The Joy Of Sketching

April 5, 2016

I love sketching. That's the simplest way to put it.

Sketching is therapeutic and it is freeing. I don't have to strive for a, "perfect" sketch because no such thing really exists. Sketching isn't meant to be a finished work for a museum or fancy art gallery, although some would say there are sketches that should be in those places.

American Swedish Institute - Watercolor & Ink

For me it's strictly about capturing the moment and a sense of what I'm seeing.

In many ways the simple sketch is the truest form of Artistic expression. Not only for it's immediacy, but for its visceral expression. When you're sketching you don't have to worry about all the rules.

Maybe you can remember the joy of drawing when you were a child? I still feel that joy when I sketch. If the sketch turns out, then that's really just a bonus. If it doesn't turn out that's okay to, because I almost always learn something interesting.

The sketches on this page represent a spectrum of control and looseness. The bricks in the Union Depot sketch were a more laborious and controlled approach, but I didn't let that block the joy because it was like building a fun puzzle.

I like sketching on-site and outside when I can, among nature and people. I can equally love the sights and sounds and grit of the city or the quiet of a lonely woods.

St.Paul Union Depot - Graphite, Ink & Watercolor

Living in Minnesota exposes a person to all the seasons, although the winters tend to last longer than most people would like them to. The variety of weather and scenery here is an Artists dream.

When it's too cold, we move inside to sketch and there are always a great variety of indoor spaces here. By the time spring comes we're ready move outside again and breathe fresh air.

If being free and joyful isn't enough reason to sketch, there are other great benefits. If you sketch enough, you begin to notice something really wonderful about your artwork, it starts to improve. Your whole life starts to improve. You suddenly find yourself less cynical, smiling more often and generally being a better person.

Happy sketching!

Marine On St.Croix - Ink & Watercolor

Wally The Walleye - Watercolor & Ink

After Don Colley - FC Pitt Markers

Dude at Coffee - FC Pitt Markers

Still Life - Ink & Watercolor