One year ago today, I crossed something off of my bucket list. I have always wanted to drive west across the country, and when a friend announced that he was moving to Sonoma County, I immediately offered to drive with him. Surprisingly, he immediately took me up on my offer.
Two fools on April Fools’ Day 2014 loaded my stuff into his green minivan and headed west. No GPS needed for this trip, although we had a road atlas. It’s one road out of Chicago all the way to California.
My friend was not in a mood to make the trip slowly. All his worldly possessions were in the van too – so we were going to do it in three days no matter what.
I was prepared for lovely scenery, but I was not prepared for the lasting effect that scenery had on me. Even though we were zooming down the highway at 65+ mph, my trusty BlackBerry enabled me to take some gorgeous photographs, especially as we were leaving Salt Lake City in the morning.
These photos absolutely haunted me, and made me want to engage with the imagery even more deeply than photography. How? I decided to draw the pictures with colored pencils, and later with oil pastels.
I haven’t drawn anything since high school – and I was never a visual artist. However, these images were intoxicating for me, and I have learned that I LOVE to draw.
So, besides having great memories of a fun trip, I have a new, spiritually nourishing hobby. Bonus!
Below are the photographs I took next to the drawings. They are in the order I drew them. I think my artistic skills are progressing 🙂