Over the summer months I’d formed a great habit of getting up before the crack of dawn, going for a 45 minute walk and completing about half an hour of 30 second gesture sketching before the rest of the family got up and the hustle and panic of getting ready for work and school took hold. I was starting the day relaxed, refreshed, invigorated and happy that I was getting some sketching practice in most days.
As the months wore on, the sun spent more and more time beyond the horizon each morning to the point where it became too dark to go for my walk and my morning routine began to slide along with the falling mercury.
After an unfortunate accident wrote off my car (nobody was hurt and was not my fault!), my journey to work became an early bus ride, a train ride and a reasonable walk – further eating into any spare time I had each morning.
There have been some positives to come out of this however.
For one, I got my walk back!
I do actually find the train ride quite a relaxing experience as we snake down through the hills – densely covered with trees – through a couple of long tunnels and emerge to overlook the plains to the ocean beyond on our way down to the city.
But the fact I don’t have to do anything but sit there means I am afforded the time to return to some sketching practice in my Moleskine. I am quite self conscious about sketching in public as I don’t like the feeling of having an audience while I work. The reality is no one is probably looking over my shoulder anyway but the feeling remains. The obvious subject material is going to be other passengers and I try my hardest not to make it too obvious to my subject that I’m sketching them. Added to this is the challenge of a swaying carriage, cramped seats, subjects regularly changing their pose, having someone else stand in the way or your subject getting off the train altogether – you really have to work quick.
Like anything, it is something that will take some practice but making the most of any opportunity to improve is what it’s all about.
