Monday, August 1, 2011

illustration friday (obsession)


I have both rational and irrational fears of many kinds of bugs. But a little over a year ago, I forced myself to paint a millipede etegami to submit to a mailart call on the theme of "Phobias." Ever since then, I've become obsessed with drawing bugs-- even the ones that disgust and scare me the most. Cockroaches, mosquitoes, and centipedes, for example. (I'm still not brave enough to draw spiders.) As I paint them, I discover beauty in the colors and patterns of their construction, and that helps me overcome a bit of my phobia. Just a little bit.

The words are a quote from a poem called The Old Gumbie Cat by T.S.Eliot, from the book titled: Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, on which, I'm told, the Broadway musical Cats is based. I've been enjoying the book immensely, and I see a lot of cat etegami in my future...
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11 comments:

  1. origa-meAugust 2, 2011 at 3:02 AM

    Sorry I preferred it when you "Ninja'ed" (is that a word?) the cockroaches!

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  2. dosankodebbieAugust 2, 2011 at 4:19 AM

    @Carole, the ninja vs cockroach etegami will always be one of my favorites, even though it was a more realistic cockroach. These are kind of cartoon-y and aren't very threatening, don't you think?

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  3. ThérèseAugust 2, 2011 at 6:11 AM

    Are you then ready for the "beetles' tattoo?" ;-))

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  4. studio loloAugust 2, 2011 at 6:16 AM

    I have lots of catching up to do here!
    We have centipedes in this old house and they freak me out with their fast, wiggly movement! I read about them and discovered they eat the bad bugs. That helps me live with them :)

    I like the roaches above and I dore that book. I'm looking forward to your kitty etegamis!

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  5. Vicki SmithAugust 2, 2011 at 8:34 AM

    Interesting post.

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  6. AnonymousAugust 2, 2011 at 5:34 PM

    さすが　Debbie. I love your sense of humor!!
    Cindy Edwards

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  7. Mama LisaAugust 2, 2011 at 6:34 PM

    Awesome bugs! -Mama Lisa

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  8. Sarah MellingAugust 3, 2011 at 7:33 PM

    This is really beautiful (I think that's the first time I've said that about cockroaches...) And I'm really loving your sketchbook stories...you've been busy! You always leave great comments, but the story that you left on my blog about your "library books" was so touching...one of my favorite comments ever!

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  9. dosankodebbieAugust 3, 2011 at 7:53 PM

    So far no squeals of disgust! That's pretty good! Your comments give me courage even to try painting spiders. @Sarah, your blog post about books reminded me that one of the heroes in my childhood favorite, Charlotte's Web was a spider!

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  10. MrBibleHeadAugust 4, 2011 at 4:46 PM

    So funny and informative and artsy! Nice one Debbie!

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  11. Sylvia LiuAugust 4, 2011 at 7:08 PM

    This is excellent, as usual!

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