The neighborhood black cat seemed to express his affinity by occasionally laying dead rats around the house.
I spotted this one in the backyard earlier this morning, but it disappeared when I tried to draw it in the evening; fortunately I have a reference photo taken earlier for backup.
July 28, 2020
Gift from the cat
July 26, 2020
Memory of a silverfish 衣魚
I spotted a silverfish in the morning, which reminded me of those I constantly saw in my grandfather’s numerous ancient Chinese texts, which he refused to throw away any despite repeated demands from my grandmother. (Is this house for people or books to live in? 這房子是給人還是給書住的?)
He started to teach me classical Chinese when I was in kindergarten, and told me several important and unconventional lessons, such as: do not trust everything in the history books, better to beat others with my brain instead of my fists, and never let others control my thoughts and actions.
July 25, 2020
Breakfast memory
I drew from visual memory a cut avocado that has been a regular part of my breakfasts.
July 22, 2020
Lonely excavator claw
I saw this excavator claw sitting alone on the road side a few days ago, and walked back to sketch it.
The road is meandering and thus the car traffic can be a bit dangerous for pedestrians.
Fortunately, I can stand on the down-wind side of the claw, under the protection of its size and weight.
July 20, 2020
Road roller
I saw this road roller parked at the corner of a nearby fire station, which has a nice low wide stone wall for me to sit comfortably while sketching.
The connectors between the wheel/drum axes and the body seemed obstructive while on site, so I skipped them but found them pivotal for the structure and composition after the first drawing.
I came back to add the connectors the next evening.
July 18, 2020
Mailboxes
I was trying to draw a temple building but lacked enough time before the evening closure, so I switched to another nearby scene.
July 15, 2020
July 13, 2020
Pencil and pen sketch of an unlit corner after sunset
I went out after 8 pm to this interesting and yet unlit corner of my neighborhood, to force myself to either draw quickly before it was too dark and/or finish the rest from visual memory back home.
July 10, 2020
Hand exercise pine cone
When I picked up this pine cone it was still oozing sap, and has remained on my desk as an aroma source and hand exercise instrument.