Plants and Rants

Thursday: I’ve used this day-by-day template for so long, but now the days have sort of run into one another. Hopefully, this week will get me back on track. Let’s just pretend for the time being that the days I drew plants are accurately labeled. How many bugs can you spot in that photo? After looking at the flower for around 15 seconds straight, I was fairly horrified to find that there are, at the very least, five. I’m fully aware that this is nature and there are bugs in nature. Unfortunately, bugs are not my thing. Just so we’re clear, I’m also asking myself why my drawing looks like that.  Friday and Saturday and Sunday: So Friday managed to slip into my whole Saturday-Sunday break this week. I spent a great deal of time doing things I dislike this week, so I fully believe that I deserved an extra day. (Just so there’s no confusion: I like writing, I like plants, and I dislike drawing.) I find it sort of funny how I jumped into this blog ready to do well and then it all just...

Thursday: I don’t think anyone here understands the large amounts of hate I have for cold weather. There is not a string of words that can even begin to describe my feelings toward it.  So, here are some indoor plants. The first (and the best) plant I would like to introduce you to is my snake plant, Jasper. (Yes, many of my plants have names. Just as a fair warning, some of them are stupid and/or references.)  Oh, you see those little dried-up flowers? That’s a sign that Jasper is happy. Or, at least he was happy enough to flower during the spring. He is lovely and nothing and no one will ever do him justice. Snake plants do incredibly well with very minimal care. It’s something I love about them.    Unfortunately, I didn’t have a pen on me. So, pencil will have to do for this drawing. I am completely unsatisfied with how I drew Jasper, but that was expected. Friday: The Dragon Tree a.k.a. Plant McCartney. I also call him Carter. And Cart. His full name is a mouthfu...

I think I've been mislabeling the weeks. Oh well. Why are there no plants this week? Well, I have a bucket of solid reasons why, many of which are legitimate. I will list them here in order of importance.  I was out of the country. I did not have access to my phone, consistently stable internet connection, plant pictures, white paper, pens or pencils, or anything necessary for this blog to work. I have an ungodly amount of makeup work because I missed a few weeks of school. College Applications. I don’t really think that requires any further explanation. I have Covid (for the first time). Is it my fault? Maybe partially. I have probably spent 20/48 hours listening to music since the time I have gotten back to the United States. I involuntarily gave up music for around 10 days. It made every second of those days around 18% less enjoyable.  I received a definitely-not-needed confidence boost after watching the movie The Bad Guys. I hated it. It reminded me that even my wors...

Thursday: Given last week’s performance, I am pleasantly surprised with how this came out. It turns out that repeatedly looking at what you want to draw actually makes it much easier to replicate.  The climbing rose featured here has actually grown quite a bit since this photo. In the background you can see the supporting structure on which it ‘climbs’. I’m incredibly proud of it.  Friday: “Cabeg”.  I was at an Indian supermarket in California and found these cabeges. Honestly, after seeing this, the official spelling of the word “cabbages” feels underwhelming.  The roundness of the vegetable was surprisingly hard to capture. I’m slightly let down by how I drew its shape. The more I look at my drawing, the more it looks like an oddly-shaped human brain with way less wrinkles.  Saturday and Sunday : I am (unsuccessfully) trying to understand how the notes on a guitar work without having ever played or owned a guitar. Why? I saw someone playing a guitar and I real...

  So, it officially begins. Here’s what the week looked like:  Thursday: Do I like this drawing? No. Do I care? Yes. I do. This disappoints me. If this is how the rest of them turn out, I’m going to be an extraordinarily unhappy artist. In all fairness, I only looked at the reference once and then did my own thing.   I’m fairly certain that this is a Double Delight Rose. Take every single ‘official’ flower name with a grain of salt. I probably don’t know what I’m talking about.  Friday:   I found a picture of some pretty weeds I had seen a while ago. Apparently, the simpler the flower is, the harder it is to make it look right. Once again, I’m fairly disappointed.                                                                                   ...

As an individual who lacks every sort of artistic skill imaginable, for the next ~8 weeks, I will be forcing myself to draw plants every single day.  Why plants? For one, I just like plants. My endeavors as an amateur gardener have left me with hundreds of pictures of plants I have grown, as well as pictures of a hundred more I want to grow. With multiple references already at my disposal, it felt weird not to choose plants. Also, for the most part, I hate drawing. So, this will be fun.  Well, anyways, stay tuned for poorly-drawn plants and rants.  —Safa