A Few Brushes and a Cup of Tea

A bonus I get from running Art Play is that I feel more inspired to play myself. 

There's not much I love more than some time alone outside with some thick black charcoal, a sketchbook and preferably some rain. I like to sketch quickly, my work becoming more free as each page turns. When I'm in the 'flow', time passes without notice, work composes itself. Shapes form, marks get stronger, more emotive. I become more creative, maybe rubbing my paper into the wet grass, or smearing in mud and scraping it off. My charcoal eventually disintegrates and I am forced back into reality and off I go home with a full sketchbook and black hands. Usually, the book then lies forgotten in a drawer. Another task on my never-ending to-do list.

Today, I spread my sketchbook out on my dining table along with charcoal, pastels, ink, watercolour, jars of water, a few brushes and a cup of tea and began to work. Into the 'flow' I went and my cup of tea went cold.

Original sketch

I

II

III

IV