Callistemon viminalis Mo20
graphite on paper
H42cm x W29.7
dancing with the changes… have to laugh as I had lost my way with this drawing of a Callistemon in our street, then on Monday I was pruning a tree and copped a poke in the eye with a blunt stick so now these words from ‘The Garden Book’ by Brian Castro ring even more true than they did when I wrote them out a couple of weeks ago…
“ In class he was obsessed with the idea of observation. You have to throw the details of what you see away, he said. Until there is only a kind of subliminal light left. Learn to see like a half blind person”
the drawing is working a lot better today with blurred vision… funny how I always have to take the metaphors so bloody literally!
dancing with the changes
Posted: April 22, 2020 by Mo Crow in It's Crow TimeTags: illustration, works on paper
Comments
It's Crow Time 
So long as the “bloody” wasn’t literal!
(((Di))) just a scratch on the eyeball but by jeeze it hurt & looks like I won’t get a black eye out of it, so Phew!
You brought a smile to my face
(((Nancy))) gotta laugh
Dancing and swaying…I could happily dance around and with this tree. Relieved that your eye injury was not too serious but then, the idea of you wearing an eye patch along with a mask, well it could be a wild look!
(((Marti))) Oh Ha! the bandito pirate look, arrr me hearties!
Love all of this so much
(((Grace))) thanks for visiting!
You gotta be careful girl.;;;but if anyone can see the positive in something it is you. Finished drawing looks wonderful. I do like your trees.
(((Eliene))) there’s a beautiful Chinese elm in the old cemetery down the road that I want to draw next !
Owie…I hope your eye is feeling better. Your drawing is exquisite.
(((Dana))) eyes heal amazingly quickly it’s almost completely better & so happy I didn’t get a black eye!
Gosh Mo! I hope your eye heals quickly-you don’t want to be half blind forever! Not a good look for an artist-wishing you a speedy recovery on the eye front. x
(((René))) we do need our eyes but our hands know so much too, Anne Dybka who taught me glass engraving was half blind in her latter years of working as an artist a lot of her work was done by feel, here’s a link with one of her best pieces, The Shoal cameo carved at 80.
Mo……….i have a blurred vision too and………i hear the birds sing…….
(((Martine))) I sort of like the sparkly edges the cataracts create, makes everything seem dreamier!
These trees that survive amidst the concrete speak of survival and hope (even if a bit stunted sometimes!) Hope that eye gets better soon. screwing up your eyes to get a blurred vision is a good art tip I remember an art tutor telling us about it. much love x
(((Louise))) there is something quite heroic and yet so joyful in this tree’s dancing resilience and feeling very lucky that my eye is almost better!
Ooh Mo – ouch! Hope your eye is feeling a bit easier
Fascinating about the drawing – the mix of attentive observation and of left brain/right brain freeing up for the essence of tree
take good care
(((Susi))) the drawing was so overworked, very close to the point of no return, hurting my eye helped me see…
your light touch draws (ha!) out such fine detail … the more I looked, the more I loved and laughed … the closely observed roof and pickets yes, but better yet the whimsical side of the house
(((Liz))) the grafitti on that wall changes a lot and changed in this drawing too with lots of erasure, street art is encouraged here in in the inner west of Sydney with an initative called Perfect Match bringing artists and wall owners together
always your drawings seem like fine lace. and eye stuff, eeeee, scary.
(((Jude))) I love the idea of lace and want to explore pushing the boundaries more when we retire from gardening.
Feeling very lucky, the doctor said I should wear eye protection when doing pruning so I will treat myself to a new pair of goggles (the old ones are very scratched) as we have a huge wall of Bougainvillea to start cutting back next week !
I so admire your light touch. It holds and generates rivers worth of soul nourishment for me.
(((Acey))) drawing is how I understand the world
Love your drawing. Especially the tree of course but also it’s shadow and those pickets! Interesting what you say about our hands holding memory and knowledge. I think, as long as they doesn’t kill you, having metaphors manifest so accurately is a kind of gift.
(((Dee))) it makes it real!
Ahhhh looked it up : such wonderful flowers !!! (only in hot places, I think) looks a bit like the sanguisorba obtusa plants I have (had ?)
(((Els))) Callistemon flowers are such a fabulous rich red that attracts scarlet honeyeaters out in the bush (but sadly not here in the city) & I have never seen sanguisorba obtusa, another cool climate plant to look out for when we move to the mountains!
MC – love the delicate touch of your sketching. B
(((Barry))) I love this tree, it wa a delight to draw!