Sketching!

The other day I was told of a coffee shop that I didn't know about.  I have been trying to find a coffee shop near where I am living and have been kind of disappointed with the lack of coffee shops in the surrounding Charlotte area.  So I went to this one.  It is called Cream and Beans.  They sell ice cream and coffee which is a pretty great combination in my opinion.  Now, because I don't like coffee, I always judge a coffee shop on their hot chocolate.  Naturally, that is what I ordered.  I took my hot chocolate and decided to walk around the area just to check it out and get a feel for the downtown Mount Holly area.  I walked about 50 feet and saw this really awesome church just sitting there!  I was so excited!  I had something to sketch!  I would have done it that day, except it is really hot here...and I had a hot drink...which meant that I was definitely overheating.  I made a mental note to come back and sketch the church soon!

This is First Presbyterian of Mt. Holly 

This is the cool door going into First Presbyterian

Well, the next day, I was so distracted.  I had the attention span of a five year old...literally.  I would go to read my book (The Beautiful and Damned by F. Scott Fitzgerald...it is really good), and I could only get through a paragraph.  I turned my music on and could only get through half a song.  I was just so antsy and I finally realized that it was because I hadn't done anything creative in longer than I prefer to admit.  I grabbed my sketch book, practically ran out of the house, got a smoothie at Cream and Beans, sat down in a creepy insurance parking lot, and finally started to sketch.  It is a little unnerving to look at what you are about to draw and realize that you haven't picked up a pencil in MONTHS.  You start to doubt your ability to draw and that is bad.  An artist needs to be confident in their ability and know that what they are creating will be fantastic...I wish that is what happened.  Usually, you spend the whole time up until the end questioning your idea, and then at the last second! you realize that you have succeeded...or you didn't.  Anyway... I was really pleased with how my sketch was turning out.  I took a little break and finished my drawing.  It turned out that it is one of my favorites in my sketchbook so far!  I felt so relieved.  My addiction was satisfied.  It is amazing how calming it can be to just sit and draw something.

Here is my rendition of the church.  It is not that tilted in real life...just throwin' that out there.

Here are some other drawings in my sketchbook for those of you who haven't had the chance to look at it.  This is specifically for you Dave!

The Colosseum 

Tivoli, Italy

The Florence Cathedral

The Temple of Hera.  Paestum, Italy

The Song of the Catalans

Monserrat

The Alhambra.  Granda, Spain

Even with all the emotions that you might go through, and the stress of making something look perfect, it can still be a relaxing endeavor.  I highly recommend doing it if you never have.  At least put it on your bucket list or something...it forces you to slow down and really look at what you are looking at.  You will notice things that you never would if you were just driving by and you will most likely get inspiration for your next project.  It doesn't have to be a building either.  I just like buildings because I like architecture.  You could draw a tree or a flower or a bird or a person sitting at a sidewalk cafe and you will always notice something new.  For Christians, it is a wonderful way to notice the little details in God's creativity.  You realize that everything He makes is different and wonderful.  I am so glad that I serve a God who never runs out of ideas and iterations.  It makes life so much more interesting.

Sometimes I wonder if God created little details just because He knew that I was going to notice it at the precise moment I looked at it.  He totally could have!  If He created me and He knows what I enjoy and He loves me beyond any comprehension I could ever possibly have, than He could have created unique things as gifts for me to see and experience.  That is so incredibly AWESOME to think about!  There is a Sara Groves song that kind of relates to that.  I appreciate that she wrote it because I definitely don't have the ability to write down my thoughts in creative ways... and that is okay...because she probably can't draw a pretty picture like me!