Artists Magazine - USA (2020-04)

ArtistsNetwork.com 23

Isn’t it interesting that everyone has his or her own
of drawing and making visual things? It almost sugg
that we actually see things differently. Perhaps each
is looking through our own lens that has particular
scratches and distortions that come from years ofac
lated experience. We may all be striving to captureth
same reality in front of us and yet, despite skill andp
tice, end up with very different marks on the paperb
with the same sense of confidence that we’ve actuall
captured what was in front of us. Even if you change
media and techniques or look at your work overa life
time, it’s still inherently you.
What I find is that my own lines usually are
recognizable to me right away, but only my
more mature lines are recognizable to others.
My “style,” if you will, took time to emerge
and clarify. A friend and I go on sketch crawls
together; we wander about, plunk down and
then draw the same thing simultaneously. When
we swap books to check out each other’s work,
it’s wild to see how differently we’ve observed
things and drawn different details.

EMBRACE THE “MISTAKES”

Style isn’t just identifiable in drawing but, if you
let it, in the way you write, letter and design in
your journal, too. Theonly realtrickisto be
yourself. That meanslettinggooffearand judg-
ment and not worryingaboutbeing“stuckwith
a bad drawing ... foreve
The fact is, a “bad”d
is just a drawing thatd
capture the momentth
you had intended.You
reach the destinationy
thought you had
seen on the hori-
zon. Maybe you
were distracted.
Maybe you were
hungry. Maybe
you were nervous
that someone
would look over
your shoulder and
snicker. Maybe you
just weren’t yourself
in that moment.
I say that it’s better
to hold on to all of thos
drawings and keep them
in your sketchbookwh
they can serve as lesso
I learn far more fromt
“mistakes” than froma
else—and even morefr

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My own lines are usually

recognizable to me right

off the bat.

Keep your sketchbook

with you at all times.

I always do.