“I have learned that what I have not drawn, I have never really seen”
Frederick Franck (1909 – 2006) Dutch American sculptor
Next week we begin our trip to the Scandinavian countries of Sweden, Norway and Finland. I have not yet started to pack clothing and necessary items-like my toothbrush- but my sketching materials are ready! I have started to prep some pages in my sketchbook and prepping my thinking to make sketching a priority habit on this trip.
The arts are not a way to make a living. They are a very human way of making life more bearable. Practicing an art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow, for heaven’s sake. Kurt Vonnegut
I have been developing the practice of using my sketchbook daily and also spending a lot more time drawing in public. I have almost filled my second sketchbook with drawings of things that just catch my attention or goals that I had set for myself.
I am taking an online class this month where I am trying to establish a habit of using a sketchbook daily. When I was an art teacher, I wish I could have taught drawing in a sketchbook the way this online community is structured!
I am having an interesting “tussle” with myself to draw for 30 minutes everyday. I am learning how to reshuffle my priorities and the “have-to-do-this- today” list to accomplish finding those 30 minutes of drawing time.
“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.” Marcel Proust
I spent the last two weeks traveling through Bavaria and extended days in Budapest and Prague. It was quite a trip.
This has been the first time that I have committed to using a sketchbook as I traveled. I made a personal commitment to record each day. We were traveling with another couple and we had a full schedule.