Waiting for the Doctor
Waiting for the Doctor – Watercolor, pencil, ink – 5 x 5 inches.
Tony Bennett said that every morning he sang scales, do, re, mi, fa, so la, ti, do. If he missed a day, he knew it. If he missed two days, the musicians knew it. If he missed three days, the audience knew it as well.
A couple of weeks ago, I finally finished writing a book about my paintings that I had been working on for more than a year. It’s now being printed in Hong Kong and, if all goes well, it will arrive here in the middle of October. During the months I was working on the book, my drawing practice stalled. Unlike Tony, I wasn’t singing scales every day.
A couple of weeks ago, I was in my optometrist's office and started sketching this complex instrument that was suspended in front of me. I don’t think it’s a very good drawing and it reflects my lack of practice. But I kept drawing for a few minutes anyway, first in pencil, then in ink. (I added watercolor to the mess later in my studio.)
It’s a poor sketch, but I decided to show it to you anyway. Why? Because failed drawings are good inspirations for younger artists; they illustrate Tony’s point: without daily practice, talent doesn’t amount to much.
More interestingly, sketches are not failures because such drawings are not about finished products. The point of a drawing is not to make a product. Drawing is a process; it’s the act of looking deeply, patiently, into the world. It is about paying attention.
I’d much rather draw a flower than a mechanical tool. But if the goal of drawing is to learn to see better, then drawing an optometrist’s mechanism for making people see better carries a touch of irony, no? Still, wouldn’t it be fun to see the look on the doctor’s face when he entered his office if, instead of drawing, I was singing do, re, mi, fa, so la, ti, do?
More images on my website: johnmichaelkeating.com
HI JM, it is nice to hear from you and I am very excited to know that you published a book, when you say it will arrive mid-October, do you mean arrive to you as one example or will be available on market in for example USA?
When I saw the sketch I was wondering what is it, it looks a bit like a space ship or so but I saw that it fixed to wall, therefore, thought a kind of equipment after reading the post it is clear that it is one of the medical equipment. I agree when we see successful and finished paintings of professional artists we get frustrated and think that you should be born with such skill to create a painting like for example Da Vinci and stop even trying.
But I appreciate you for sharing this practicing and sketching so that it inspires many try and continue that with the aim of getting better.
It was really nice to see your post, wishing you nice WE!
Hola stef1 and thank you for your comment.
Yes, I finished writing the book (80 images and commentary, 160 pages) and it is now being printed in Hong Kong. After shipping to the USA, it will be available for purchase (probably on Amazon) around the middle of October. I'll keep you posted.
Meanwhile, I don't know what the medical instrument is called, but optrometrists use it to calculate how well you see.
Thank you for the good wishes. I had a fine weekend and I hope you did too.
Thank you and best wishes to all!
Hi JM, I wonder how long it took you to prepare materials for a book? You might have had a sign of relief when you completed it. Yes it would be great if you let me know when the book is available and where :)