Malcolm bought me some beautiful white tulips for Valentine’s Day – I do love tulips!
They looked lovely for quite some time – much admired! They began to do their cut-tulipy thing – spreading their allegiance – at which point everything aligned for me to do my first drawing in ages.
My previous Tulip drawing – one of my favourites – had been a different affair. I wore lenses and reading glasses and used a magnifying glass in my determination for accurate depiction. I remember wondering at one point what on earth I thought I was doing, as nobody else could see what was in front of me! Did it really matter if each leaf was precisely positioned? It mattered to me.
In this instance, I didn’t have my lenses in, and it felt more like trying to capture a feeling of the thing. The fresh white before it faded. The still upright leaves. Hope remained – just the beginnings of a movement.
I called it ‘Beginnings’:
A few days later, and the beginnings were beginning to fade.
The end of the beginnings, or the beginnings of the end.
The whites turned creamier – like ageing, stained pillows. And the leaves began their flop. They retained an element of loveliness, but the sprawl was undoubtedly evident. A semi-conscious metaphorical hint at life?
I drew over ‘Beginnings’ – using a heavier hand, but still less concerned with accurate depiction.
“The End of the Beginnings” wasn’t even really an end.
A few days on, and there was no doubt about it. The beginnings were no more. There was a distinct cabbagey wiff in the air. The stems no longer capable of holding the blooms. The blooms reduced to papery casts…
No colour retained,
Moisture drained.
No life remained.
Apart from in the water where a fine algal bloom was taking hold.
I drew the end on a sheet of tracing paper – the hint of life in its former self faded. A darker depiction this. It was one of those where feeling a bit sh1t about stuff helped – any need for precise realism vanquished. An enjoyable foible.
“This is the End”
A wee ending to the three-oh. Malcolm showed me how to use his new (to me) video/ editing programme.
