Is this not the cutest little face you have ever seen in your whole damn life. Doesn’t this just make you smile. Seriously look at that smile and try not to smile. Is that not pure joy you feel transferred into your body just by looking at this preciousness. That is what happened to me last February at 1:42 am.
I was perusing the sites as I tend to do when I can’t sleep, or I was not sleeping cause I was perusing the sites..when I stumbled upon this perfect picture.
It reminded me at once of the discovery I made when my own children were born. That kids come around just when you get most jaded towards living. Just when you are like ” Oh this again, ughh didn’t we just have a day” that is when a baby hits you with the ” YAY! YEAHYYY! IT’S A DAY!” and you get to live thru their eyes for a bit, see the amazingness of snow, the fabulous textures of the dog and the hilarity of your own toes.
That’s what washed over me on this cold February night. This is the baby of a friend I haven’t seen in a solid twenty years. We worked together at a coffee shop around High School time. I have always admired her and love being able to follow along with her life. So when I came across her baby, and felt the hope of the world rush into me. I leaped from my bed and furiously scribbled the following sketch. Let us analyze.
It almost humiliates me to share this sketch, because one, its pedestrian and looks like it was drawn by a pre-teen. I mean, it’s not the worst thing in the world, you can tell it’s a baby. but it doesn’t come close to capturing what I saw in that wonderful baby face. It is off, and wonky, the nose is too small and the eyes aren’t right. But I wanted to share it with my friend as a surprise little gift. I was rehearsing excuses in
defense of the portrait. “I don’t use pastels, I was freezing cold, it was the middle of the night, I might have been drunk” when suddenly it dawned on me what had just happened.
But you need to know about this story in order to see what I am saying. In fact If you happen to have missed this gem in the news, I implore you to stop what you are doing and read this Huffington Post article about the elederly woman who tried to restore the face of a slightly weathered 19th century Fresco of Jesus…and things quickly went south. This happened 4 years ago and I don’t think I have ever laughed at something so continuously for 4 years. Every single time I look at the side by side comparison and imagine the sweet old lady with the best intentions, who wanted to honor and restore the pure beauty before her. I laugh till I cry.
It’s soo sweet, until I realize …that is exactly what I have done. Tried to capture the amazing beauty a perfectness I saw before me. But I have Drawn The Conclusion that: some things are so spectacular they are not meant to be captured or improved upon. Like an unpaintable sunset, this baby’s sweet light is just to be enjoyed and that is it.
I was cleaning out images in my phone tonight when I came across these. I can’t just throw them out now, although the original has long since disappeared in some scrap pile or garage sale.
I wanted my friend to know, that I wanted to make her something great and sweet and memorable.
And, it’s the thought that counts.
