I can draw a tree!

One of the reasons I like using crayons so much is that I have always found watercolours to be quite intimidating. I was talking to a friend the other day about how people just assume that since you went to design school, you would already be an expert at drawing or painting. The only drawing I was taught in design school was fashion figures. The rest is all upto the individual to figure out.

Anyway, I was in the middle of cleaning and organising when I found this watercolour painting of a tree that I made a while back and thought I'd share it. Every time I look at it I am amazed that it was me who made it! I found a Youtube channel - Watercolor by Shibasaki and I cannot recommend it enough to anyone who is scared to pick up a brush and paints. He makes it so simple and easy to draw - this tutorial video is just five minutes long, and that's just about how long it takes to make this.

And of course, I had to try it again in my crayons. I have to say, I had equal amounts of fun doing both!

Rainbows

The evening before my surgery, as I sat at the foot of my bed, looking outside the hospital window - the gloomy, rainy weather reflected my state of mind. I was still depressed about having to get my ovaries removed, still not convinced about it. I wasn't even ready to sit on the correct side of the bed because I didn't want to see myself as a patient, so I casually sat at the other end from where I could look outside. My surgery was scheduled for next morning. It had all happened in the span of five days, from my scan to the result and then the decision to have the surgery. It had to be done immediately and I had no time to process it, no time to come to terms with it, no time to even look for an alternative.

So there I sat, trying to be "accept my fate" and then I noticed a rainbow. The rain had stopped, the sky was clearing up and there it was, a beautiful rainbow cutting across the greyness. I hadn't asked for any signs, but that was just the sign I needed. I instantly felt better and I smiled to Ady, "see, there's a rainbow!". At that moment I just felt that everything is going to be alright and that I am taken care of.

Sometimes we just need something bigger than all of us, just to make us feel better; and the rainbow was that sign from that something bigger, for me.

Sunshine

The source of all life, energy and warmth - I am thankful for a beautiful clear sky with the bright sun shining down on me. Sometimes when I sit outside to get some much needed Vitamin D for my bones, I can just imagine all that warm energy seeping deep into my bones and making me stronger from the core. I can imagine it getting rid of dark stagnation and giving a new and vibrant life to the room.

Sunshine is an instant mood lifter, especially during the unending grey, cloudy, gloomy days of monsoon. As Ady jokes that I am solar powered, I can definitely see some truth in it! :)

Fall

That last chance to make a presence felt
Before going off on a long dream
A final attempt to soar and shine
As the sharp winds clip your wings
Leaf by leaf
Like a candle that burns
Violent, grand, desperate
Just before it fades into smoke
And all that’s left are the dry, burnt out insides
And as the sky turns grey
You glow even brighter
From a blazing gold to a smouldering red
A glimmer of warmth in those fiery hues
Before the long night of winter
Envelops you in snow
Cold, quiet, complete.