A Forest Fire, Vividly Remembered
This picture is from a book of childhood memories I've been working on for a while. The memories are emotionally vivid, but not not clearly visualized. There are pictures, accompanied by anecdotes. I keep working at the pictures until they seem to capture the atmosphere and feeling I want to express. Since I'm not an artist, none of the drawings are realistic. This picture, for example, represents a moment when I climbed to the roof of my house with my brother and sister. Darkness covered everything, except the glow from a distant forest fire. The house, and we, would not have been visible to an onlooker.
In the picture, I'm the child sitting in the middle. My courage did not match that of my siblings, but the exercise was exhilarating. We climbed out of a small window, visible beneath us in the picture, onto a flat, tar-covered, roof. This roof looks slanted in the picture, but was not. We had secure footing on this lower roof.
From the tar roof, we hoisted ourselves onto the main roof, which was sharply angled. The surface was tin, smooth and slick, except for vertical ridges. We shimmied up to the peak and perched at the very top. Our vantage for fire viewing was perfect there. My mother was likely downstairs doing chores, and certainly unaware of our activity.
We had been in bed, I believe, when my brother roused my sister and me to go on this adventure. He was older, and always took the lead on our most daring expeditions. I remember smelling smoke and wondering if the fire would come close. We lived near the forest, in the foothills of a northern Appalachian range.
My book, when it is finished, will be called Arrows Axes and Scythes. In it I try to capture a small slice of life--growing up poor, and free, in rural New York State.
I keep revisiting the pictures and text because they never seem just right. I was working on this picture a few hours ago, and will surely go back to it again. A previous blog featured another of my book entries: "A Memory".
It is perhaps audacious of me to create my own pictures, but there are few photos from my childhood. Even if there were photos, these would represent someone else's perspective, not mine.
Glad about the progress my friend, @agmoore, I enjoyed reading this part so as the previous. Keep capturing your art the way you intend it to be and as you go along, you will find that the later ones will be better than the ones you started with and you will also discover ways/tools/apps to speed up creation of the art ☺
You will be amazed about what you never realized you are capable of achieving.
Yes, true. I see differences. My first efforts were so simple, lacked detail. The more recent ones are like stories with subplots. They have more texture, more expression. Thanks for the encouragement. Since trying to draw, I have gained a fresh perspective on color, on everything I see.
You are welcome. I look forward to learning color combinations from you as well
I know you kind of downplay your artistic ability, but I really do enjoy your pictures. Their almost '8-bit' quality has a bit of a nostalgic effect on me and they really do serve as good accompaniments to your stories. The simple design of the pictures also helps to invoke the child when reading your writing. In this one, the background turned out especially great. I live in an area that especially prone to wildfires and you captured it very well.
I accept what you say. I still feel foolish putting my simple pieces out. That's not self-deprecation--that's the honest truth. And yet, I'm emboldened by the pleasure of creating these simple pictures. Thanks so much for the analysis. The pictures do speak for me, and that's what art does, isn't it?
Exactly. Many people hold the mistaken belief that art, in any of its forms (visual, writing, music, etc.) should only be practiced by those who are 'good' at it when really, regardless of whether or not we are good at it, it is part of what makes us human and can benefit just about anyone in some way.
I'd sign up for reading a book your write any day ! What a lovely project - putting all your childhood memories and life growing up in one place with artwork to accompany it.
You should definitely approach your artwork with more confidence! You don't need to draw realistic pieces to be an artist. It's just about finding something that looks good to you and then refining it to look the best it can.
Send questions my way if you need help!
You are really supportive. I derive great satisfaction from drawing the pictures. They express my feelings in a way that words cannot. Thanks so much for the encouragement.
Agree with @manouche on the nature of art. I invite you to enter this in a contest running this week to encourage new users.
You don't have to be invited to enter, but I'll get a small reward for inviting you if you mention me. This is a fascinating memory you shared!
I am preparing a more thoroughly researched blog, on quite a different subject. I hope to have that ready tomorrow. I think it will more accurately represent my skills--whatever they might be. If the post is ready before deadline, I will enter and mention you, of course. Thanks for the suggestion and the encouragement.