Friday, October 5, 2007

Baa-Man and His Chicks

A while ago I went to a farm to get some practice sketching sheep and chickens. I was off to a good start with some head studies, but the animals got restless. They ran off before I could draw their bodies. Here’s what my sketchbook page looked like.



That evening I went to a pub to have a beer and listen to some Irish music. A guy and his wife sat down at a table in front of me, perfect targets for a candid sketch. My book popped open to the half-finished drawing. Amazingly, the animal heads lined up with the human bodies. So I just finished the drawing without giving it another thought.

About then his wife spotted me. She turned to her husband and said, “Herb, that artist is drawing a picture of us. You should go take a look.”



No, I gestured. Don’t bother. But he staggered over anyway and stood beside to me, staring at my picture, grunting and hiccuping.

Oh, great, I thought, I’m dead. He’s pissed off, for sure. How could I possibly explain this insulting portrait? Especially since I made him a ewe and his wife was a rooster.

But Herb didn’t say a word. He toddled back and sank into his chair and took a long, searching look at his beer bottle. Then he pushed the bottle away and never took another sip.

6 comments:

Unknown said...

Amazing drawings. I feel like there's a lesson here.

Kactiguy said...

That is hilarious. I have completed similar unfinished sketches, but never with such wonderful results. Made me laugh.

K_tigress said...

Haha cute.

Yeah so did I.
There were these old group of European looking people who would take a walk every morning. There would always be an old man with a baseball hat and two old ladies that always fallowed behind.
Yep, you guessed it I sketched in my sketchbook a rooster character followed by two cackling old hens in babushkas. :D

I'll have to fix it up some time.

Simon Scales said...

Great stuff here James!!
always love having a look at your sketches...keep em coming!!

Gwen Buchanan said...

I am laughing...

I really love your lines, written & drawn, thanks, g

Anonymous said...

After seeing that, and contemplating his existence, he may never have taken a drink again, hah!