88 - The End of a Long Year

👋 Hello, readers.

Alas, after two years of evading and playing hide-n-seek with the virus, I have caught COVID in this last week of 2021. Thankfully, I am home, and well taken care of, and doubly vaccinated, and suffering from only mild symptoms.

I hope that you are able to stay safe, and your family is well, and that everyone around you is able to get their vaccinations.

✏ A Pencil!

Predictably, since catching the virus, I haven’t been able to draw much. But here are some drawings I made right before it happened.

I’ve been playing with a Blackwing pencil (that I had bought for my mother!), and it is helping me practice a different approach and find out what that does to my style. Tell me what you think!

The mother, in a rare, still moment.

What felt different about this drawing (compared to ink) was the need to do the textures and the values. I didn’t set out to depict them, but after doing my usual lines I felt compelled to do so. Maybe it has to do with the softness a pencil offers on paper. It lends itself to more grey areas.

Father and Aunt (his sister) engage in lively banter.

I’ve grown up watching these two people argue with each other. It is remarkable that this is the first time I drew it. Here’s the standard flow of such conversations -

1. Begin on innocuous subject, preferably someone mutually despised. Both parties in agreement, nodding and high-fiving.

2. Strike discord with a petty swipe at the other person. Other person does not take it well, hands back a slashing cut of their own.

3. Light sparring ensues.

4. Gloves come off. The potential of first blood is sighted by mother.

5. Mother deftly changes topic back to innocuous subject of original discussion.

6. Claws are retracted, smiles are back, and things end with laughter and giggles.

It has been my honour to occupy a space in your inbox and have you as a reader of the SneakyArt Post. I am grateful for your time and attention. Best wishes for your health, and see you in 2022!