Yes, I feel that I am a sketcher-phrenic. I am enjoying sketching, and certainly have enjoyed the group I have been sketching with, and, I also enjoy the other work I am doing with different media. I am a Jack [or Jill] of all trades and master of none, I suppose. Coming back to creating and making art late, I want to do it all ... well and fast! All that said, I feel a bit conflicted about sketching.
It appears that sketching has become a huge international movement, or maybe it's been going on forever, and I just recently became aware of it. I love looking at the sketchings of others, and enjoy the process, for sure. Sketching is clearly an art form unto itself.
And who can dispute that sketching/drawing doesn't increase overall skills, particularly on how one "sees" things. I sketch, and certainly encourage my students to take time, every day, if possible, to sketch and draw, and, to be sure, their skills, and mine, will increase and improve.
The frustration comes with, perhaps, the scarce allocation of resources, primarily time, and, frankly, materials. I now have about four separate "kits" to lug around the various classes I give and take, including the re-purposing of an old computer bag on rollers for sketching. The conflict also has to do with "simplifying my life," and making it more frenetic than ever!
To be sure, sketching and drawing are a huge part of my art-making, and an element of how I teach, to the extent that artists need to draw and sketch, as much to improve the ability to "see" and create compositions and good designs in their watercolors and acrylics. I so enjoy painting with acrylics and knives, doing watercolors, and working with texture and now collage. How much time can a person take to do all things creative?
Do I continue to spread myself too thin, or do I try to "do it all"? What do you do?
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| A couple of Whidbey Island Sketchers on a lovely sunny day in Langley |
