The Thrill Of The Chase

I’m a sketcher… a street sketcher.  What excites me about sketching is the process, not the results.  I love the feeling I have as I sit, studying a subject, drawing lines – oblivious to everything around me.  I love people who stop and ask questions.  Often they’re the same questions (eg – Do you sell these?  Did you go to art school?  How long have you been doing this?) but there’s always a smile attached and some simple chit-chat that connects me to my fellow humans.

And part of the process, for me, is finding something to sketch… the thrill of the hunt.  It’s pretty rare that I plan to go some particular place to sketch some particular thing.  That takes half the fun out of it for me.  I like to just strike out, in any direction, looking for something that catches my attention.

The other day I did just that.  I walked to a main intersection near my house.  There were metro buses that head east/west/north/south and I decided to hop the first one that came along.  I found myself heading east and, once I had passed areas I knew well, I got off the bus.  I continued, walking east until I came across a small park.

I walked into it and sat on a bench.  I looked around.  There were ravens in one end of the park and I thought about sketching them.  There were swings, slides, and what looked like a hamburger that kids could ride.  It sat on a large spring.  These would make a nice sketch, too.

Then I noticed a small mechanics shop stuffed between two larger buildings.  I walked to that corner of the park, picked out a shady area, plunked myself down on my tripod stool, and started this sketch.

My hunt was a success.  I spent a blissful hour while my pen entertained me as no television ever could.  Life is good.

2013-08-02MechaniqueC

Stillman & Birn Zeta (5×8) sketchbook; Pilot Prera pen; Platinum Carbon Black ink; W&N artist watercolors

7 thoughts on “The Thrill Of The Chase

    • Glad you like the stories. For me, sketching is less about making art than enjoying the process of doing it so it’s natural for me to talk about that process.

      Cheers — Larry

  1. Hi Larry. I won’t call it a hunt. It’s more like making a choice. There is so much interesting to see in a town! And so little time, so a choice must be made … -Inge-

    • Well, Inge, if I hadn’t gone on a hunt, I never could have made the choice to sketch that scene. But you don’t have to call it a hunt if you don’t want to. I’ll stand by my word usage, however.

      Cheers — Larry

      • Of course, Larry! You use your words, I use mine. Our situation is different too. You went out to go make a sketch. I go out for other reasons and stop for 10 minutes of sketching (one of the many subjects I see).

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