Drawing

American Elf is a fantastic online comic strip that has inspired me to buy an Artline pen and attempt the occasional sketch. Drawing has never come naturally to me although I did once win a competition to draw a corgi for the Queen and won a trip to Wimpy as a result, but other than that brief moment of glory my artwork has rarely been admired.   American Elf is James Kochalka's autobiographical daily diary, recording moments from every day from 26th October 1998 right up to today. That's over 4,000 mini strips and I've read every single one. Every few days I visit his site - americanelf.com - to check out what he's been up to. The most recent moment of excitement is when a canoe hitching a ride on the back of a car collided with his head - he's still struggling with a scabby eye. The normalness (most of the time) of his experiences is what makes his strip so special. Watching his children grow up at a day by day rate has made me think about what's coming up for my boys. He's honest about his relationships and his approach is unique and refreshing.  

  This week one of his strips was a drawing lesson, so I thought I would dig out my underused Airtip and follow his instructions. The result was Desmond Frogtongue, Colin the Cyclops and Punk Giraffodile.