Cultivating a Visual Memory Trina had a phenomenal visual memory. Without looking, she could draw any room of her house—which included a myriad of art objects, knickknacks and pictures. She could even draw vivid details of the house she grew up in. How does one account for such an ability? Trina taught herself to be a keen observer. She took time to notice the graceful slouch of a young girl in a chair, the thick fingers of someone who works with with his hands or the way a strong light falls on velvet. By paying attention to these details, she remembered them. Trina fueled her memory by spending a lot of time painting and drawing from life. I know because I painted with her every Monday for over ten years. We’d invite friends to pose for us, and with two other colleagues, we’d paint, have lunch, then paint some more. A weekly ritual of drawing or painting from observation does wonders for an artist’s visual memory. The Finished Illustration “This is the dreidel-playing goblin: Money-loving, greedy and a gambler, he’s described in the text as having a “fiery red face and two enormous horns.” He’s also a dim bulb. This first concept is okay, but too human (he looks too much like my ex-husband!). Also, the Bambi antlers are too endearing, somehow. What can I do to make this guy less human and more of a Goblin?”
“The idea of many noses (sixteen!) was handed to me by a neighbor who’d gone with her two sons to the South of France. The kids claimed to have seen a guy there who had sixteen noses!! I kept questioning and found out that he had one big (original) nose, with other noses growing out of it??? Good goblin material!” “The Tail—i.e., the wife? Or the conscience?? What torture!”
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