A Sketchy Time
After celebrating the arrival of the New Year by going to bed three hours before midnight, I woke up at quarter to five New Year’s Day morning and remembered that it is time for the 30 Day Sketchbook Challenge again!! As the leader of the challenge is in England, six hours ahead of Texas, the first day’s prompt was already in my inbox. I think this is the fourth or fifth year I have participated on some level in the challenge. Every year, I want very much to make daily sketching a habit, but so far it has not really stuck far beyond the end of January. I really have high hopes that I may do better this year and here is why… There are some sketchbook folks who keep a sketchbook as a sort of daily journal—sketching whatever is around them or in front of them and writing a bit to go with the sketch. Danny Gregory and Samantha Dion Baker are two of my favorites. I have tried keeping a diary or journal where I write the day’s events, but I am not very good at that, either. I do enjoy making a very quick sketch of something around me then writing a couple of sentences, and it is becoming more and more important to me to keep some sort of record of life.
That leads me to the second reason I think I may be able to stick with it: I believe I have finally learned how to keep the sketches quick and simple. The aforementioned Danny Gregory says to always draw in pen so you will not be able to go back, erase, and perfect your sketches. I already got a head start doing this in the past week. It is frustrating in the beginning when you cannot erase something that is so glaringly off, but it forces you to just keep on, draw a better line, and keep going. I generally get much better over time. After all, making mistakes and failing are really the ways we all learn, and learning is the real reason I draw.
The final reason (for today, anyway) that I think it may stick this time is that I have gotten over being concerned about standards or rules. In the past few days, I have picked up the cheapest pocket-sized sketchbook I own and have been drawing with everything from a half-dried brush pen to a skipping fountain pen, to a cheap ballpoint pen, to a standard yellow pencil. I draw something that is right in front of me like my dirty lunch dishes or the window across from my chair. Yesterday, I went outside and drew one end of the barn. I have kept these drawing sessions to a maximum of about 10 minutes, have written the date and a sentence or two, then gone on with my day. I had started using this book about two years ago so I already have sketches of trees on client ranches, a glass of Guinness at a pub in England, Edinburgh Castle, and the south end of the San Saba Animal Hospital. These sketches are a record of my experiences that I do for me, and I love looking back through them.
I will probably have more to say next time about sketching. In the meantime, if you want to check out the challenge, you can google the name of it, look for it on Instagram, or send me an email and I will be happy to point you in the right direction.