The Difference A Year Makes

I did the sketch above in my Moleskine on April 22, 2013.  It’s a corner of our living room while Phoenix sits on the floor watching Sesame Street.

I did the sketch above (on the right) of Phoenix sitting in our living room watching Sesame Street almost a year later on April 4, 2014.   This one is in my new Fabriano sketchbook.

Our couch no longer has the chaise attached to it nor is that red carpet on the floor in there either.  Both have retired to my studio.

But what’s most moving to me is that I can remember exactly how I felt when I did the sketch on top.  It was done in the early morning, hours before Hansel came home from being in the hospital for almost a month.  I was exhausted.  Drained.  And holding onto hope like a life jacket.

Sketching was my saving grace last year.   It helped me let go of worry and anger and focus on the here and now by attempting to draw what I saw around me.

Just recently I flipped through my three Moleskines that I filled last year and I was amazed by how much my life has transformed in such a short time.

I still am addicted to sketching and do it almost every day.  But I’m starting to write more in my sketchbook instead of just bottling everything up in my imagery.

That to me is the biggest sign that real change is taking place.

Thank goodness for art and the way it helps us document the sometimes over looked details of our own life’s amazing story.

I’m not a person that likes to dish out advice, but if I could I would tell the whole world to start sketching.  It can honestly better your life.