Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Hippo Adventure

I have been little bit obsessed with visiting the Oregon Zoo on weekends of late. Partly, it's the sheer gratuitous convenience of it--I haven't lived so close to a zoo since I spent a summer in Washington DC. So yes. Give me a few spare hours on a Saturday afternoon, and you'll very likely see me making a bee-line to the zoo.

And this past Saturday, there I was at the hippo habitat, and the hippos had hauled out of their pond and were dozing in the sun. I only had 15 minutes until the zoo was going to close, but I really wanted to get the sketch of the hippo in this lovely pose. Boom, whacked out the rough ink outlines, now just need to break out the watercolors and get it painted in...

Mind you, it has been months since I used my watercolors. And the last time we moved, I put my awesome sketching-optimized hip-pack into a box and of course I haven't seen sense. So I'm just fumbling around with a shoulder bag, trying to get my paints and water and brushes all ready, feeling rushed and flustered.

And the next thing I know, the sketchbook has fallen over the fence...right into the hippo enclosure. Whoops.

I couldn't reach it. The lashed-together stakes of bamboo were tall and pokey for reaching over, and too close together to slip a hand through. The tall young woman standing next to me couldn't reach it either. But then her boyfriend gave her a boost, and she performed an incredible (and darned nerve-racking) feat of gymnastics that, amazingly, allowed her to grab the sketchbook. We gaped at each other, stunned, amazed that it had worked. (All the while, passing elementary school students were chatting about how many more people are killed by hippos than by lions each year, too--heightening the sense of danger, indeed!)

In gratitude, I gave the two brave heros one of the "boldly go" cards that I had in my bag. They were delighted--art rescue, art reward.  Perfect.

And, in truth, the hippo sketch really was the best thing I did all day. What a face!


9 comments:

  1. great story and love the drawing

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love the lines but also that heavy hippo feeling you created with the watercolor. Great sketch and a great story!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks to you both! It was a grand adventure, indeed.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Great story and love the line work and you truly did capture the weight of the hippo. Nice work!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! A weighty sketch indeed, hee hee.

      Delete
  5. I love hippos! and you capture the essence of the hippo smile perfectly.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The hippo smile! I haven't heard that phrase before, but I want to use it all the time now. Yay.

      Delete
  6. would you like to sell that picture?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Sophi! Appreciate your inquiry. Would you be so kind as to email me at hikatura (at) gmail (dot) com so we could bat the idea around? Thanks!

      Delete