Notes on Drawings & Sketches

My most elaborate drawing to date has been the Arizona Cypress, 30”x40”, pen and Japanese ink on Canson/Rives printmaker’s paper. It’s basically impossible to display the detail here, but no matter. You can get an idea. Can you see how I was dazzled by this tree? How this old tree, dying in places, is itself persistent and carrying on regardless of its tough circumstances? This tree lives windblown on top of a desert cliff with no special care. No care at all, really. And yet there it is, carrying on. My intense identification with this tree helped me persist in drawing nearly every day during our pandemic in 2020.

I’ve been drawing forever. At least I’m persistent. Drawing is wonderful for exploring the world. Also, for remembering. For developing confidence at expression. For deciding what’s worth looking at. Drawing is different from painting in that a drawing generally puts outlines around its subject, and painting generally doesn’t. Painting generally makes use of broad areas of color/tone, while drawing generally doesn’t.

Humans have been drawing for thousands of years, making lines on all kinds of supports using charcoal, crayon, pencil, pen and brush with ink. There exists the idea that drawing is one element making humans into humans, that is, able to understand each other, brain to brain.

Drawing is a great way to record your subject’s shape, proportion, perspective. Emotion, direction of attention, personality, even character, can be revealed in drawings. The artist’s attitude shines out in her/his drawings.

A sketch, in contrast to a drawing, is a fast take on whatever you’re looking at. It’s not generally a finished work, rather it’s a reminder, a reference, a suggestion. Sketching is fun partly because the stakes are not so high as for a painting or a more finished drawing, and you can have less anxiety about getting things “right.” Often the outcome is a delightful surprise. Sketching is terrific for training your hand, stretching your mind and building your skill at drawing.

I sketch generally in bound paper sketchbooks, using pen or pencil, sometimes watercolor. Speed and summary are key. Imperfection is not a flaw. If I’m not having a good time, I stop. Life is short.