Life and Death in Ink Part 2

Life...

08/12/19...
Decades ago I started the practice of dating my sketches. This gives me a good idea of when and sometimes where I was on a particular day in the past. Looking at these sketches is like looking through an old photo album. Bringing back  pleasant memories and flooding the memory gates of my mind with images of the day and time over a decade ago. 

So, I invite you to take a stroll with me down memory lane. These sketches speak for themselves and as the saying goes, "one picture is worth a thousand words."

Sketch dated 6/15/03...
In a hospital in Encino, CA my wife LaVonne keeping our daughter Melissa company awaiting the birth of grand child Reese.

( (above) LaVonne playing Othello with daughter Melissa)

 My sketch book is a 'poor man's camera', capturing a moment in time in line. This being my newborn grand daughter, Reese. (left)

 11/17/03 (right)

 Some images are in pencil.
Newborns as you know sleep a lot, the graphite allows me to get a little more detail in the drawing.

 01/02/03 brings a little lifting of the head (left) and a good sleep (below).

 12/27/03 mom gets creative with headbands,'binkies' and cute little dresses join in the sketch party.

11/21/03 more nap time (right and bottom).




                       

 02/15/04 (below).

 

04/24/04 Facial features starting to be noticeable to my pencil (below). I'm starting to see a personality forming around the eyes, the window to the soul. 

You can see some of the edges are pages torn from my sketch book. I do not set out to sketch any particular being, just whomever is in eyesight, thus some of the images of my infants may also contain others.

01/17/04 and 02/07/04 (below) ...lifting head and scooting along.

05/22/04 and 10/22/04 Attempting to sit up and a highchair are added to the learning cycle (below).

    






























06/09/04 With all that sleeping comes growth (right).                                                 

10/30/04 Once balance is conquered it's two feet from now on and no turning back (below).

One of my favorites...Reese at her toy desk making musical sounds...capturing that babyish posture and just enough head turn to communicate her concentration...body language at it's peak.

03/26/05 Reese at 6am asleep and dressed and 9:50am dressed with hair braided ...nap time 9:50am.

 

 05/30/05 Reese interacting with cousin at Great Grandmother's home (left) and being held and walking (below).

08/21/05 (below) more sleep...

12/24/05 (below) Christmas Eve early am slumber.

If anybody asked Reese where was she was on a certain day and time in her distant past, she could look at Grampys sketches and answer confidently "I was asleep on..."

Greatly blessed to record in line these images of my  grandchild Reese (now going on sixteen). These images help me explain my observations of stages in her life from an artist point of view and not a camera lens.  Emphasizing again the importance of always carrying a sketch book and being ready to sketch in it. 

In the next post my attention turns to the end of life that is referred to as death to bookend my observations on Life and Death in Ink

until next time...