This one is plastic with a magnified digital clock in his belly. He resides with Joan’s collection of CDs.
I’ve been playing with the idea of doing a series of sketches, “Buddhas Of Our Home”. I looked up one day and realized we have something like eight or ten of them of various sizes and poses — usually placed in a way that you find yourself “discovering” them in a nook or cranny. I asked Joan, why so many? “He’s always so happy.” Makes perfect sense.
Joan and the kids were watching a movie the other night that was too scary for Lily (8), so she asked me to draw pictures with her in the dining room instead. She chose, as our subject, to draw some of the many “bobble-head” toys she’s got. She handed me mine to draw while she drew hers. This was way more entertaining than watching a movie!
I had a short, uneventful doctor appointment today. Still, it’s funny how long they keep you in those little rooms. The experience would have been quite a bit more challenging if it weren’t for the handy sketchbook. At one point I was hoping the doctor would delay coming in so I could finish the sketch – ha.
We took a hike along with three other families yesterday to Switzer Falls. It was great, probably 10 kids in all, hiking along the creek and up over a 100 foot ridge (a little scary). At the end of the trail is a small waterfall that empties into a pool. We had lunch and a little swim. I did some hasty sketching.
There was a big, fallen tree leaning against the rock wall near the falls. The highlight of the hike came during the walk back. There was a three-foot rattlesnake that slithered off the path and into the stream! I’ve never actually seen one outside of the zoo.
Today we all went to a deli-market place with a beautifully landscaped little patio area in the back with so many ferns and trees that I got overwhelmed. I had this idea of putting poor Howard’s head at the bottom of the page to make room for folliage. (I’m trying to do the “click to enlarge” more often now.)
No exaggeration in scale here, I swear. The fact that I was sitting down and he was closer to me probably helped emphasize their size differences.
I left the studio momentarily to walk across the street for a cup of coffee. After ordering my double-latte I noticed that two out of the three people sitting in there were reading movie scripts. This guy was taking notes on his. Hollywood.
Well, that was it for the “uploadable” camping pictures. Back to the urban / suburban reality of Los Angeles. Vacations are great for bringing on new ideas, thinking up new thoughts and having weird dreams…
Anthony Zierhut 