The Wimbledon Wierdo: My Irrestible Urge to Sketch
‘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!
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