When you’re depressed, you stop doing the things you like.  I have that as a warning sign on my list of things to be aware of.  The trouble is, I don’t always realize I’ve stopped doing them.  It’s only now that I’m recovering that I see what I’ve let fall by the wayside.

I’ve always liked old jazz.  I have a special fondness for Louis Armstrong.  I love his simple rendition of “Wonderful World.”  I’ve listened to it since I was a teenager.  It’s part of the soundtrack of my life.  But I’d deleted it from the music feed I most frequently listen to.  Today I put it back on.

I tried to draw a likeness of him.  I found a photo of him later in life, when he was a bit frail and wasn’t flashing his signature smile.  I don’t think I did him justice, but I finished the journal page anyway.   I hope that the energy of my drawing makes up for the lack of accuracy.  I like the way the paint pooled and bled on the forehead, so I painted some extra rainbow colors springing from his head.

I read the artist Gwen  Seemel’s blog regularly and she had a great one this morning about how it may be that the mouth, not the eyes, that is the window to the soul.  You can see her explain this here.  Since I struggled with the both the eyes and mouth on this illustration, I thought it quite apt and encouraging.

I’m drawing daily to help manage depression.  If you’d like to see the beginning of this project, you can see it here.  You can also follow me through WordPress or on Facebook.

Your thoughts and comments are appreciated.