Sandy Supposes....

Scribbling and Scratching

July 19th Prompt: Hobby?

         

         I discovered this particular hobby when I first picked up a pencil and pressed it to a piece of paper creating a few random squiggles. I found my new hobby, doodling / sketching.

         I like imitating facial expressions, body posture, costumes and accessories. Sometimes, I exaggerate a facial feature or emphasize the scowl or an open-mouthed gap-toothed grin. Hairstyles are fun to play with, too. Animals are fair game for my renderings as well.

         For years, my efforts have entertained delighted children. At
one time, my version of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles proved to be in demand. I had to learn their names to appease the young afficionados. Disney characters are popular and one of the first I mastered as a child was Winnie the Pooh.Sime kids simply request a giraffe or a lion, and I oblige.

          Painting faces is a fun challenge. My colourful canvases range from butterflies to tigers to 'monsters.' I never grow weary of the awed thanks.

          I'm not a paid, successful artist. A few months ago, I replied to a Facebook contest sponsored by the Canadian cartoonist, Lynn Johnston known for her comic strip For Better Or Worse. She shares the chaos and laughter of family life. She explained in her online post that she and her daughter like to challenge each other with doodle contests. They take turns presenting the other with a few random shapes and lines that are to be incorporated into a cohesive sketch. Lynn posted a few looping, unconnected lines flanked by two circles. The rules were simple. Make something of these given lines without altering or moving them. So, challenge accepted. I did.          Initially, I envisioned a swimming whale and I also could see the figure of a person as other submitters did. I turned the offering 180 degrees and saw something different. I created a cat with folded front paws and long tail twitching, sprawled across the top of a fish tank. Bug-eyed fish swam within that tank.

         As directed, I snapped a photo of my doodle and submitted it online as a Facebook post. Surprise! Lynn liked it and mailed one of her original doodles to me with an inscription referring to me as a fellow cartoonist. Wow! I'm not going to lie. That praise, that recognition, that affirmation made me feel fantastic. I am not in her league. I am a mere dabbler.