Drawing Apples

I am back to the drawing board and loving it. After two weeks in self-isolation due to travel regulations, I really missed creating art. Though I usually paint with acrylics, I opted for a Facebook Live drawing tutorial instead. These drawings are less messy than paint and require only a pencil, paper, a smudger or cotton swab and an eraser.  

I love having an eraser as an art tool. Not only does it mean that mistakes can be corrected easily, it can also enhance the drawing by adding light.

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apples

As Karin guided us through the steps, I reflected on other ways apples have been erased.

• When my children were small, we would drive out to Whitby in the fall to pick apples. Those orchards are gone now. They have been paved over to build homes.
• I remember the apple farmers of the Okanagan Valley. Bad weather in the spring and fall and a lack of seasonal workers left many apples unpicked. The apples will eventually turn to mush. An important food source is lost and incomes are uncertain.
• Ghost apple posts from 2019 reappear in Twitter. Ice builds up on the fruit and eventually the rotten apples slide out leaving the icy shells behind.

GHOST APPLES 👻🍏🍎

After freezing rain fell in Michigan this week, any apples that hadn’t been picked yet received a coating of ice. Some had their insides turn to mush. That allowed the apple to fall leaving behind these amazing “ghost apples.”

📷: Andrew Sietsema pic.twitter.com/3e2aew80e1

— Heather (@RedShiningStar) February 8, 2019

When I look back on the past months, I wonder if I could magically erase some decisions that I have made, what would they be? Where could I bring more light? I decide I have done well enough despite the challenges. I cannot erase the past. I will keep moving forward and do the best I can. I decide that my apple drawing is fine too so I close the book.

I have apples in the refrigerator. I will bake pies tomorrow. I don’t want them to go to waste.

Trees are meant to grow. Apples are meant to be enjoyed. Eventually the cold shell of 2020 will be left behind. I will remember only the fruit. I have saved a memory of it in my book.