Anemones, Nudibranchs, Pink and Flow
January 8, 2010 by Janice
Pencil Drawings, Janice Cartier, January 7, 2010
Start at the start. I am somehow drawn to pink in January. Goes way back, but here we are. I came across this pink flower someone sent me and itched to draw it. Those tentacle like petals, the movement in them, captured my eye. I drew it. A quick sketch to see if I should pursue it any further. Then along came that cuttle fish, the one with the Serengeti-like pattern of sepia and gold on its back? Yep, did a quick doodle of him too and noticed that pattern is very linked to the big wetlands pieces I do.
Hm.
I did not stop there.
I drew a dragon-like nudibranch named “flabellina exoptata”.
And a huge Monterey sunflower-like anemone.
Remembered wading among them with a friend.
I am in a tide pool kind of mood.
The left side of the big multi-paneled painting I have underway has a huge puddle in it. In fact, several panels of puddle. Full of shapes. Granted, it is a Mississippi puddle with plenty of mud and goo, but that puddle and the Monterey tide pools are the start of it all. And those shapes are very important.
I want those shapes to be exquisite.
I want new life in them.
And I want you to see, the origins of all that makes me do what I do.
So it is to the tidepools we go.
For nudibranchs and anemones.
And snapping shrimp.
Not that they are in this puddle exactly, their cousins are there true enough, but because they are part of the big reason why.
You know, WHY.
That question we should all be able to answer.
The why. The tickle of our fancy.
What is it that sustains us?
That keeps the fascination going.
That makes us not only show up, but thrill in the very existence of being able to show up exactly where we do?
Is it as simple as anemones, nudibranchs and pink?
Well, yes.
It can be that simple.
Those are access points.
Access points and triggers.
To a larger thing.
So we are going to take a look.
At just what it is about them, that makes me want to spend hours and days playing with them. Drawing them, anticipating the squish of paint and the puddles of color. What makes them so vital?
What could be behind that?
These tiny little things.
Well, to start.
A moment of thrill.
And that is where art should start.
Don’t you think?
Comments
8 Responses to “Anemones, Nudibranchs, Pink and Flow”
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It can be that simple…as soon as we know the why.
And then sometimes the why is as simple as because it makes my blood hum in that special way.
Or…maybe it’s just that it’s 5:00 on Friday.
Come on girlfriend..put down the brush..you know what time it is!
Whatever you do I am certain it will be GORGEOUS!!!
May you have a wonderful 2010 Janice and be in the pink!!!
You deserve it and more.
xxx cg
@Wendi-LOL I was way ahead of you there..5 pm and I was very ready for the Dragon Room and a margarita..BRR though, so maybe a brandy would be better.
@PB-I am very very tempted to hide a pastry shape or two somewhere in this huge painting..because I am perverse like that…and I think it would be fun. LOL
Thanks MS. Agog. Pink it will be I think..and sepia..and lots and lots of pleasure drawing along the way. BTW I can’t wait to see your sketches from the Westminster Dog Show. That is going to be so cool.
I know about moments that thrill me–beginnings as you put it. I don’t draw but I somewhat understand. Usually I get an idea, a beginning, something that thrills me and I want to explore it in a blog. The theme becomes the title and often I repeat it as the first line and then I have a focus, something to explore in a blog. It starts with one idea, something I feel very strongly about that interests me very much and for a short time I explore it. I may work on it for an hour or two. Then it is done and I move to something else but for a short time it was the most important thing in the whole world and it started with one thing, one idea.
Siggy,
“but for a short time it is the most important thing in the world and it started with one thing, one idea”
Absolutely Siggy. Which is why inhabiting that space to the exclusion of all else is essential to an artist, a writer, a scientist…or any creative thinker. This is such a huge thing. The initiating incident, the moment of thrill, the place we become ”engaged”, rivets us like no other, pulls at us almost to the point of compulsion. Why this? Or how this? Or what is it I am seeing here? Ooh ahh moments I call them…now translating those into a thing or an object of art, or something written, designed or discovered…or even figuring out whether to pursue it any further is a large part of what we do, isn’t it?
Now I am curious about the equivalent, what is a writer’s drawing? What do they call them? Hm…
Janice wonders: ‘Now I am curious about the equivalent, what is a writer’s drawing? What do they call them? Hm…
I will attempt some kind of reply to your question. I hope it is to what you are referring to. In a writer’s case, at least mine, I can not speak about anyone else. It is conflict, tension, joy all that kindles the imagination and you never know exactly where it goes. You just go along for the ride and know instinctively when to stop. Some of it is very visual and accessible and some more cerebral. You might find my essay on journal keeping interesting. It is not long and can be found on siggyscafe.com.(Siggy’s Cafe For Writers and Poets) Anyway, thanks for the short dialogue.
Thank you too Siggy,
Your response has given me somethings to think about as well. I like your blurb on journal writing. Maybe those too are “sketchbooks for words”.