Sketching, My New Passion, Is Influenced by My Photography
First I became totally engrossed in video making and building my YouTube channel. Then last January I took up portrait drawing which evolved into a keen interest in improving my sketching skills. Finally, I added watercolor painting to my repertoire in August and have been honing those skills. Though I have been actively writing articles on my art interests in my new sketching and painting blog (and my original portraits and sketches blog), I haven’t written anything for this blog in about ten months! So, I’m hoping to change that today.
Urban sketching workshop in downtown Richmond, VA.
I moved from doing pencil portraits of people last summer to wanting to improve my skill level for sketching buildings and objects. Specifically, I became interested in what is called “urban sketching.” Though certainly not a new phenomenon, urban sketching as a worldwide movement began to gain followers around ten years ago. You can read the history of its development on the Urban Sketchers’ web site. As the name implies, urban sketching is about sketching urban environments while on location. That means standing or sitting and drawing what’s in front of you and completing your sketch before leaving the location. And that includes adding watercolor to your sketch usually. It’s kind of like street photography for photographers. However, it’s not just limited to urban environments. What one sketches can be anywhere, forests, beaches, in museums or even in one’s own home.
A sketch done completely on-location in Lynchburg, VA.
As I develop my skills at urban sketching I’m reminded how my passion for photography influences how I look at scenes. My practice of photography taught me about composition, about what and how I want to include in the frame. Will the shot be better in landscape or portrait mode? Am I using the all powerful Rule of Thirds or not? These same principles apply when assessing a scene I want to sketch and paint. I always make photographs of the scenes I sketch and sometimes I’m not 100% true to the Urban Sketchers’ Manifesto and I do my sketch and painting from my photo at home.
Reflecting on the past year and what I have spent most of my time on (drawing and painting), I’m thankful that I’ve found a new hobby or passion that compliments my other passion, photography.
