CLICK HERE for this
painting.
It’s lots of fun to sketch in cafés, coffee shops and
other public places. You can capture interesting people in unguarded moments.
And it will improve your drawing and painting skills more than you could
imagine.
A few simple tips will make it easy for anyone, even
absolute beginners.
First, streamline
your gear. I pack very light, yet everything I need is in the pocket-sized
“stealth kit” shown below. In a figure painting workshop that I’ll be teaching
soon I’ll share more about this little “stealth kit”. And I’ll demonstrate how
I use it at times like this.
Below you can see my pocket “stealth kit”, the starting
sketch, and the beginning of the color block-in. That’s all the farther I got
before the woman hurried off, leaving just the guy who was still reading. But
it was enough to enable me to finish the painting after she left.
My second tip is
to lower your expectations. Be willing to fail. Because many sketches will
fail due to people leaving or moving, changing conditions and other reasons. So
don’t get hung up on perfectionism. The woman left before I finished but I was
still able to complete this one.
Third, plan to make
lots of quick starts. Even if there isn’t time to complete a sketch or
painting. The more starts you make the more you’ll learn.
Fourth, look for
someone who looks settled in. Remember that you may not have long; things
can change quickly.
Fifth, start by capturing
whatever caught your eye. The gesture of the figures. A hairstyle or
clothing. Something unusual they’re doing, or whatever. Get that down first, so
that if they leave before you’re done you will still have something
interesting.
Finally, just have
fun. That’s what sketching is all about, at least for me.
Email me at (tombrownstudio@cox.net) if you’d
like to join my new figure workshop. We’ll meet on Saturday afternoons
starting in a few weeks. And I have lots to share. Be there if you can!
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