giraffes

Drawing

~ MaryG ~ 15 Comments
Daily writing prompt
Are there any activities or hobbies you’ve outgrown or lost interest in over time?
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For many years I loved to draw and sketch. I did some painting as well. I worked with pencil, charcoal, pastels, and pen & ink. When I painted, I used acrylics. I took many art classes as a teen and young adult in school and at local museums. I remember drawing nude models as early as middle school and we took it very seriously (no giggling).

I think I got discouraged when I took a higher level studio art class as a sophomore in college and got a C+. Up until then, I always got great grades in studio art. The professor seemed to want us to make the leap from realism to conceptual stuff. I guess I wasn’t good at that.

I took a photography class after college, but eventually started to put more energy into music and singing. The thing about music (singing anyway) is that it doesn’t take up much space in your apartment or on your walls. You can sing anywhere. No supplies needed. But sometimes I do miss drawing. I loved it for many years.

I have this one large pencil drawing of my favorite animal hanging in the living room. I did it in a high school art class. Everything else is in the attic.
OK WordPress, you got me to go in the attic. These are two “head studies” in pencil and charcoal that I did in college.
A male nude in charcoal
A still life in pencil
A more abstract pencil drawing
A female nude in charcoal (perspective is hard)

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Ginger the Giraffe

~ MaryG ~ 6 Comments

Do you play in your daily life? What says “playtime” to you?

I was going to answer “no” to this prompt, but then I remembered I’ve been pretending to feed a giraffe I bought at Boston’s Snowport Holiday Market all week.

Her name is Ginger, because she is made from a ginger beer can. She’s imported from Zimbabwe. So far, my husband and son have refused to pretend she’s real.

Ginger having some basil

As previously mentioned, I have a thing for giraffes. If you haven’t seen the new film Wonka, with Timothée Chalamet, it’s worth it for the giraffe scenes alone. For GenXers, nobody can replace Gene Wilder in the role of Willy Wonka. His laissez-faire attitude toward his bratty visitors (“stop, don’t”) is priceless. But the message of the original film comes through in this latest prequel version of Willy Wonka. It’s all about “Pure Imagination,” which is liberally reprised throughout the new film.

There is no life I know

To compare with pure imagination

Living there, you’ll be free

If you truly wish to be

For me, nothing evokes pure childhood-like playtime than a good game of pretend.

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Giraffes

~ MaryG ~ 4 Comments

What are your favorite animals?

I’ve always liked giraffes. I like their spots, their long necks and legs, their big eyes and eyelashes, and their gentleness. And the calves are so cute, wobbling around on those long legs. Maybe I’m anthropomorphizing, but I think giraffes are cool.

Now I know people have mixed feelings about zoos, but if an African safari is not in your budget, zoos are the only place you’re ever going to see a live giraffe herd. The very best giraffe exhibit I’ve ever seen is at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs. You should make a point to visit, if you’re ever in the area. The giraffe exhibit is a real showstopper 🦒

Visiting the giraffes at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, 2009

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Drawing