Sketchbook

Every artist should keep a sketchbook. The sketchbook is the place for me to explore and grow in my ability to see. In my sketchbook you will find all kinds of things, drawings, notes, sketches for compositional design ideas. I usually take my sketchbook with me everywhere I go. There are always opportunities to sketch a face in the crowd. I think I am most attracted to people when I draw. There is just something about the challenge of getting the right gesture of a person's pose, especially when they do not know I am drawing them. Unguarded moments become the impetus for future paintings or prints.

Here is a drawing I did last night of my wife while she was watching tv.

Being purposeful about making art

Recently I have been feeling a little depressed, a little overwhelmed, a little frustrated... and all this has been causing me to become a little cynical. A wise man recently reminded me that I needed to make time for my gifts. "You need to be intentional about taking time to work on your art, even if it is for just during your lunch break," he told me. I took his advice. Yesterday during lunch I went into my studio and closed the door. I purposely made myself unavailable to students; to the phone; to email... I set an alarm for one hour and began drawing the first thing I saw -- the glove I wore to work this morning. No big deal. No bells or whistles... just observational drawing... just graphite... just intentional time to express the artist inside me. In an hour the alarm went off and I started back to work. I opened the door and became available again. But there was a different me available. I was a little less depressed, in fact, I felt an inner joy that I had not felt in awhile. I was a little less frustrated; a little less cynical.

If you are an artist I want to encourage you to take time for your work. Sometimes you must be vigilant about making time, but let me tell you, it is worth it.