Well, howdy there, y’all! Let’s talk about drawin’ them sparkly things up in the sky, you know, the stars and such. They call it astronomy, sounds fancy, but it ain’t so hard once you get the hang of it.
I ain’t no fancy artist, mind you. I just draw what I see. And what I see up there in the night sky is mighty purdy. It’s like lookin’ at a big ol’ black cloth sprinkled with diamonds, only some of them diamonds are fuzzy and some are sharp and pointy.
First thing you gotta do is, well, look up! Find yourself a good spot, away from them city lights that mess everything up. Wait till it gets dark, real dark, and then just stare at the sky. Let your eyes get used to it. You’ll start seein’ more and more stars, like someone’s turnin’ on a bunch of tiny light bulbs.
Now, when you wanna draw somethin’, you gotta have somethin’ to draw with and somethin’ to draw on, right? I use just regular pencils and paper. Nothin’ fancy. Some folks, they use fancy charcoal sticks and special paper, but I say, why bother? Pencil and paper works just fine for me.
So, you see a star, a bright one. It ain’t just a dot, you know. It’s got a little shimmer to it. Try to draw that shimmer. Don’t just draw a circle. Make it a little fuzzy around the edges. Like it’s breathin’ or somethin’. That’s how them stars look to me, anyhow.
- First, find a dark spot.
- Then, get your pencil and paper ready.
- Look up at the sky and find somethin’ you like.
- Start drawin’, don’t be scared to make mistakes.
Now, some of them stars, they ain’t just stars. They’re whole bunches of stars all clumped together. They call ’em clusters, I think. And then there’s them fuzzy patches that look like clouds, but they ain’t clouds. They’re nebulae, they say. Hard to draw, those nebulae, but you just keep at it. Little bit here, little bit there. It ain’t gotta be perfect.
I heard tell there’s folks drawin’ the sun, too. Now that’s somethin’ else! I ain’t never tried that. Too bright for my old eyes. But I seen some pictures, and they’re somethin’ else. All them swirls and spots. Makes you think the sun ain’t so simple after all. They use special filters and stuff, I reckon. Gotta protect your eyes, you know. The sun’s powerful stuff.
Drawing astronomy ain’t just about makin’ pretty pictures. It’s about lookin’ close. Really lookin’. When you draw somethin’, you gotta pay attention to all the little details. How bright is it? How big is it? What shape is it? And you start to see things you never noticed before. It’s like the sky is tellin’ you its secrets, and you’re writin’ ’em down.
Some folks draw them things they call Messier objects. I dunno what all that means, but they’re kinda like famous stars and such. Everybody knows ‘em, I guess. And then there’s them Herschel 400 Catalogue things. Lots of numbers and fancy names. Confuses the heck outta me, but the pictures are nice. All swirls and lines and dots. Makes you wonder how somethin’ so far away can be so beautiful.
And don’t worry if your drawings don’t look like them fancy photographs you see in books or online. Those pictures are made with special cameras and computers. They ain’t what you see with your own eyes. Your drawings, well, they’re real. They’re what *you* see. And that’s what matters.
So, go on out there, find yourself a dark spot, and look up. And then, draw what you see. Don’t be shy. It ain’t gotta be perfect. Just have fun with it. That’s what I do. And you know what? It’s mighty peaceful, just sittin’ there under the stars, drawin’ away. Makes you forget about all your troubles, for a little while anyway.
And that’s all there is to it, I reckon. Drawin’ astronomy ain’t rocket science, even though it’s about them rockets and stars and such. It’s just about lookin’ and drawin’. Anybody can do it. Even an old woman like me.
Tags: [astronomy, drawing, stars, sketching, night sky, celestial objects, Messier objects, Herschel 400 Catalogue, nebulae, clusters, solar sketching]
