I think the best choice I’ve made in this short life is to move to the great state of California. I never cease to be impressed by the beauty of this place, whether it’s watching the clouds from the coast roll over the mountains, witnessing the change of the seasons as the mountains turn from green to brown and back again, or enjoying the brilliant spring blooms along the trails that I walk Milo on.
I think these are black-eyed susans, but I’m not truly sure (I’m very, very bad with plants), despite the fact that they were my favorite flower to draw. My art teacher in elementary school showed us how to draw black-eyed susans. It was very formulaic. First, you drew a purple teardrop upside down. You filled it in with the purple, then you went around the edges with black. You shaded the bottom portion of the teardrop in with black as well. Then, you drew yellow petals off the bottom of the teardrop, from about the middle-point on both sides. You filled these in with yellow, and then scribbled some orange closer to the teardrop on the petals. Last you pegged on a green steam and leaves, with a touch of brown, and threw in a horizontal line for grass.
I drew these over and over again, following the formula. Guess that’s why I’m not the best illustrator in the world — too formulaic, but not enough discipline.
