30 in 30, Day 6, “Be Still and Know”

autumn sun glows warm
upon long lizard’s body—
afternoon delight

Day 6: Be Still and Know

A few days ago, as I was leaving work, I noticed a large lizard in a tree in the parking lot. No one else was around, so I put the car in park and got out to take a picture of this beautiful creature. He was not the biggest lizard I’ve ever seen, but he was larger than the ones we commonly see at the house, and his skin was patterned all over.

It wasn’t his appearance that struck me as most interesting, however, but his stillness. Since I was using my phone to take the pictures, I had to get quite close, and he only moved once in the five minutes that I stood there watching him and snapping photos from various angles. He also extended his dewlap (neck flap) twice, and I was fortunate enough to catch that digitally. Perhaps he was basking, or perhaps he was merely waiting for me to leave him alone. Regardless, he seemed unafraid, and his sense of peace transferred to me for the ride home. God used a donkey to talk to Balaam, so He can certainly use a lizard to teach me a lesson in waiting on Him.

Psalm 46:10  Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.

For Leslie Saeta’s September 30-in-30 challenge, I am creating greeting cards, but each week I’ll experiment with a different medium and/or technique. This week’s focus has been single line art, in which I attempt to draw a picture, based on one of my photos, without lifting the pen from the paper. First, I practice in my sketch book, then repeat the drawing on a blank card. Next, I add a splash of color with soft pastel, seal it all with fixative, and finish it off with a simple message typed on an old typewriter.

At the outset of this challenge, I made a deal with myself not to stress out about missed days. Little did I know that I would miss days in the first week! But in addition to the usual routine, this week was also laced with a tropical storm, some early morning physical therapy appointments, and Greek Rush. I drew the Day 6 picture yesterday while waiting for the Greek Rush parade to begin, but did not get to do any writing until late today. That’s the way it goes.

So now I’m officially 2 days behind, but that’s okay. Maybe I’ll catch up, and maybe I’ll let my challenge spill over unofficially into October. We shall see. At any rate, if all goes well tomorrow afternoon, I’ll begin the watercolor series.

About Single Line Art

I learned this technique while clicking on the links of others in the 30-in-30 challenge this past Saturday. Amy from Water Ink & Ribbon was the artist who introduced this cool technique to me. Have you clicked over to her page yet? If not, what are you waiting for?