THIS TWIDDLING LIFE

At the time when I returned to the United States I had severe artistic pretensions, and fancied myself talented. That fell by the wayside soon enough, as I encountered people who clearly had more skill and genius than myself, of which there are so many that it's discouraging, and all of them had portfolios of their works that they would gladly show off and talk about. To almost anybody.

My first portfolio was in the basement of an apartment building in Piedmont, and because of the rains developed mold and mildew.
Believe me, it stank.

I threw it out.


Fast forward several years. My calligraphy in Chinese is not especially bad. And my drawings using the paint programme on the computer betray a neurotic obsessiveness.

As you can see:

RECENT DRAWINGS OF BRIAR TOBACCO PIPES

While it's easy to mistake neurosis for talent, that would be an error.

I've taken a few figure drawing classes, and I was trained as a draughtsman. Those are skills which I am convinced everybody can master. Colour matching, such as in several of the examples above, takes a little practice, and can be somewhat casually done if light and shading are used; the colour may be dulled by half-light or washed out a bit by the glare of the sun through the window. You'll have to wing it.

You'll note that the window is clearly to my right.
The highlights are all in the same spot.

瞓

'To sleep' in Cantonese.

When all is said and done, my greatest 'talent', and perhaps my only one, is sleeping. I am very good at taking naps.



==========================================================================
NOTE: Readers may contact me directly:
LETTER BOX.
All correspondence will be kept in confidence.
==========================================================================