I Almost Didn't Share This Sketch
Welcome to Draw Tip Tuesday!
We all like showing our successes, of course we do. It feels great to be happy about a drawing. But not every page is a winner.
People don't often talk about that, and that's why I think it's worth addressing.
On a rainy morning in Paris, I sat down to draw one of the covered passages. I hadn't even have coffee yet, I chose a pen I didn't love, and I had this feeling that I wasn't really allowed to be sitting where I was. Altogether, it resulted in a drawing session that felt fussy, rushed and wonky in all the wrong ways. Usually, drawing brings this zen-like calm feeling, and usually I love wonky. I filmed the process, but decided it would't be YouTube-worthy.
I changed my mind
Sometimes we judge a drawing negatively not because of the drawing itself, but because of how we felt while making it. The fussiness, the discomfort, a perspective that feels off, that unfinished feeling... All of that gets mixed up with our opinion of the result, even when it's not really fair to the page.
When I showed it (grumpily) to my husband later that day, his reaction to the drawing surprised me. He complemented me on how I captured the light and vibe. And he didn't even comment on the crooked perspective. I completely missed all of that initially just because my emotions and inner critic were in the way. I started to see it then, after I had stepped away from the drawing for a bit, and saw it through his eyes.
Still, it felt unfinished. So weeks later, back home, I decided to go back in. With watercolors, colored pencils and crayons, I revisited the page to see if I could bring in a bit more atmosphere and joy.
Click the image to watch the video
Now that I see it on video, with a lot more distance from the initial feelings and process, I can see that the first version is not bad at all. There is that brightness of the roof windows, I like how I added people, and to be fair, for the short amount of time I was there, I really got a lot on the page.
I enjoyed giving the page some more love and attention. I may have overworked it a bit? Anyway, I'm glad that I followed my curiosity. I wanted to know what would happen if I spent more time on the drawing.
This whole process taught me to stop judging straight after finishing a drawing, when I'm not feeling that great. And to listen to the response from someone who looks at it with fresh eyes.
Materials I used:
Staedtler chisel tip fineliner
Watercolors (Daniel Smith, Schminke)
Caran d'Ache Luminance colored pencils
Caran d'Ache Neocolor II crayons
