I’m so happy to be back at Farmer’s Markets buying seasonal local produce and sketching the people there. With markets within a 5 minute drive of me on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday I ‘m sure to catch something every week.
When I get to the Cambrian Plaza market early, on Saturdays, I stop by at Heartbeat Cafe.
This week, I met Storm, a 10-week-old Australian Shepard who made the perfect model, snoozing by his owner all the time I was there. How could I not sketch him?
And then I did another sketch of the scene from where I sat in front of the cafe, with roses in bloom everywhere.
I’ve been looking through my recent sketchbooks, and they record a slow but steady return to a life with more real world interactions. With more people stories and sketches. Not a return to the old normal, but a slowed down version of it, with people really seeming to savor what they missed through the last many months.
I’m outside drawing people more, feeling their stories, chatting with them across larger distances and holding my sketchbook up for them to see from further away when they’re curious about what I do. It’s different, but I’m thankful for it.
Wondering where the “Farmer’s Market” sketches are, I’ll post those tomorrow.
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If you love the idea of sketching people but find them daunting to draw, you might want to enroll in my 4-week online people sketching workshop starting this Saturday. We start simple, but by week 4 you will be sketching scenes of bustling markets. Get a taste of sketching quickly using the principles of gesture drawing with this little video clip:
Read more about the workshop and sign up here. Last few spots available.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/people-alive-sketches-full-of-life-may-2021-tickets-150238749143
Sketch Away: Travels with my sketchbook 
Hi, Suhita, Your reflection this morning “with people really seeming to savor what they missed” resonated with me. I’ve been conveying that message of self-care to my family and getting them out in nature. Since they’re working from home I’ve seen them be so absorbed with computer work and putting in long hours that it was affecting them physically and emotionally. And they didn’t even realize it! I could see the difference in them since I moved here 6 months ago. Daily routines in housekeeping, grooming and getting fresh air were going by the wayside. If we who look at the world from an artist’s viewpoint can convey this message then I think we’re contributing a lot to people’s health and well-being. I think you have a book in the making. Show people the gift of relaxing outdoors with a beverage or shopping the farmers markets. Those are such a pleasure. I’m looking forward to your People Sketching classes!
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The beauty of urban sketching is that it captures the here and now and highlights it.
Looking forward to seeing you in class, Chris!
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