Reflection on “Goodbyes”
Now I don’t know about you, but I hate saying “goodbyes…” even if it is only for a little while.
Why do I bring this up? This week, I refined the gesture drawings I had completed for the previous assignment. Now, the initial references I used are located in a spot that I would frequently visit to watch the sunset with my closest friends. Except this time… those friends weren’t there. I said goodbye to most of them because life has taken us in different directions after college graduation. Some of them are now in different states, and another is currently living across the world.
I call them weekly and see them in-person every now and then, but I still miss them very much. It’s strange visiting one of your favorite places only to realize it wasn’t the “place” that made it great… it was the people.
Initially, I felt sad. But then, I was reminded that I’ve made new friends along the way, and thankfully, the same can be said about my long-distance friends as well. As I drew the gesture sketches for the first assignment, I caught myself pausing a few times to admire the sunset I once watched with my close friends. But now, I paused to watch it with friends that I’ve grown close to in grad school.
I enjoy spending time with these friends outside of classes, and we’ve shared many laughs together. I’m sure life will eventually take us all in different directions, and that thought makes me sentimental (I prefer that all my friends stay together). But for now, I won’t think about that day and will, instead, just enjoy these good moments with them.
My grandma was another person I thought about as I drew the “caribou” sketch.
Yeah, that probably made no sense to you. Let me quickly explain. When I was a middle schooler, my grandma would often take my brother and me to her work over the summers (summer camp was expensive ha ha). Before arriving, my grandma would usually drive-thru “Caribou Coffee” to get herself, well, coffee and to get me and my brother a sweet treat. This is a very good memory from my childhood, and I was reminded of these valuable moments with grandma as I sketched the caribou. I say goodbye to her every time I leave for college, and I assumed goodbyes would get easier over time…but that doesn’t seem to be the case.
My point is that the drawings this week caused me to reflect on the many blessings God has provided through friendships and family. This time of reflection also made me realize how much I hate saying goodbyes.
Although, I suppose A.A. Milne / Winnie the Pooh said it best:
“How lucky I am to have something that makes saying ‘goodbye’ so hard.”
Brief Reflection of the Drawing Process
Gesture Sketch & Rendered Sketch of a Caribou
This week, I refined the gesture drawings that I completed for the previous assignment. I chose to refine the “caribou” and “bobcat” sketch. For the last several weeks, I have been working with charcoal. I thoroughly enjoyed using that medium, but I wanted to temporarily change mediums. Instead of drawing with charcoal, I decided to use ink and chalk for these sketches. My goal for these wasn’t to “create the best drawing ever.” Rather, I was simply looking to create something different from my usual style/medium. Additionally, I wanted to better communicate the forms of each animal. In total, it took me about 2.5 hours to complete both 9×12 inch drawings.
Gesture Sketch & Render Sketch of a Bobcat