Drawing

 

It's nice to watch art videos in which talented people reveal their skills. I find the process very therapeutic and for a little while those videos take you away from the exigencies of everyday life and the jarring noise of current affairs.  Through art videos, we may remind ourselves how brilliant human beings can be - making wonderful images with the aid of simple tools and remarkable patience.

Above you can see the German illustrator Axel Scheffler revealing the way he goes about his artwork. For many years he has worked with the English children's author Julia Donaldson. Together they have made wonderful books and there cannot be many British family homes in which their work will not be found. Phoebe and Margot have both loved those books and parents and grandparents generally love reading the aloud when many other children's books can prove tedious.

Below, an artist shows us how to create an image of the sea at night using pencils,  graphite, charcoal and rubbers (American: erasers).  There is something rather magical about watching the scene emerge and it is certainly interesting to observe the artist's techniques

Occasionally in this blog I have revealed that I am not without artistic talent myself. At Beverley Grammar School,  in my GCE A level exams in 1972, I achieved a Grade A in Art when I was eighteen as well as receiving  the school Art Prize. I am well aware that through the succeeding years I have not nurtured and progressed  my innate talent as much I could and perhaps should have done. And now the time is running away like sand in an hour glass.