Hello, sketchers!

I have been traveling around the Pacific NW talking about the joys and benefits of Everyday Sketching and Drawing. I've given workshops from Wenatchee to Bainbridge Island; in churches, museums, bookshops and art supply stores. I gave a sketching-themed "sermon" at Cascade Unitarian Universal Church, which was followed by a sold-out workshop at Radar Station Gallery and Pub in downtown Wenatchee:

 

 

And I just finished a two-day workshop on Bainbridge Island:

 

 

Today, I want to take some time to write about taking some time.

 

You may remember how much you enjoyed drawing when you were younger. You had fewer responsibilities and more "free time." I touch on this topic in my latest book, Everyday Sketching and Drawing: Five Steps to a Unique and Personal Sketchbook Habit. As adults, we spend enormous amounts of time swiping through social media, flipping through old magazines in waiting rooms, on hold with tech-support, sitting in business meetings, waiting in the car for our kids. How can we possibly find time to draw?

 

With a small sketchbook and an inexpensive pen, these are the perfect times to sketch! A brief, unpredictable window of time precludes getting committed to something complex and fussy. Holding the sketchbook open on your lap means erasing and redrawing will be cumbersome. Being stuck with whatever view is in front of you relieves you of vacillating between subjects to draw. 

 

I carry several sketchbooks in my satchel at all times. My "Bus Book" is 3"x5" and I fill a page or two whenever I ride the bus. The bumpy ride and jostling elbows helps me relax and just go with whatever happens. I never know what drawing will emerge:

 

Waiting for the dentist is an opportunity to sketch others who are also waiting:

 

It can even be disappointing when my name is called and I'm not finished. Here's a drawing I started while IN the dentists chair (but finished later from a reference photo taken when my cleaning was over):

 

Waiting in the car, or riding in the backseat of one?

  

Even long elevator rides are a chance to sketch (though this drawing took several rides during a stay in Singapore):

 

Afraid to commit to something complex? Take the micro-view:

 

Stuck in a staff meeting? I've been lucky to have tolerant bosses and colleagues who grew accustomed to me doodling during staff meetings:

 

Anything and anywhere is fodder for a sketch. Don't judge your subject or your drawing:

 

Experiment. Make mistakes. Begin drawing without a plan, using a pen borrowed from a barista if need be:

Don't get precious about any one drawing. The point is not to create a masterpiece, but to keep your hand drawing. Each drawing is not an end in itself, but one little illustration in a very long book, in a very long series of books, in a library of books, filled with doodles that leave a record of your life. Not all will be beautiful, or inspired, or even share-worthy. Some might reflect your disposition or your mood du jour. Go with it:

 

It's a safe bet that you're reading this because you draw, want to draw, or enjoy looking at the drawings of others. Me too. If you feel stuck, intimidated or have a question about keeping the momentum going, please send me a note and I will respond to it in my next email update. It's very inspiring for me to help inspire others.

 

And now, time to sketch,

Steve