Illustration Friday: Subtract

The Crow by Abby Kimball

I click my pen.

Click click.

I lick my lips.

Lick lick.

I stare out the window.

The teacher talks

'cross the Y and an X.'

I see a crow outside.

My mind instantly goes back

to the second grade when the teacher

told us that the crow was beautiful once,

but to save mankind

was burned by the sun.

I remember I cried.

I still think crows are beautiful.

I pulled from my thoughts.

'Abby, what do you think?'

I look to you.

You mouth 'subtract 4.'

I say that.

I look at you.

Your chair is leaned back

and you're smiling.

I'm the crow.

I smile.

Here's how I arrived at this. I went to poemhunter.com and looked up poem lyrics that contained 'subtract.' I hated most of them and decided on this one because it had a crow in it and I could imagine the finished art. I liked the feel of it too. Then I went in a different direction and used an image from my greeting card program and I scanned it in sepia tones on a paper bag. I added paint and colored pencil and eventually overworked the hell out of it and called it a night. That's what I get when I don't draw my own image and use my own words, but hey...it works, right?

Happy weekend everyone!