Science, math, they bore me to tears. When they’re not freaking me out that is. The terror that struck when I saw the teacher was planning for us to find a numerical answer to a series of letters and symbols was on a par with finding a rat under the bed. (I imagine anyway). And dissecting a frog, while enough said on that.
History and geography are fine, interesting from time to time. But where my talents shine, where I find fascination is in the arts. Whether it’s players on a theatrical or a concert stage, I love to watch and listen, appreciating how easy they make something seem that is most definitely not. I feel the mood of a great photographer’s work. I adore the written word, losing myself between the pages of a great book at every opportunity I can find.
My pursuits, likewise, follow these passions. I like to write, sing and take pictures and occasionally challenge myself still to try and improve my abilities in these fields. For entertainment, I attend theatre and music productions often.
There is one area, however, where I admit to being a bit of an artistic washout. I have no understanding of what makes a great work of art, not do I have any ability of my own in this area. At least not to my knowledge. The closest I came was in high school when a friend of mine, who wanted to be a fashion designer, began drawing young girls adorned in her idea of modern attire.
The fact that I could copy her images so easily probably explains why the fashion industry never came calling for her. My work, for me, however, was surprisingly accurate to have made me wonder over the years if there might have been a bit more there than I think. Enough that as I look towards a nearing retirement I being to wonder if a new hobby might be discovered. I’m not saying I hold any notion that I’ll some day be a Rembrandt but just for fun, drawing might be, well, fun.
Like anything else these days, of course, there are plenty of resources online to instruct you in the art of drawing and I’ve begun checking some out. Here are a few of my discoveries:
