23rd  January 2022 Dr Beena

Hello everyone. Once again, maybe I am in a writing mood😊. I drew this picture last year of a famous actress and great humanitarian as part of my art classwork. It was the first time we learned to use a pencil to draw a black and white picture. Multiple layers of pencil work are needed to create the effect in pencil drawing. For example, I need to work on many layers to construct the highlights. We used many techniques, including cross-hatching of the pencil work. There were five drawings at the end of the class. Interestingly, none of our work is similar even though we had the same photo to copy.

Since then, I have observed the same trend occurring with our paintings. Recently, my art teacher remarked that somehow our race gets reflected in our art. I found that very amusing 😊. That means if I am a gipsy, I will paint like a gipsy 😊. So, if I were to paint this famous actress as a gipsy, I wonder how she would look? I would love to hear our readers’ thoughts or experiences in this area.

Are you still curious who that famous actress is? She was born to aristocracy but went through incredible hardship during the war. Not only was she a famous actress but also a fashion icon. She left an acting career at the peak to pursue charity work. She felt that the humanitarian aid she received during the war helped her survive. She won the Presidential Medal of Freedom as Goodwill Ambassador of UNICEF for her work in the poorest communities in Africa, Asia and South America.

Hence, I would love to hear your views on the impact of one’s race on art? I have given enough clues for you to guess😊. Hope to read your comments soon. Till the following musings, stay safe and at peace.