Anti-Social

Before the COVID-19 outbreak and life was normal, we were social people. Walking with friends in town or simply strolling down the street window shopping was considered normal. Since this outbreak though we are advised to stay home. You can of course still go out here in the Netherlands but many of the shops are closed. And of course when you do walk outside, you must maintain a 2 meter or so social distance, Unfortunately not many comply to this. Very inconsiderate and not clever, anti-social behavior if anything!

And now being a good girl and complying with the social-distancing by staying home, I am still following the FB tutorial by Ana, my Portuguese artist friend. Recently, she gave us one about painting figures. I’ve never done this kind of drawing before but always wanted to master different techniques. Perhaps open a new channel and see what I’m capable of. For this painting, all I needed was some paper, Chinese ink and a good pointed brush. I used Kuretake’s ZIG Cartoonist Black Ink which is actually Sumi charcoal ink, similar to Chinese ink. In the tutorial video, she made it look so easy! I was doubtful. Nevertheless I gave it a shot…

Oh my, as the French would say, “pas mal”! It was not as impossible as I thought. Perhaps it’s just beginner’s luck or Ana has just unlocked a hidden ability I was afraid to explore because I lacked self-belief. The painting went so smoothly, and I kept continuing without hesitation or doubt. Even now I still believe I did it! I will definitely be practicing this figure painting more often, And seeing that these folks in my drawing are not complying with social distancing, I may well call it “Anti-Social”!