Stagefright

A few weeks ago, the Swedish pipe carver Ronny Thunér contacted me and asked if I'd consider doing a drawing of one of his pipes in exchange for the pipe itself. He confessed to being an admirer of the work I've been posting on this blog and on facebook, and that he'd wanted one since he began seeing them earlier this summer. I'd heard of him but was not familiar with his work, so I was completely unprepared for his extraordinary story, which I found posted on Pipedia. It told of a childhood filled with inexplicable rage, and behavior that scooped out the guts of his early adulthood, landing him in jail and nearly costing him his life before he was diagnosed with serious ADHD. Ultimately, he was rescued from his torture by a the work of a dedicated clinician, but more so by his discovery of his gift for making pipes. Reading it wrung me out emotionally. Although my own story is very different, I identified with Ronny and felt we had an immediate and strong connection. I accepted his request.

Well, the pipe arrived from Sweden on my front steps with yesterday's mail. I brought it up to the studio and tore open the padded envelope, cutting through layers of tape and bubble wrap with a utility knife, and brought out a small, gorgeous gem of a smooth finished briar. It about took my breath away, turning it in my hands in the filtered light from the studio's stained glass windows. And now it's performance time. It's one thing to draw whatever I please, but entirely another to draw a commissioned piece, and this is a big deal because Ronny's story so moved me. So I'm starting out with a few quick sketches to really get a feel for the piece before I do a final drawing to send to him. This one shows it sitting on the torn shipping envelope it came in. It seems silly, because I've been drawing for so many years, but I have a touch of stage fright. I'm performing for a very special fellow artist.

compositional sketch, 8 x 5, Prismacolor pencilsAnother getting acquainted compositional sketch. 

2B graphite and Prismacolors