Sketching (part 1)

Since sketching is one of my favorite things to do, it seems strange that sometimes it is a struggle to make time for it.  I have found that I have to be intentional in order to get myself to keep at it. Since I’ve heard others complain of the same struggle, I thought I would do a series of posts on ideas for keeping motivated.  One that stands out is meeting with other enthusiasts to chat and draw together.  I always learn something from such encounters and go away inspired.  Besides that it is simply a lot of fun!

We have a local group called Portland Urban Sketchers that get together to sketch at different locations around town at least once a month.  Here are my sketches from the last two sketchcrawls.  What a delightful group to scribble away with!  I am already looking forward to our next crawl.

If you don’t have a local sketching group, how about arranging to get together with someone in your area regularly to sketch or paint? I have a good friend who has moved several times during her life, and one of the first things she does when she settles into her new community is look for a fellow artist to meet with regularly for painting sessions.

The artist’s life can be isolating because of the long hours alone in the studio, so tapping into the local community of artists in some way can be an encouraging energy boost.  While I was immersed in the SBA course, I had to forgo going to sketchcrawls because of time-constraints but I sorely missed them.  Sketching with others can be very renewing.  What are some of the things that renew you artistically?