Am I the only one who finds it impossible to predict what people are going to like?
I certainly didn’t think anyone would like Black bird on a grey day. I was wrong.
The sketch is based on a photograph. I thought I would create a pattern out of the branches (something much less organic than what you see here)… but my idea didn’t make it onto the page. Instead, the sketch took off in a different direction (as they sometimes do) and when I stood back and looked at it, I didn’t think it was good enough to put on the blog. The only reason I decided to post it was because my very encouraging husband liked it a lot.
And the reaction to it… the reaction was a gift. It received lots of likes and lots of positive feedback. Family, friends, complete strangers ― everyone seemed to like it! I did not see that coming.
That was back in November 2012. Since then, and largely because of that one little black bird, all my paintings and drawings get posted on this blog whether I’m happy with them or not. Dunedin, my most recent painting, also took off in an unexpected direction (and I wasn’t sure I liked the end result) and it’s another one that has been surprisingly well received. So I’m still no closer to figuring out what other people are going to like… and I’m okay with that. More than okay. It’s one of the things I really enjoy about blogging — it’s all part of the big art experiment that is my life.
Thanks for reading. And thanks for letting me know what you like (even when I don’t understand why).
P.S. I quite like the black bird now but I’m still undecided about Dunedin…
Anna Cull ~ Art & Music 
You are welcome!
Anna- the simplicity of your bird drawing is what makes it so appealing to me, beautifully done. Sharon
Thanks, Sharon. (Funny thing — it didn’t seem like an exercise in simplicity when I was drawing it.)
I really like your image here, the simplicity of it. Something beautiful about the contrast of dark, leaf-less trees against a light gray sky. (I’ve been taking photos of them around the neighborhood.) I also like when you talked about your sketch going in a different direction. Mine often do, and it can be a source of frustration and nice surprises for me. And those surprises can be really neat sometimes.
Thanks, Dave. I’m a big believer in the value of unexpected outcomes (I’ve written about this before: https://annacull.com/2013/03/22/unexpected-outcomes-part-one) — and even when they’re not happy accidents, it’s all part of the learning curve : )
I really like the blackbird on a grey day and think it would make a wonderful back ground for a Fall poem.
Thank you. A poem? What a nice idea — I’ll see what I can do…
I am in the same place, it is often surprising what gets a good response, and what is ignored. But I get something from each one, and it makes me think about the merits of each post. But it can be something as simple as which day of the week you choose to do a post! I like this drawing very much, it has a lovely balance to it.
I love this Anna!
This picture is stunning…simplistic yet powerful…