To draw is to notice.
To notice is to pause.
And sometimes, all it takes is a barefoot boy in a camping chair, chasing the drips of a popsicle, to remind us what it means to be here.
This is Popsiclence—a sacred kind of focus.
It’s where observational drawing leads us: out of the swirl, into the now.
And in that now, we heal.
This one is important to me. I had been having a very long dry spell, not making any art, and then one day last Fall, while on a road trip, camping in Mesa Verde park, I drew this using some copic grey scale brush markers and a fine liner, and it was like my vision was returning. I got really into seeing, and imagining ... Anyway since then I've still been struggling to make more work, but have been making more creative things when I do get productive, and been organizing older work... It's also interesting that I titled this piece Phase Transition back in Nov '23, and subsequently had quite a sea change of life experiences, adventure, and new visions. Now if I could just sit down and draw more...
Imagine trading your soft bed for a deflating mattress.
Imagine food cooked under ash, a fire that smokes more than it warms.
Imagine waking at dawn with stiff muscles, yet finding yourself strangely alive.
This sketch is not just about tents, cars, and campfires.
It is about the in-between—where inconvenience and beauty wrestle, and something deeper sneaks in.
Camping reminds me: comfort is overrated, but presence is priceless.
I was expirimenting with lighting, and it kind of ended up looking like she was staring into a campfire. That, combined with the puffy jacket, and it turned into a camping scene. Always open to feedback, thanks!
