Mom (Crayon Sketch)

Mom (Crayon Sketch)
Originally uploaded by randubnick

This is a crayon sketch of my mom that I started several years ago; I recently came across it while cleaning up my studio. It is based on a black and white photograph that hangs in my house. I pass it twenty times a day. (I plan to post the photo tomorrow.) I think I started this drawing based on the photo but working from memory of it (it isn't exact enough to be a drawing from observation), and then referred back to the photo to correct some of the details. I wanted to see if I could draw her face from memory. So it isn't really a portrait, but I like the little sketch anyway. This morning I got out my crayons again (yes, of course I still have crayons!) and finished it up, correcting a few things that were bothering me. I decided to post this today because she was born on November 2. Working on this today reminded me of sitting at the kitchen table as a little kid and watching my mom demonstrate her drawing skills. She liked to draw little sketches of people, drawings that looked a little bit like fashion illustrations. (Maybe that's what inspired my obsession with making my own paperdolls. I used to draw them with crayons, cut them out, put them in an envelope, and carry them to school with me.) In art, as with everything else, my mom always made me feel confident but never pressured (not an easy balance for a parent to achieve). Somehow I always had what I needed. As a very small child, I had paints and a little easel, and I still remember taking an art class at the local college when I was in elementary school. And I always, always had a box of Crayola crayons, the big box with 64 colors and a sharpener, the same kind I used to draw this sketch a few years ago, and the same kind I used to finish this up today. I am still grateful for the crayons, for her vote of confidence, and still grateful that she was my mom.