Daily Sketching

One thing I’d like to do more of in this new year is to make time to draw or sketch — purely for my own enjoyment.

Drawing was something I loved doing as a kid. I would spend hours drawing people, animals, plants, landscapes… anything I saw or imagined.

This changed once I started taking art classes in high school and college. Instead of simply drawing for the pleasure of creating images that I enjoyed, the “act” of drawing took on a new purpose — drawing to fulfill a class requirement or specific design need. I was also becoming increasingly critical of the quality of my drawings. Although this critical assessment was intended to improve the quality the final images and my skills, it took quite a bit of pleasure out of the act of simply drawing.

Since the new year began, I’ve been trying to sketch each day for about 30 to 60 minutes. The subject matter is completely random… objects around me, images found in photos, books or online. The only thing all of these sketches have in common is that they are created simply for the pleasure of drawing.

I’m really enjoying drawing again!