Neighbourhood Cat - 2024 09 12 - 2024 12 24

 

Graphite, pencil crayon, wax crayon, shellac on paper - 8 1/2" x 11"

It is not easy to be human, it is even harder to be a human being who builds strength and good will in our families and communities.

This is Dandy, another neighbour cat. Dandy is a very cool cat. He does not care a thing about what is going on around him. If he is laying in the middle of the road to catch a sunbeam, that is where he will stay until he decides it is time to move. When I first met Dandy I thought maybe he was lost. When I asked around, all the neighbours I talked to told me he is a well known cat and loved by many. In this drawing I worked from the photo to get a sense of Dandy's attitude while he was surveying the passersby from the roof of my neighbour's car.

When melted wax or wax crayon is put on paper, it creates a waterproof coating that resists the wash of paint. That resistance allows the layers below the wax to show, to be visible no matter how many layers of paint wash are added.

Resistance can also be understood in terms of resilience. When we are resilient, no matter how many difficulties we encounter, we are able to shed our discouragement or loss of confidence. We are able to resist getting thwarted by obstacles in our way.

We keep going, adding more layers to create definition, shape, tone and movement.

There are forces that would have us believe that we are alone, helpless. Their mission is to make us pliant, accepting of an inevitable subjugation of our human rights, the rights of nature, and the value of human decency. We build strength in ourselves and our communities through waterproof layers of resilience. The resilience to stay in touch, problem solve, and pull together for solutions.

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