Billy Collins and Drawing

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of hearing Billy Collins read his poetry at the South Orange Performing Arts Center. Wow! I was not expecting to be so thoroughly engrossed and entertained. He is charismatic and very, very funny. I had read some of his poetry before, but was not familiar with most of what he read and his commentary between the actual poems was just as amusing as some of his poetry. Have you read his poem "The Lanyard?" It is included in his volume The Trouble with Poetry. I bet you will be able to relate. While skimming this book, I came across a poem titled "Drawing Class." I took a drawing class sophomore year at Vassar. It is the only art class I have ever taken and I got the worst grade of my college career: B-. Billy Collins seems to have gotten more out of his drawing class than I did.

Some of the lines of his poem ring so true to me: "I would tell you that I enjoy/adhering to the outline of a thing." "I would add that I can get lost/crosshatching the shadow of a chair" I don't want to give away the whole poem, but suggest that you take a look at it and the rest of his work. I think you will find something that you love.

Meanwhile, his poem prompted me to post these 2 recent sketches of a Knobbed Welk. Recently I have had little time to make any art at all, but I squeezed in these 10 minute sketches over 2 days. Graphite and charcoal in a 5 x 7" sketchbook I purchased at my favorite art supply store A Paper Hat which, luckily enough, is open on weekends and is a block or so from my house. Thank you Mika!