Friday, December 3, 2010

1967 Pen-and-Pastel Drawing

Be Kind, I Was Ten!

M Y   E A R L Y   A R T — This is a drawing I made in 1967, when I was ten years old. It's the kitchen in my family's antique home, built in 1766. I used a black pen and a combination of chalk and oil pastels—I was always given little boxes of art supplies and pads of papers to "practice on," and honestly, I spent most of my time doodling, either houses or cars. 

This drawing shows what looks like an antique wall phone, but was, in reality, a specialty AM radio, and yes, I have it in my apartment today. The copper Jello molds hanging on the fireplace are hanging in the attic as I type this, and I still possess the small vases and clay German beer stein sitting on the mantle. The house was definitely a bit crooked, 200 year old houses usually are, but I think I could have gotten the angles a bit better. 

It's a bit disconcerting to me realizing I drew this 43 years ago!

7 comments:

  1. Casey, I think this would be considered GREAT for most 20 year old's. For a 10 year old it should be described as AWESOME! Most 10 yo's that I know struggle to color between the lines! Great attention to detail. I'm sure your parent's were so proud, and Hoohoo too.

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  2. I agree with phantomX, Casey.This is a delight.
    There are shadows, highlights, color blending, and depth (the mantel shelf is killer! .)

    The glassware on the mantel is very delicate and nicely detailed .



    Tell that kid I said 'Bravo"

    AP
    Malibu

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  3. thank you so much! I was taught at a VERY early age to "draw what you see, NOT what you THINK you see." That was Hoohoo's advice.

    When I was in kindergarten, which was only a 1/2 day back then, one day we had to draw the "outside" from our seats. I drew the sky all the way to the ground with my blue crayon. Every other kid just drew a stripe of blue at the top of the paper. The teacher had me to stand up in front of the class to explain why I did it the way I did it. She put me on the spot so much, I was a nervous kid anyway, I was sure I was in trouble for doing it wrong, and I peed my pants and couldn't speak. Horrible day but I always found solace in my drawings.

    I do NOT stand up in front of crowds to this day.

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  4. it's funny, but back then I didn't think I had any talent at all. In drawings like this one, I thought I was "cheating" because I drew the black lines first and then filled them in with colors, like a coloring book. In my mind, I should have been able to draw with my colors first. It never occurred to me that it was just a different technique, or that it took some talent to lay down the black lines in the first place. Calling Dr. Freud!

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  5. CASEY, I TRULY LOVE THIS PICTURE AND FRAME. I'D HANG IT AND BE PROUD OF HOW BEAUTIFUL YOUR HOME MUST HAVE BEEN. I'D LOVE TO LIVE IN ONE OF THOSE OLD HOME AGAIN.MY GRANDDAD BUILT THE HOUSE I GREW UP IN. WHEN I WAS A KID I WOULD DREAM OF LIVING IN A MODERN HOUSE. NOW I WISH I LIVE BACK IN THE OLD HOUSE. IT'S WHERE MY HEART IS LEFT BEHIND. I DON'T MISS THAT ATTIC THOUGH.BOO BOO BOO BOO.

    GRANNY

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  6. I FORGOT TO SAY, I HAVE ONE OF THOSE PHONES. MY COUSIN OWNED A DISCO AND HAD TO CLOSE IT DONE BECAUSE OF GARY MOORE. HE GOT SUED FOR HAVING THE SAME NAME ON THE OUTSIDE THAT GARY HAD ON ONE OF HIS BUSINESSES. MY COUSIN DIDN'T HAVE THE BIG MONEY LIKE GARY TO FIGHT FOR THE NAME SO HE JUST CLOSED UP ANYWAYS WHEN HE WAS GETTING RID OF THE DECOR HE GAVE ME ONE OF THE PHONES HE HAD IN THE PLACE. IT'S A FUN PIECE BUT NOW I HAVE IT TUCKED AWAY.SAVING IT FOR THE KIDS.

    GRANNY

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