While surfing the web I found some great drawings of leaves by Edwin Monsalve. I have done several drawings and paintings previously of dried and dead leaves but the difference between my works and his was how I felt about them. I had chosen these leaves as one of my nightly subjects and no more, but Monsalves’s are important and specific. The level of care and detail attributed to them commands that a viewer take notice. Monsalve is saying that this small leaf is as important a subject as a figure, or a whole landscape of leaves.
It really woke me up, here I was looking for subject matter of the utmost importance in my life or in the artwork, but I failed to recognize that it could literally be anything that I found intriguing or interesting or important. So, the difference between this leaf and every other leaf that I have drawn or painted is my intensity upon it. I drew it as if it was a figure model posing for hours, costing me lots of money, for a piece that would soon be shown in a gallery. Maybe if I treated all my works this way it would increase my longevity and intensity while at the same time force me to strive for perfection.
