![]() If you are inside, draw a cup, the ketchup bottle, the set of condiments in front of you, cutlery, your plate of food or the naughty cupcake you ordered to reward yourself for being so brave (ha ha). Once you stop feeling so conspicuous sitting in a cafe or on a park bench and drawing in your sketchbook, you will be ready to take on drawing from life. You can carry on sketching from your reference photo, doodling or whatever you were partway through. Why not ease yourself into the actual sensation of drawing in public first with a sketch you’ve already started. Of course, this is not urban sketching in the strict sense BUT that’s ok, we are just trying to build confidence in the activity of drawing in public.įinding a good vantage point and then drawing what’s in front of you to a standard that you don’t think other people will think you’re rubbish is actually quite a lot of pressure at first. This helps with the fear of opening your sketchbook to a blank page and just clamming up because you don’t know what to do next. Then when I would sit down somewhere in public, I could just pick up where I left off and carry on drawing. That way I already had some reasonable sketches to go out into the world with. When I first started inching away from my front door in order to go and sketch somewhere other than my bedroom I would fill a few pages of my sketchbook with some partially completed drawings. They can be incredibly kind and wonderful but once in a blue moon, they can also be scary and, you may suspect, a little judgy. The general public is an unpredictable bunch. These are defence mechanisms against the general public. Dress simply and do not draw attention to yourself. Think twice about wearing your leopard print dress and red heels, or your most floral shirt (you’re not Lapin) and pink stripey flares (the ’70s called and want their outfit back). If somewhere is very crowded and busy people are less likely to stop and notice you. Want some awesome art-related podcast recommendations? Well my friend, look no further than my suggestions here. I’m a huge music fan (fun fact: I was a bass player in a progressive metal band for 12 years) but I absolutely love listening to podcasts and audiobooks while sketching too. Also, you can block out people’s comments if they are passing behind you, looking at what you’re doing. Wear headphonesĪs above, if people know they can’t hear you they will be less likely to approach. If people cannot make eye contact as they approach, they may be less likely to bother you. In a cafe with your back against the wall so no one can creep up behind you or see what you’re doing. Sit somewhere inconspicuousĪ bench in the shade under a tree away from other people. Ok, let’s get the basic defence mechanisms listed here: 1. Perhaps we have just distilled the fear of sketching in public: other people. However, just because it’s called urban sketching does not mean you cannot go out into the countryside where there are fewer people loitering around and sketch there. So that basically means sketching in public. Well, you’re here because you’re interested in urban sketching right? And the essence of urban sketching is sketching on location and sketching from life (you can see the Urban Sketchers manifesto here). ![]() Then…you get used to it, I promise.Īnd then, it’s not scary at all. People can actually see you, drawing…and judge you. ![]()
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