Thursday, January 9, 2014

This Mouse

Today I am posting a picture of a mouse. Here it is:

Our young tomcat caught this little guy without harming him, so the girls kept him in a small terrarium for most of the day before rereleasing him back into the wild.

This happens from time to time -the girls catching small animals and bringing them home. Mice, shrews, box turtles, crayfish and salamanders have all made short stays at our house. I try to draw these creatures as often as I can.

When I speak about art and visual storytelling at schools and libraries I often mention the importance of drawing from life. This is what I mean: when life puts a mouse in your path just stop what you’re doing for a few minutes and draw a picture of it. Even if your drawing doesn't turn out well (because not all drawings turn out well) you will at least have spent some time really looking at one of the creatures we share our world with. And that's invaluable.