My friend Evan Turk reminded me via his blog post the other day that we went to the Central Park together a few months back, when it was only slightly chilly and the leaves were still on the trees. Thanks Evan!
Planting Seeds
Reading around on the internet, I read that if you're a gardener (which I'm not), you have to plant bulbs before the winter if you want a nice display of flowers in the spring. It reminded me how much advance work goes into making things. How many drawings have I made to get to the drawings I make now? Last summer, a friend of mine said that it took him about half an hour to make a drawing, and I half-joked, "well, twenty years and half an hour," because every drawing is a direct result of all the drawings that came before. All those years, planting seeds!
I made this drawing last fall, from one of the beautiful reliefs on the staircase between Bethesda Fountain in Central Park. Each relief, sculpted by Jacob Wrey Mould, depicts a different season, and I think must be spring because the tulip is blooming, but the lotus isn't yet.
Central Park Summer
I've drawn Central Park in all weather, and it never disappoints.
Not Spring Yet
This week, the temperatures actually breached the 50 degree mark in New York. We haven't had the weather that Boston has had, but we've had a lot of cold, cold days here. So perhaps I was overly optimistic when I headed out to Central Park. I was hoping for something—anything—in bloom, but of course, the park was all bare branches and snow still melting everywhere. Sigh. So here's Bethesda Fountain in the middle of Central Park, bare branches and all.
Autumn in Central Park
A few weeks ago I went out to draw in Central Park with Carly Larsson (who is much faster to post than I am!). The weather was perfect for sitting outside and getting chilled, and then going to get a cozy tea.
Incidentally, this is my 100th blog post! Yay! When I started 100 posts ago, I found it really hard to share my work. I can't say that I never look at my work and say "Ugh, who could like this" anymore, but I definitely think it less often because people *do* come by and tell me they've liked this or that post. So thanks for following or stopping by, and thanks for your comments and encouragement.