Even though the wait in a waiting room seems interminable, patients do get called in. The trick, as a sketcher, is to choose a subject that has a long wait, or whose time in one place can be predicted. The gentleman on the right was getting ready to leave, so I had a good idea […]
I get all ready to sketch, everything in its place, I look up and begin drawing a portrait. The subject leaves and I have a nearly empty page. I fill the remaining space with other faces, just to practice.
It was a small waiting room, and crowded. I had a hard time hefting my pen in this elbow-to-elbow crowd while guarding my sketchbook against prying eyes.
My blind drawings are outlines. They look like cartoon figures. When I sketch while looking at the subject and the paper, the portraits look more realistic.
I sketched the man while he and his wife were waiting. I did not know who had an appointment until the lady got up and left when her name was called. The man remained in ‘couple mode’, his legs together, as if respecting the space of his now-absent wife. Across the room was another figure, […]
Since the beginning of the year I’ve been practicing to improve my sketching. Faces have always been difficult for me, so I draw them again and again. Below are some practice sketches, complete with mistakes. The 3/4 profile at the 11 O’Clock position did not work: it turned out to be a combination of a […]
I was on my break, patiently sketching the group across the room when a trio of people sat directly in the line of sight between my subjects and me. I had just enough time to quickly line out their shapes.
All seemed to be in their own world.
I never seem to get it right on the first stroke. That’s why I use pencil and make my initial movements lightly. I saw some simple line portraits the other day that were bold, direct contours of faces. I tried that today during my 15 minute sketch time. I wonder if the bold lines in […]
I was thinking about the walk that I went on years ago, with my parents and Mike, my older brother. I took many photographs that day. In a couple of them it seems that I recorded a human connection. I cherish those instants in time, but I really wish I could have more of them […]
