I recently started a new sketchbook for my (somewhat) daily gouache paintings. The premise of the project is a simple, underlying idea.
“Sketch the every day.”
Makes sense… When you can draw, you carry a sketchbook with you everywhere. You sit alone in a busy crowd or park, trying to scratch out every fleeting scene that you can…Right?
But this skill doesn’t just come naturally to most. The ability to translate what the eye sees and capture it into a drawing in a way that is true to the moment is an art amongst itself.
It’s hard and it’s frustrating, but then again all growth is.
It’s important to be able to capture every day in sketches because the versatility it brings to your work is unmatched. When we create, we typically like to stay within a comfortable box. We draw landscapes, characters still lives…Whatever floats our boat. But straying outside of that comfort zone feels, well… Uncomfortable. When we face a fleeting moment that makes us feel something worth capturing, we don’t always have the full skill set to do it justice.
That’s why I want to get better at sketching all the boring stuff. The things that I see every day that won’t grab anyone’s attention or be the star of that special moment, but they’ll be there. They’ll be in the background, contributing to that moment and you’ll have to draw them no matter what. Might as well get good at it now.
Ben Greenman 