“How much I would like to do drawings like you, but I cannot do.”
Orokie smiled, and asked me,
“You cannot do? Have you tried?”
“Why? I know I cannot do.”
Orokie looked for his pencils, which were small, in a carton box set of 12, half length: some were shorter because of much use. Blue, red, yellow, black, orange, brown; water, heart, maize, line, gourd, soil…
Orokie, then, cut half a sheet from his writing pad.
“Follow me,” he said sweetly.
And he started to draw on half a sheet, leaving me space on the other half. He began to do the line of lake waters on a peaceful day. I followed, not bad. The shore on the left became a triangular piece, then a boat with engine (to go and come back from main market in the village, where shoes and t-shirts would steal our glances): trapezoidal, with shorter line for base, the larger on top. Oh, yes, yes…
“Now you use colour pencils to paint your boat.”
“What colours?” I replied.
“Try and listen to the music that lives in your spirit, close your eyes, you will see the colours to use.”
Amazed, I did see bands of colours like this: pure green, sunshine yellow and red. I was Bob Marley with the Wailers performing their song “Is this love that I’m feeling?”I drew the engine boat, pure green, sunshine yellow and red: then a circle, small, plus a short straight line… made a head with red baseball cap, a crate of the soda with name–Coke (and cold)– then two figures like eggs, sacs full with maize, our principal food, followed by a mama with baby plus elder with hat, then conductor guiding boat smoothly towards sandy shore, without throwing the crew forth with force. I heard Orokie,
“You can do it, you can do it, my friend.”
And I was liking it much, I was feeling the joy, I was singing an overstanding song of love in colour.
Orokie smiled, and asked me,
“You cannot do? Have you tried?”
“Why? I know I cannot do.”
Orokie looked for his pencils, which were small, in a carton box set of 12, half length: some were shorter because of much use. Blue, red, yellow, black, orange, brown; water, heart, maize, line, gourd, soil…
Orokie, then, cut half a sheet from his writing pad.
“Follow me,” he said sweetly.
And he started to draw on half a sheet, leaving me space on the other half. He began to do the line of lake waters on a peaceful day. I followed, not bad. The shore on the left became a triangular piece, then a boat with engine (to go and come back from main market in the village, where shoes and t-shirts would steal our glances): trapezoidal, with shorter line for base, the larger on top. Oh, yes, yes…
“Now you use colour pencils to paint your boat.”
“What colours?” I replied.
“Try and listen to the music that lives in your spirit, close your eyes, you will see the colours to use.”
Amazed, I did see bands of colours like this: pure green, sunshine yellow and red. I was Bob Marley with the Wailers performing their song “Is this love that I’m feeling?”I drew the engine boat, pure green, sunshine yellow and red: then a circle, small, plus a short straight line… made a head with red baseball cap, a crate of the soda with name–Coke (and cold)– then two figures like eggs, sacs full with maize, our principal food, followed by a mama with baby plus elder with hat, then conductor guiding boat smoothly towards sandy shore, without throwing the crew forth with force. I heard Orokie,
“You can do it, you can do it, my friend.”
And I was liking it much, I was feeling the joy, I was singing an overstanding song of love in colour.
1 comment:
A story that shows the love in art.
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