My road to sketching
The busy Oxford Street from the view of Kafi coffee shop which is located on the second floor of LUSH. Serendipity happened when a French tourist sketched me in the shop and found out we were both doing the same thing!
What do you think of sketching? Is it something that is exclusive for people who have the relevant talent and/or related academic qualification?
I only had the basic art lessons in school like most of the people, and I opted for science in senior secondary education. Studied sociology (soci: society) in uni. I didn’t draw anything until I was near to 30.
Even when I started it, I couldn’t cultivate the habit and the notebooks I bought were always wasted. Later on I tried to change my settings as simple and convenient as possible, and most importantly, start from small to conquer my so-called ‘fear’. I could have more and more books of collection.
How I nudge
I remembered at that time when I was in Australia for working holiday, I was wondering what I had, and I started ‘trying’ sketching. I said ‘trying’ because I didn’t cultivate that habit, especially when that 250-page Moleskine was never filled.
Regarding sketching as a kind of habit, I bought a much smaller notebook (TRAVELER’S notebook) with 64 pages only, collected tickets and wrote something in it instead. In order to cope with the so-called ‘fear’ of sketching wrongly, I also had a tiny notepad so that I could sketch on it and, if everything went well, I sticked them to my travel notebook. A pen holder was also attached to it so that I could start my sketching much more easily.
I turned to Moleskine and finished it within two years. When I moved to the UK starting with the expanded 400-page version, I still keep working on it and never stop.
When I revisit all of my sketchbooks, I realised how I started from small and how it took time until now.
Sketching is more than art
Sketching is always overlooked! The visual effects after drawing is only a very small part of it, and more importantly is your (unique) learning process and how you feel when doing it. I mean how you are satisfied when sketching, especially if you know that psychological term ‘flow’: you just focus on it and have less need for social recognition.
This doesn’t mean I don’t long for being invited for exhibitions and commissions and appreciation from others (because I am really grateful to meeting all of you). What I want to say is that psychological and self-taught experience is keeping me drawing, and I hope my story can arouse all of you here to think about art: it’s not what only talent people can do, or something that we no longer need because of AI; it can be a vital part of our well being especially when coping with stress under the faster and ever changing society.
