Draw what you want, Wednesday

Special Bus, sometime in the 80s

My dad requested a Clipper Ship for this weeks drawing,

Draw what you want, Wednesday

This weeks request was by Tad (aka Polyphase)

Tad's request:
polyphase_

Its not wednesday, and I'm not good at following rules, so ill post here. Will you draw a one humped camel and a two humped camel yin-yangish deal? You know, with the humps fitting together. I believe this happens frequently, but no one has ever witnessed it before. My life will not be complete without a rendition.


I rather like how it turned out, hope that you do too.


Yin-Yang Camels, 2010

Draw what you want, Wednesday

Heather Lucky, Polaroid, 2008

My dear friend Heather Lucky requested, "you should draw cheese." She said this with a slight smirk knowing that I cannot eat cheese. I think back on one of my first episodes of drinking dairy and getting flu like symptoms. I drank a half glass full of 2% milk and was on the bathroom floor in the fetal position for a couple of hours.

I think people assume that food allergies are just a way of being "difficult." And I have had many people say "you could just take beano" or introduce milk back into my diet. I do have cheese now and again because I adore brie but mostly I try and keep it out of my body. If my body reacts in unsettling ways I'd rather appreciate my bodies wishes.

Anyhow, when heather asked me to draw cheese, I started to daydream about the cheeses I would eat. So that is what I drew.

Cheese, ink on paper, 2010

Muenster is something that was always in our fridge as a child. the slight bitter taste always amazed me. And as a child I would love eating it's orange edges.

Cheddar also amazed me but much later. I loved the hard cheddars where they bite back.

Brie. My favourite cheese and with such a varied taste range. <3 <3 <3

Draw what you want, Wednesday

Okay so it's Thursday but I have an excuse? I went to Blonde Redhead last night and didn't get a chance to scan in this drawing til today.

My friend Anthony Sonnenberg requested an orchid for this weeks drawing.


Anthony Sonnenberg, 2009


Orchid, 2010

Draw what you want, Wednesday

Yay! Another Draw what you want, Wednesday! I started this project on November 2nd and it is where I take requests to draw something, anything, that you want. If you have something you want me to draw, either post a comment or contact me.

This week I'm taking Jess Drake's request of "mystical fungi." Jess Drake is an awesome soil scientist, you can check out what she does on her blog. Also, she has a foodie blog, where she posts awesome recipes :)


Jess from Edwina's Flickr, 2010

So here is this weeks, Draw what you want, "mystical fungi" :)

Mystical Fungi, 2010

Draw what you want, Wednesday

Log Cabin, 2010

This week I took Jeremie's request, Log Cabin. I can't help but think of Lincoln Logs something I would randomly play with as a child because there weren't any legos.


Jeremie, 2010



Legos, South by Southwest 2009

Draw what you want, Wednesday

Oh no, I drew this yesterday but forgot to scan it. I drew a picture of Peter's dog Francis when he was a wee pup. It was a nice little project and I enjoyed getting out of my comfort zone. If anyone has any random requests for drawings just let me know. Yay! random drawings.

Francis, 2010

He is named after Francis Bacon the philospher and scientist.


Francis, Impossible Project PX 70 FF film, 2010

But if you're an artist you automatically think of the British Expressionist painter known for his frightening imagery. When Peter first told me his name I kept thinking of his portraits where the faces looked something out of a horror movie.

Draw what you want, Wednesday

I want to start drawing from requests and since this blog is fairly new I took Peter's request for, "not the sharpest crayon in the box."

I started thinking about crayons and how they are associated with childhood. When I was little I thought that having the largest crayon box with the built in sharpener meant you were cool.

When my mom bought them for me I remember having a slight skip in my step as I put the box in my backpack. I remember my glee as I pulled the box from my backpack to draw and share these fascinating colours with my friends. I'm not sure this ever faded from my belief system, since I love lining up my gouache paints, admiring all the variation in hues.



What I do not associate crayons with is their colour from the 1960s, Flesh. As we grow older we start to see the layered meaning, looking at objects from the past and reflecting on how society has changed. Now you can buy a box of multicultural crayons, which includes:
black, sepia, peach, apricot, white, tan, mahogany, and burnt sienna.


Not the sharpest crayon in the box, 2010 on flickr

I'm not quite sure this is a step forward considering I wouldn't want to associate my skin colour to any of these. It might be better to reclaim the name flesh for all of them and let children decide where they fit in.

So with all these thoughts, I started to think about the term "Not the Sharpest Crayon in the Box." We forget that meaning is layered into our material culture, even in a box of crayons. I think of society as not the sharpest crayon in the box, it's something that has been overused, lost and devoured (I imagine little kids gnawing on crayons). Society can never go back to being the sharpest, even when it desperately uses the built in sharpener.