by JQuisumbing, the one-click artist
For quadriplegics like me, staying busy and setting goals can help keep us sane. For me, sketching is quite therapeutic. It’s funny, though, when I still had use of my hands, I was not as prolific an artist. My portfolio was practically non-existent. But since I became bedridden (about 8 years now), by the Lord’s grace, I have about 300 or so art pieces. Imagine that!
For a long while, though, I took a break from drawing and focused on my writing. But then my creative mind kept bogging down, like I was treading through sludge. Then, out of the blue, I was inspired to sketch a fantasy like castle built on a small island.
The exercise was exactly what I needed to get my creative juices to flow, both for writing and drawing. I look forward to complete that adventure tale that I shelved last year. Meanwhile, three destination photographs caught my interest. The first one was a natural rock formation located along the Maritimes coast at New Brunswick, Canada. This tall rock pinnacle looked like a giant had twisted it like a cork screw.
My next sketch subject brought me to Edinburgh, Scotland.
I love working on old style architecture structures like the The Writer’s Museum, with its address at Lawnmarket, Lady Stair’s Cl. (I’m still trying to figure out what the ‘Cl’ stands for.) I took my time with this sketch. It was quite therapeutic.
A little after I finished the sketch above, I was presented with another similar subject located in the famed Lake District, England. It was of a tiny stone bridge house built over a stream.
In this sketch, I wanted to emphasize the rock wall facades. I don’t mind admitting that I enjoyed doing the detail work. By the way, in the original photo, that little tree was bare and looking a little pathetic.
Hunting for my next subject.
Johann Quisumbing 