It is weird getting to grips with time zones and body clocks. Its just after nine in the evening back home but I am up before dawn in Singapore, tired but sleepless, and … hungry, waiting for breakfast to open in the hotel. Apparently, circadian rhythms have been built into our make-up for around three billion years, since before our ancestors had cellular organelles, let alone stomachs and brains.
These drawings are a few weeks old. The first two are from a short cycle trip up the canal with my daughter at the end of November. Her drawing looks straight across the well of the lock to fields and farm buildings beyond. Mine looks along the canal and path to the gates and pond behind. Both of us used conte crayon but hers is laid over pencil, mine over ink. We only managed one sketch apiece that day.
The most recent drawing I have done was a couple of weeks ago, cycling out to a nearby business park set in landscaped paths, ponds and woods which they call a nature reserve. This is one of the units seen from the sunken cycle path and set against a dense grey winter sky.
And that’s it. Life is busy and sketching is taking a hit. And … I’ve bought a guitar.
kestrelart 
Enjoy your time in Singapore and thanks for showing us both you and your daughter’s work. It’s great to see you share this activity. Merry Christmas! 🎄🎁
Sketching in Singapore?
Hi Jason
I hope so. I came out to give a talk. Done that now so hopefully I can walk round. Great place in many ways.
Do you know how to play a guitar? It’s one of the things I always wanted to learn – maybe one day.
Hi
If I may presume to offer advice, if you thinking about it, do it. I started messing round with a ukulele. Somehow, this seemed less threatening to a non musical person. I took it seriously from the start of 2015 and have had weekly lessons. I bought the guitar at start of December and switched to learning that with the same teacher. So it would be exaggerating to say I can play the guitar. But as the guy in the music shop said, never underestimate the pleasure in playing music badly. I get so much pleasure from practicing, and its the thing I look forward to all day. If I can’t sleep, I practice scales in my head. Tuition costs of course, but many people spend more on going out to the pub each week.
So my advice is, enjoy playing badly, but still get professional tuition so you have a structured approach to getting good enough to have fun. And involve your kids – jam with them on whatever they are playing at school.
If you do it, have fun!
Thanks, Neil. It is sound advice and maybe I’ll give myself the pleasure of playing badly sometime in the middle of this year (I have a bunch of Watercolour videos & books I want to get through in the next few months). My daughter is learning to play piano & recorder and it is amazing to see her progress and be able to play “happy birthday” song and Xmas Carols and such for the rest of us – makes celebrations so much more fun. Your house must be so much fun with all of your drawing and music and conversations. Happy 2016 and creating with your kids.
It’s certainly fun. We are, truthfully, musically rather talentless as a family. But that does not stop us!
It’s tough finding time to do everything I agree.