‘Who discourages you every now and then?’ I would like to
ask this question to all married men, and I know they will not have the courage
to answer it truthfully. May god bless them!
I was sitting at the dining table considering what to do
next, meaning after eating good breakfast, and one requires deep concentration
to think about such questions, when the DW gave me a condescending look and
said “I think you are falling asleep, get up and go out for a walk. It will do
you good.”
“Have you read Theory U? I asked her. “It says that you must
observe an object for a while and then draw it with a swish.”
The DW was surprised and gave me a strange look. “Ever since
your retirement I notice you are behaving strangely. What are you up to now?” I
find this very annoying. Ladies, particularly my DW [Oh, not defence witness,
it is ‘darling wife’], declares you guilty first and then looks for evidence.
You can’t be the judge as well as complainant, both.
“I am sitting here quietly, and theory U says you should,
what’s so strange about it?” I protested.
“You have your sight fixed on your grand-daughter’s doll.”
“Nah! It is not a doll, it is a napkin holder which she has
hung on the handle of her wardrobe handle. I find it so beautiful….”
“See… what he is doing, I find this strange. Get ready to
take your granddaughter to school.”
People don’t understand the artists. Be that as it may. Taking
my granddaughter to school is a job I like doing ever since I came here to Wimbledon.
The little one is always chirpy-chirpy all the way. And the street is lined
with maple trees. It is getting cold here in Wimbledon now. A long walk to the
school, early in the morning, is always good, it cheers you up!
And on both the sides of road are beautiful houses, though a
bit old, but well maintained.
I returned home. Fixed coffee for DW. Fixed a coffee for
myself. And sat at the dining table sipping it. The doll, nay, napkin holder
caught my attention again. So I pulled out my sketching pad. Drew it. And
artist is unstoppable when he gets the itch [why not say inspiration?] to draw. Here it is.
The DW noticed my work. “That’s not such a bad sketch” she
said. The coffee which I made for her was taking effect, though slowly, I
thought. You must learn ‘giving’, Mr Vivek! It works!!
“You can hone this skill of sketching
since you have nothing else to do. And do you realise that you need to improve
on creating the feeling of ‘depth’?”
You are right, Ma’am! I am out of depth in sketching.
Vivek