British Museum

What an amazing day. I have been craving a day of drawing here for so long. When did my foundation course at Newnham Community College in 1988 I spent hours & hours drawing here. Then it was painful exercise. I was very insecure about my ability to draw. I also had an inherited idea about what drawing is. Needless to say, it was a narrow idea and was largely limited to Old Masters. Now I can visit with no pressure. I now know that I can enjoy drawing for the experience. I so enjoyed the day. The ancient sculptures of amazing faces evoked a sense of kinship with those long gone folk. Perhaps because I identify as a trainee crone these days, I loved the images of old women. What life! What wisdom in those faces and bodies. To cap it all Tania had arranged for us to draw from some selected works from the archive. I had asked for Rembrandt sketches. It was an electrifying hour – to sit so close to such exquisite sketches and be allowed to draw, was almost beyond my comprehension, even as I was there. My resulting sketch is probably the best sketch i have ever done. I feel that I can take absolutely no credit for it whatsoever. Thank you Papa Rembrandt for showing me how to capture simplicity. I don’t imagine that I will be able to do it again;- certainly not without being in that hallowed hall in such esteemed company. But I was there and I did draw with Rembrandt. Thank you BM, thank you Tania, Thank you DJCAD