Not enough time in the day to draw
Here’s my typical day during the week:
- Get up, get dressed, get the toddler up, get her dressed, breakfast, check email
- Cycle or take the bus to work
- Work, 8.00 to 4.30, with an hour for lunch
- Cycle or bus home, play with the toddler, feed and bath the toddler, put the toddler to bed
- Eat dinner, wash the dishes, relax
At weekends it’s pretty much toddler, toddler, toddler.
Not much time to fit in any drawing, is there? The obvious time would be after dinner, but by then I’m often much too tired.
But if I really think about it, I can find some time in my day. Drawanyway promises you don’t need to draw for more than ten minutes each day, and even without using that hitherto untapped time when you’re sitting on the loo, everyone has some time when they could be drawing. Especially if you look at it as a way of relaxing, rather than a chore. Here are the times in my day:
- The bus: absolutely ideal for people-spotting. If you have a notebook or even an old newspaper and pen with you, you can be drawing anything that catches your eye. Don’t be fussy about finished drawings: just a few lines can capture a posture or an unusual piece of clothing.
- Cycling: I’m not suggesting you draw while you’re on your bike. This is almost guaranteed to make you worse at drawing. Unless you really feel you could do with loosening up. But it’s a valid point that not all drawing is about actually putting pen to paper. Just as actors spend a lot of time observing people, so artists keep their eyes open for appealing items. If you can take a digital camera out with you, so much the better – take pictures to remind you of nice colour combinations, pleasing composition or anything else that catches your eye.
- Work: Actually, I’m quite a good worker. I’d never sit at my desk drawing when I have spreadsheets to update. Really. But it’s an old habit of mine that if I have a boring meeting to sit through, I’ll start to doodle. Usually I’ll draw the other people at the meeting, which can be a risky business if they happen to glimpse what you’re doing. But conferences and meetings are great for drawing, because people often stay in the same position for a long time, thus effectively giving you access to a clothed life model for free.
- Lunch hour: I’m quite lazy about actually getting off my ass and leaving my desk at lunch time, but, especially in decent weather, drawing is a great excuse to go and sit somewhere nice. There’s a park ten minutes away, which gives me 40 minutes to scarf some food down and do some sketching.
- Baby time: It came as quite a revelation to me that while my daughter was having a good time with her felt pens, crayons and chalks, I could be, too. There’s something really nice about those primary colours: they’ll take you back to your childhood, before you felt self-conscious about your drawing. And let’s face it, however badly you draw, it’s going to be better than your baby’s attempts. I have another post planned on drawing with your child.
Ha ha, look at me! Based on this analysis, I should be churning out five or six illustrations a day. I have to confess that I’m not, so let’s try together on this one.
Posted: June 4th, 2007 under You, No time to draw.
Comments: 29
29 Comments
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Since I didn’t do the weekend task, I tried my shoe (well, sandal). The proportions aren’t quite right, but I’m quite pleased with it. I added the hand because I’ve never tried drawing them. Both done at the end of my lunch break. Took about 10 mins to do them, then probably another 10-15 to scan and upload!
You can tell it’s summer - everyone’s wearing sandals! You have captured the shape really well there, I think. Hands are very difficult but you also did a good job there; no doubt I will post about this topic alone one day.
I had my hand right next to the paper, so that may have helped because I could see the drawing and the subject at the same time.
I have my computer set to tell me to take a break from the keyboard for 6min every hr or so - I do a couple of exercises for my back then, but I could also do some drawing (I won’t finish it in the 6min, obv, but that’s OK because it’s starting that’s the problem!)
I caught the bus/tube in today (normally I cycle) so might try & do something on the way home.
Today I did my foot (see other post), & my knitting bag:
The knitting needles poking out at the L went a bit peculiar. I tried biro instead of fountain pen & think it might be easier to use. Although I like the feel of fountain pen.
Also I have found the macro setting on my camera, which is nice :)
(I’m carrying my camera more due to this blog, which is something I’ve been trying to do for ages. Although I still haven’t got as far as actually taking more photos, really…)
That’s a really good idea! I have to take 1 min breaks every 10 mins, which sometimes leaves me twiddling my thumbs. Drawing would make me look away from the screen too.
Blimey, that’d drive me mad - it takes me ten minutes to get into anything properly!!
You get used to it. It’s incredibly annoying for the first few weeks but then you appreciate the lack of RSI pain ;)
So long as you don’t get drawing RSI… ah yes, that’s when you have to do an exercise where you draw with your other hand. :)
I try to take my camera absolutely everywhere with me, not just for art purposes, but for blogging too, and because I live in constant hope of seeing Nick Cave! Oops, let’s pretend I didn’t just say that.
You say the knitting needles went a bit peculiar, but in some ways I like that part best, as it’s where you let go and the line is very loose there.
Yeah - I’m aware that I’m drawing quite slowly & carefully right now. TBH this is all a bit of a new departure for me - I was never good at art at school, and I haven’t voluntarily drawn anything (other than the odd very stylised/geometric birthday card) for probably about 14 years. Although I have done some other visual art/design stuff (e.g. knitting, sewing, sticking bits of card & paper together).
Anyway, I am tending to the slow-&-observational rather than the let-go-&-squoggle, I think :) (which may be one of the reasons I liked the take-a-line-for-a-walk exercise!)
I’m really enjoying it, though.
On the upside, I showed the picture to P (partner) & he recognised it as my knitting bag!
I am really glad, in that case, that it’s got you drawing, and even more glad that you are enjoying it.
BTW: a comment on the way the blog is structured. Is it possible to have forward/backward links on each post (i.e. to move one post forwards or backwards)? Makes it easier to navigate!
That is a good idea - do bear in mind that I have muddled this blog together and have no idea what I am doing code-wise. It’s only Kake’s knowledge and help that stopped me from throwing the whole thing in. However, I will investigate - another option might be the ‘recent posts’ module in the sidebar, as I have seen in other WP blogs.
Here is my picture for today: this is the ultimate in Drawanywayness, and drawn at a time I would not have thought of drawing in before - while the toddler was drifting off to sleep. Aw, maternal feelings on paper. Lots wrong with it, but I’m going to try again soon - I’d love to get the splayed out arms that babies sleep with down pat, and of course it would be nice to get an actual likeness. I did scan this into Photoshop and played with colouring it in, but decided the line drawing wasn’t strong enough for that to add anything in particular.
I’m following my own advice! Blimey!
Oh yeah, one thing I am quite pleased with is the accuracy of her fingers, still semi-clenched after dropping her bottle of milk. Though, as you can see, I fudged it a bit.
I found myself in a boring meeting this morning, and did (what I considered to be) a wonderful ‘taking a line for a walk’ drawing of a face. The problem was that I was sat next to an ex-police chief superintendent who is bald and clean shaven, and my picture kind of looked like him by accident. So I ended up drawing a beard on it to make it look more like a self portrait, and that meant I’d cheated ‘cos the pen had been off the paper for about 5 minutes…
Anyway, today I made time, after putting the boys to bed I got their felt-tips out, as I haven’t drawn in big fat felt tips for years, and caught up with the two exercises I’d missed. So…
‘Taking the line for a walk’:-
Footwear:-
Ha ha, the faces look like an ex of mine!!
You must be really pleased with the boots, aren’t you? They are really well done.
What do you mean? Those are sandals…
Thank you. Yes, I was pleased with the bottom boot - not quite so keen on the top one, but hell, I’m still learning!
I have the feeling that art, like language, is one of those things you never stop learning. I think both the boots are excellent and I especially like the shoelace twirl of the top one.
I tried drawing on the bus today (because I am usually on the bus) but it made my pen wobble about a lot at first. Then I started drawing an old man, but he got off before I finished. Tsk!
The view above my television, drawn in ad breaks while watching Heroes…
Ooh, is this the first one that’s been posted in colour? I think it might be.
I can’t actually work out what’s going on in that picture, but I like it.
I have enough time to draw, as long as I have something to hand, right there. If I need a quick break from work (or programming, or knitting, etc) then if there’s something to hand I can draw on it. The reason I’ve got behind with Draw Anyway is that I lost my notepad and so there wasn’t anything to hand. While writing this comment I looked about to find if there was anything I could draw on, and I found a piece of used paper, blank on one side, on a pile next to the sofa. It had some grease stains on it. so I drew circles around those and then turned the circles into doodles. Here it is. (All the circles in this started out as grease stains. I really should have taken a photo before I started doodling…)
Click through for bigger versions.
I have enough time to draw, as long as I have something to hand, right there. If I need a quick break from work (or programming, or knitting, etc) then if there’s something to hand I can draw on it. The reason I’ve got behind with Draw Anyway is that I lost my notepad and so there wasn’t anything to hand. While writing this comment I looked about to find if there was anything I could draw on, and I found a piece of used paper, blank on one side, on a pile next to the sofa. It had some grease stains on it. so I drew circles around those and then turned the circles into doodles. Here it is. (All the circles in this started out as grease stains. I really should have taken a photo before I started doodling…)
Click through for bigger versions.
I have enough time to draw, as long as I have something to hand, right there. If I need a quick break from work (or programming, or knitting, etc) then if there’s something to hand I can draw on it. The reason I’ve got behind with Draw Anyway is that I lost my notepad and so there wasn’t anything to hand. While writing this comment I looked about to find if there was anything I could draw on, and I found a piece of used paper, blank on one side, on a pile next to the sofa. It had some grease stains on it. so I drew circles around those and then turned the circles into doodles. Here it is. (All the circles in this started out as grease stains. I really should have taken a photo before I started doodling…)
Click through for bigger versions!
Hm, sorry for the duplicates — feel free to delete the spares.
I drew this in the Royal Festival Hall after I’d ambled into a free afternoon concert. It was informal enough that I don’t think anyone minded me scribbling away!
Wowee! I didn’t expect that! What a great repeating pattern there is in that, and what a lovely cartoon style! Gosh, I can almost imagine this on their next poster/programme.
Thanks! I took your tip about looking for patterns and shapes I liked, and was struck by the boxes and the way they were arranged.