinking a lot this last week about police brutality, economic disparities, opportunity, and school achievement.
I remember from the sixties what a difference the civil rights marchers and protesters made to me personally and to our whole country. Their courageous acts opened eyes and hearts and led to significant change. But over the years, we lost our momentum and seemed to be resigned to a fundamentally unfair status quo.
Now, fifty years later, massive numbers of young people are out taking a stand and marching for change. I peer at my screen and watch their acts of courage, strength, and righteousness. I see from the response of others that the protesters seem to be opening hearts and minds again. Could we, at last, be at a tipping point in America? Will we become one country with liberty and justice for all?
Deliberate Sketching 