📅 Sunday, 14 June 2026 · No. 84

I Drew My Bunnies: Art Page in the Diary

🌿 Daily Logs · ✎ 4 min · by Azmi in Meknes

Azmi's note My personal log from Meknes, not vet advice. Just what I did and saw tonight.

Art night: I drew my fluflies tonight, seven sketches from my favourite photos. Blurry ones skipped, sharp ones framed in pencil. May take days, worth every minute. This post catalogues the exhibition: seven sketches with notes, the rules, and what slow looking teaches. Personal art log, not instruction. Drawing them makes me look closer: whisker patterns, ear veins, the exact flop angle. Art is just slow looking.

The seven sketches: catalogue

No. 1, flop study (pencil): tile flop from the record night, shading practice, fur direction learned. No. 2, inked portrait (pen): the look, ears tall, second sketch, inked, photo below. No. 3, ear close-up: veins mapped for the first time (never noticed before drawing). No. 4, paw pair: toes counted accurately at last (four front, fight me, counted thrice). No. 5, mid-binky blur study (deliberate blur, motion honored). No. 6, hay parade scene: mouthful, mustache, stare. No. 7, unfinished: started, abandoned for live cuddles (correct priorities, finished tomorrow, maybe). Two finished tonight, five to go. Reference discipline: clear bright photos only, blurry ones skipped no matter how beloved the moment.

inked rabbit portrait second sketch — Second sketch, inked.

Art rules and slow-looking lessons

Clear bright photos only as reference, love doesn’t sharpen lines; daylight does
One sketch per sitting, no rushing, 30-minute sessions, tea alongside, bunny asleep nearby (models rest; artists work)
Originals kept in the diary folder, dated, numbered, smudges preserved (eraser discipline: minimal)

The diary gets an art page and the wall gets new residents, two framed already (flop study, inked portrait), five pending. Lessons from slow looking, applicable to photography too (see my mirror-series notes): whisker counts differ per side (12 left, 14 right, counted twice), ear veins branch like rivers, flop angles repeat within 5 degrees (the paw-cabinet precision applied to whole bunnies). Art is just slow looking, and slow looking improves every other log in the house.

Sketch-by-sketch notes (continued)

Session two notes: No. 3 ear veins completed (rivers mapped, shading delicate), No. 4 paws inked (toes confirmed four front, controversy settled in ink), No. 5 binky blur layered (three pencil passes for motion). Session three: No. 6 parade scene finished (mustache rendered strand by strand, patience’s portrait), No. 7 completed live (cuddle model held still 20 minutes, record cooperation, parsley-paid). Total studio time: 4 evenings, 2 hours, 7 sketches. Wall hangings: flop study and inked portrait framed (positions above desk), ear study gifted (mother’s wall, reported daily viewing), parade scene pending frame (measured, shopped). Blurry-reference rule validated: the one attempted blurry sketch (beloved photo, bad light) failed twice and was abandoned per protocol, reference quality is destiny.

What drawing taught the diary

Lessons applied back to photography: count whiskers before shooting (12/14 asymmetry now checked in portraits), watch ear-vein light (backlight shows rivers, new favorite condition), measure flop angles (5-degree repeatability explains the series’ coherence). Lessons applied to observation: grooming direction mapped (with-fur strokes only, learned via pencil), nose wiggle rhythm counted (3 per second at rest, timed while sketching), breathing rate noted (slow in flop, counted). Art is just slow looking, and slow looking upgraded every log: sharper photos, closer notes, longer patience. Exhibition planned: seven sketches plus reference photos side by side (diary page becomes gallery wall). Opening: whenever No. 7 dries. Critics invited (the models, indifferent, napping).

Studio economics: pencils owned, paper stocked, models free (paid in parsley per sitting, union rates). Total spend: zero beyond supplies on hand. Exhibition budget: two frames purchased, five pending (measured, saved for). Time ledger: 2 hours studio, infinite observation dividends. Reference library growing: best photos flagged with pencil icons for future sessions (next subjects: yawn attempt, tunnel action, pile panorama). Art night becomes art week: sessions now Tuesdays standing (models napping, artist working, tea between). Seven sketches complete, wall filling, eyes sharpening. Drawn, framed, loved.

Artist’s statement, filed: I draw to see slower, keep to remember longer, frame to honor the models. Seven sketches down, infinite subjects remaining (every flop a study, every ear a river). Next exhibition: pile panorama (ambitious, multi-bunny, scheduled). Critics (napping) approve all works in advance. Studio Tuesdays forever; wall space expanding; eyes wide open. Slow looking, fast loving.

Sketchbook closed for the week: seven complete, two framed, five pending frames. Pencil count: three worn to stubs (honorable retirement). Reference library flagged: yawn next (ambitious), pile next (crowded), parade next (mustache). Tuesdays forever; models napping; artist grateful. Drawn to see; kept to remember.

Gallery note: reference photos credited beside sketches (diary cross-index maintained). Models compensated per sitting (parsley scale). Critics silent (napping through openings). Next sitting Tuesday; subject: the yawn (ambitious, beloved). Pencil sharp; eyes open; tea ready.

Seven sketches, one wall, infinite subjects. Art night becomes art life. Drawn slowly; loved quickly.

Sketch seven drying; wall awaiting. Art forever.

Seven complete; exhibition pending Tuesday.

Framed.

Slow looking forever; fast loving always.

Sketch eight starts Tuesday: the great yawn, attempted in pencil with extra patience and a freshly sharpened point. Slow looking taught me their whisker maps by heart, and the wall already asks for more frames.

🐰

Written by Azmi

I track my rabbits' diet, weight and naps to see what works. Photos are mine, mess included. Say hi on the contact page.

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