anika mari

Whenever I let someone flip through my sketchbook, more often than not, I’m surprised by what grabs their attention. I draw all kinds of stuff when I sketch, from rough sketches to little doodles to more finished drawings. Some of my drawings are pretty, some are kind of ugly, some are surprising, and some turn out just plain weird. Sometimes I draw stuff that I think is unremarkable, and yet sometimes that’s what gets the remarks.

When my friend Anita recently wanted some of my art framed for her new apartment, I let her choose whatever she wanted. As she flipped through my sketchbook she singled out a page of doodles that surprised me because I think they are a little odd, though perhaps somewhat endearing.

I looked at it quizzically, and she surprised me even more by the particular part she liked the most. She pointed it out, and all I could ask was, “really?”

Without hesitation she replied, “yeah. I like it. I think it’s totally my style. Don’t you?”

“Well, yeah, I can see your point,” was my response.

I probed a little further, “you really want that framed?”

“Yes, absolutely!” she assured me.

After my raised eyebrows had relaxed, I went ahead and redrew the weird creature and plants to fix up the composition a bit. I moved the creature up a smidge from the plants to balance the spacing, and changed the line quality just a bit. I also added more stippling here and there and made the critter’s “beard” longer.

Anita also chose a companion drawing.

I’d say it’s a little less odd, but I’m pretty sure she loves it just as much, and I think they will look really nice hung together in her new place.

Skeptical though I was to begin, I was actually pleasantly surprised when all was said and done. I think both drawings look really sharp in the frame, and they will undoubtedly be interesting conversation pieces hanging in Anita’s new apartment.