Shady Characters

While drawing these figs, I immediately thought of the words “shady characters.” You may think that the figs are the shady characters, right?

After all, the figs are casting shadows and they look ‘shady.’ But the truth is I am the one who is the ‘shady character.’ On two separate morning walks this week, I have passed a little fig tree. The fig tree is in a public park with a big ol’ sign that says, among other things, ‘Do not remove any plantings from this park!’

I didn’t see the sign until today after I had picked the second fig. But none of this matters. I love figs. I had to have them. And, as far as I could see, the only other contenders for picking figs were squirrels. They are everywhere in this park. And, truth is I hate squirrels. There, you have it.

Why do I hate squirrels? I don’t know. They’re annoying? They barrage our bird feeders. I’m not saying I would accelerate my car if I saw one lounging in the street or anything. But they do know how to wreak havoc on bird feeders and they might eat figs, too.

As soon as I saw these delightful figs, I just had to draw them. So, today I cut one of the figs in half and set it up next to the whole fig. Within seconds the cut fig pieces fell apart. I looked at it through my viewfinder and loved how the light high lighted the whole green fig. And, I loved how the cut piece on the left ‘leaned’ towards the whole fig. The third piece looks like a little boat hull from my point of view.

In truth, the composition took a bit longer than that. It always does! But just add Annigoni Paper and charcoal, and I had a wonderful day as a ‘shady character.’

Thanks for reading and share your thoughts and ‘shady character’ stories here if you’d like!