House-bound Street Sketcher

or the last six years, my summers have been daily jaunts here and there to sketch.  It was a routine as consistent as brushing my teeth.  Last summer I walked 50+ kilometers a week for the sake of my sketching.  As much as anything it became my identity.  I’m sure other sketchers can relate to this.

Then it happened.  I became old and frail.  I seem to be literally falling apart.  One day it’ll be my left wrist and hand hurts so much I can’t draw, or my leg won’t let me walk without pain across the room.  And, of course, there are some days that are lost simply because I’m feeling sorry for myself.  It’s been an “interesting” experience and definitely a new challenge, but the end result is that I’m losing my sketching summer and this blog has been neglected.  I apologize.

While this blog is about street sketching I’m going to show you a sketch I did from a photo of a hotel we’re going to visit in two weeks.  It resides on the shores of the St. Lawrence River, just as the river begins to widen into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, a hotbed for whale-watchers.  I drew it from a photo of the place on their website.  Hope you like it.

8 thoughts on “House-bound Street Sketcher

  1. Great sketch! I think the trick for staying happy as we age is to find new ways of being that meet our needs. It takes a lot of creative thinking. I struggle, too.

    • I agree. Life is a series of challenges and aging is just another. I find the secret to success in dealing with them is to figure out what I can learn from the experience. I guess that comes from my belief that joy comes from learning. These new challenges are no different and I’m learning quite a bit about myself and my association with sketching because of these challenges.

  2. I agree Larry, find new ways even if they break the “rules”
    Some years ago I met a photographer who spent a great deal of time photographing rather mundane things , like moss.
    He did it because his friend, a prominent wildlife artist, had broken his legs/ankles and was stuck in a wheelchair.

    If you didn’t say it was from a photo who would know?

    Well apart from you 🙂
    Keep it up my friend !!

    • One of the more interesting things I’m learning from all this is where those “rules” come from. I’ve spent all my sketching time just drawing stuff I come across on the street. I’ve never approached sketching as an artist, never created room for drawing from photos, imagination, etc. In many ways, doing this stuff can open a lot of opportunities but it’s hard when all your motivation comes from ‘discovering’ something to draw. But you’re right, my “rules” have to change.

Comments are closed.