Giving away my pencils
Spent last night in Moab, so I spent this morning at Arches National Park. It wasn’t busy, so I could spend a leisurely morning walking and sketching. Even so, I felt I was moving much more slowly than most of the other visitors.
Sometimes when I stand to sketch or paint people come up and ask if they can watch. Of course! I’m happy to share the process and to talk about what I am doing and why.
Today one family asked if their little girl could see my work. I sat down in the shade (it was about 100°F) and invited them to sit with me.
I asked if she had art tools with her on her vacation and she said no. So I gave her a lesson in watercolor pencils and then gave her mine. I’ve been using them all summer so most of them were half used up anyway. She seemed happy, and so did her parents. I also gave a pencil lesson to two other kids and then gave them my last sketching pencils.
When I’ve given away my tools, that is probably a sign that it is time to head home! The fall semester is approaching, after all.
Still, my heart longs to stay in the high desert, to wander among the rocks, to sketch the dry, thin spaces, and to watch the meteors in the night sky.
