海角大神

Much like the round clock faces, gears, and planets that often populate his artwork, Robert Seaman has come full circle.

Mr. Seaman, who is now 88 years old, has been drawing since he was a boy, and at age 60, left a real estate career to pursue his hobby professionally. But it took the coronavirus pandemic to fully return him to his passion.

鈥淎s a kid, I kept lurching between being a loner and being an extrovert,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut in my introvert phase, I would love to go up to my room where I had a drawing table kind of desk and I鈥檇 spend hours up there drawing pictures. That鈥檚 what I鈥檓 doing now.鈥�

Tuesday marked one year since Mr. Seaman started churning out 鈥渄aily doodles鈥� from his small, one-room apartment at the Maplewood Assisted Living facility in Westmoreland, New Hampshire. He spends about six hours a day working on his intricate, fanciful illustrations, starting with pencil sketches and finishing with ink, colored pencil, and watercolor.

鈥淎fter a long life, I鈥檓 back doing what I did when I was 11 years old,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd it鈥檚 great, I love it. I鈥檓 so lucky that I can do this.鈥�

Mr. Seaman moved in to Maplewood just two weeks before the pandemic restrictions cut residents off from the outside world. For many months, they couldn鈥檛 leave their rooms. It was only last week that they were allowed to interact in hallways and other common areas without masks.

鈥淭he first thought I had was to just do some kind of dark stuff that reflected the nature of the confinement that we were experiencing and the difficulties that were created by this pandemic,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hen it just started to grow, and I thought it would be interesting to do one a day.鈥�

He started sending the doodles to his daughter, Robin Hayes, and other friends and family. Ms. Hayes then shared them on Facebook, and as interest grew, began offering the originals and prints for sale on Etsy.com, with half the proceeds going to charities, including a COVID-19 relief fund, a homeless shelter, and an organization that helps refugees.

As the days passed, Mr. Seaman鈥檚 art got a bit brighter in both theme and appearance.

Some pieces showcase his fascination with science fiction, while others portray whimsical animals or sly humor 鈥� #131, 鈥淧ortraits of a Shy Family,鈥� depicts framed paintings of the backs of heads. Robots carrying purple flags march across the page. Blackbirds burst from a pie. A much-loved cat, Piper, shows up in all kinds of scenes.

Mr. Seaman doesn鈥檛 think he鈥檒l run out of ideas any time soon.

鈥淚 might be watching something on television, and someone will have a picture on the wall that will give me an idea. Or things just pop into my head. When I go to sleep at night, for a few minutes I try to think of some new ideas,鈥� he said. 鈥淲hen I get stuck, I鈥檒l just start drawing an object and it鈥檚 like word association. I鈥檒l draw a hand, and all of a sudden that suggests something else, so it just grows from there.鈥�

Craig and Sandra Fox, of Deerfield, bought Doodles #13, #271, and #274 after hearing about Mr. Seaman on the radio and getting added to his daily email list.

鈥淒uring the pandemic, a lot of our normal ability to get out and have contact with people was diminished, so to be able to get some output or something that isn鈥檛 an advertising flier or newsletter on a daily basis was cool,鈥� Mr. Fox said. 鈥淚 collect books by people I know. If someone I know writes a book, I buy it and ask for an autograph ... and by watching the doodles come by, I started to feel like I know him.鈥�

Ms. Fox, who once stared at a painting in a museum so long that a guard teased her about 鈥渃asing the joint,鈥� said she loves how much there is to see in Mr. Seaman鈥檚 drawings.

鈥淭hey are what they are to me, I have the same feelings, but I see more every time,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 could look at them for half an hour and see many, many things. I鈥檒l catch another color or something in a corner I never even noticed before.鈥�

Doodle #365, titled 鈥淧otpourri鈥� includes the Earth looming behind a jumble of objects that include the aforementioned cat, a wind-up bird Mr. Seaman keeps on his desk, a horse, and a man wearing an aviator cap and goggles. It鈥檚 framed by a series of shapes that evoke calligraphy but aren鈥檛 actual letters. Though he accomplished his goal of a year of daily doodles, Mr. Seaman said he has no plans to stop.

鈥淚t鈥檚 selfish. It keeps me occupied, and I love doing it, but it also does help some other people, which is kind of nice,鈥� he said. 鈥淎s long as I can, I will.鈥�

This story was reported by The Associated Press.聽