Thoughts On Sketching

Capturing Ideas is Messy Business

Capturing your ideas, can and perhaps should be a quick and dirty endeavour. Artists use terms like gestures or thumbnails, but what they’re ultimately trying to say is, draw quickly with less detail. Attempt to convey your first thought, without over thinking it. In some ways this is the essence of the art of sketching.

Gesture drawings by Leonardo da Vinci

Today more than ever before, people regularly carry with them some form of sketchbook and mark making tools. Thanks to the Internet and Amazon, the variety of sketching materials and inspirational examples are endless. However, the one thing that I’ve noticed is that this global access has morphed the simple act of sketching into the act of producing miniature portfolios of perfection. 

I’ve been drawing since I could hold a crayon, and even I have felt the pull towards making every page of a sketchbook a masterpiece, worthy of a place on Instagram. For some it may come easy, but for many like myself, there’s an unwanted stress added to an action that should contain no stress at all. 

In life drawing classes, the instructor may have you do timed drawings. 1, 5, or 10 minute drawings whereby your goal is to capture the general feeling of weight and movement. In drawings this quick there’s certainly no time for perfection. 

An Illustrated Life, by Danny Gregory

In author/artist Danny Gregory’s book An Illustrated Life, he does a great job of highlighting a wide range of talented sketchbook artist’s works. To my earlier point, some of his chosen examples are very detailed and one could only imagine they were not quickly achieved. There’s nothing wrong with doing good work in a sketchbook, but for those of us who may fall victim to the threat of comparison it can be daunting. 

I understand that this says more about me, than the idea of sketching, but perhaps there maybe others that may shy away from working in a sketchbook, or maybe they just never took art classes and had no idea you’re allowed to make messy incomplete drawings. I think it’s helpful to point out that, not every page of your sketchbook needs to be a masterpiece. Mastering the art of sketching the shapes and movements you’re mind and eyes are seeing is the most important thing. There’s plenty of time to make a pretty drawing or painting, but your ideas, or some live action before you, flies by in an instant. Sketch it quickly, before it’s gone. 

Thanks,

Nudge