Over the holidays my son had an anaphylactic reaction to peanuts. Thankfully, it was a slow reaction that responded quickly to treatment. He spent almost 6 hours in the Emerg’s trauma/recovery room hooked up to a monitor. Luckily, I keep my sketching supplies in my purse & my son grabbed his tablet on the way out the door so I was able to turn our visit into an extended sketching session.

Six hours is a lot of sketching time in a small room with no view! Perfect for re-visiting my subject with different approaches and media. He was a great model & such a trooper! No tears and an extremely positive outlook despite the scary situation.

I’d never choose the Emergency room as a sketching location but I am glad that I had my sketching supplies. Sketching helped relieve my anxiety and pass the time. And the sketches are a nice memento and reminder of a lesson learned: Read the Label EVERY TIME!