Friday, May 21, 2010

Bookshelf Angel

Day 21: Draw something vintage, antique or old.  I don't know how old the bookshelf angel is, but it's got a little patina, so it's in.  All my old stuff is either in storage or up the ski hill.

The lyric is from Holly Cole's 'Make It Go Away Or Make It Better'.  It's the song my girly-friend Mig and I sing to each other on the phone when one of us is going through something hard.  We change the words to 'I will be the angel...'.  It's pretty nice to come home to that sung with abandon into your voicemail box when you're blue.

I love peeking at what's in someone else's bookshelf.  Says a lot.  If you're into sketchbooks and sketching (and you must be or you wouldn't be reading this blog) check out The Doyle Diary by Charles Altamont Doyle.  It's Sir Conan Doyle's father's sketchbook journal, unearthed in recent years.  He created it while in an insane asylum.  Doesn't make much sense, but it's fascinating, and the sketches are lovely.  I picked up this old copy at The Book Shop in Penticton.
It opens with, "Keep steadily in view that this Book is ascribed wholly to the produce of a MADMAN.  Whereabouts would you say was the deficiency of Intellect? or depraved taste?  If in the whole Book you can find a single Evidence of either, mark it and record it against me."

Sorry Mr Doyle, but it all looks a bit crazy to me.

4 comments:

Marthann's Musings said...

What a wonderful drawing/painting. I love your EDM page for today. I have to go get mine done. Great job

Unknown said...

Fantastic drawing.

That's a nice thing your friend & you do to cheer each other up.

Speck said...

I googled up The Doyle Diary and found a review by Greg Stacy for LA Weekly. Greg's description of the contents of Doyle's diary sound a whole lot like what you will find in mine. Kinda makes me wonder if I belong in an asylum. But aren't all artsy people just a little bit crazy? :)

Sketchalina said...

Yep, crazy is one of my favorite common denominators with us creative folk. It's definitely what makes the Doyle Diary fun and fascinating to read.