I didn't want to show this, but maybe I should. You know the Sketch of Maggie ("First Time for Everything")? I thought it was pretty bad, so I'd do it over when I saw her again. But right when I was about done, I caught sight of Alabaster, the egret fishing on the other side of Deeper Pond! Shey'd go flying south for warmer weather, and I wouldn't see the herons for months after that, I knew--I had to sketch her today!
Without thinking, I got up to go draw her. I forgot that I had just brushed on stuff that had to be left still to dry--oh no! I looked down, and paint was seeping across the page, some colors fading--gulp.
"Um Maggie, I thought today's drawing would be a nice one...but I'm sorry; would you let me try one more time? This one was a fiasco."
The first time, my concentration was shaken by a little blue bird, the Kawasemi. This time, it was a large white one, an Egret. Why can't I be satisfied to draw what's set in front of my eyes? Maybe then I could sketch a satisfactory Mallard at least once.
