Sketching at the train museum today, I was immediately enchanted with the Chicago Aurora & Elgin 309. I loved the green stained glass windows, the periwinkle blue slats, complimented by a soft grey, and the colorful signs: Sunset Lines, Fox River Valley to Chicago Suburbs.

However, this was the car they were running for rides today, and I knew I had at best 10 minutes before my subject would move down the tracks and out of my view.

I always draw the whole car, but if I was going to draw this one, I needed to focus my attention on the point of most interest to me.

I chose to skip the undercarriage completely, because it is always a source of challenge for me. I went for the details that most appealed to me instead.

This situation begged the question: “What is the opportunity here?”, as distinguished from “What would I do under ideal conditions?”

It would be to my advantage to ask that question more frequently these days.

Rather than give up and move on, in the face of a perceived limitation, what would it be like if I asked that question instead?

For example, in the face of economic chaos and uncertainty: “What is the opportunity here?”

Or, “What is the opportunity that a very small house presents?”

I can just feel things opening up as I look through that lens, whereas before, they were narrowing or closing.

The truth is, I like this drawing better than the one I would have done of the whole car.

To me, it has all the elements that I like best, and it is more reflective of me as an artist, because I chose specifically what I wanted to share from my experience.

Filed under: Being a Reinventer, Adventures of a Reinventer, Lynne's Reinvention Journey on May 31st, 2009