💭 Urban Sketching

2023.10.16

I've been mesmerized by the Urban Sketchers community for many years now. I follow a large number of people who draw on location, and I have tried my hand at it many times myself.

We don't really have an active group in my city (there is a Facebook group, but it's rarely active), so I've not gone out on an actual sketch meetup before. One of my biggest struggles is the nervousness I feel when I sit down to draw in public. I know that probably nobody is looking at me or caring about what I'm doing, and from what I've heard when people are, they're usually pretty friendly if not excited about what you're drawing, but it's really difficult to push past that feeling. I've done okay sketching out on the streets before, and even better sitting in a park, but I still feel nervous while doing it.

I tried to go to a coffee shop one time. I would have liked a corner seat of some sort, but it was really busy and the only option was a seat right in the middle of the place. I glanced around nervously and was about to pull out my sketchbook, when someone sat down at the table next to mine. I got really uneasy and then promptly left. I couldn't do it. I just felt so conspicuous. Like I was about to do something I shouldn't be doing.

Even today, I wanted to draw an old doorway on a brick building with ornate elements around it. I just couldn't find it in myself to sit down and draw, despite the fact that there was virtually nobody around, and it isn't a busy area. I instead took a picture of it and drew it in my car.

I know that many have said once they got over that initial anxiety surrounding it, it became much easier to do, but that's easier said than done. I would like to push myself to get better at this. I think a good first step would be to draw in a more secluded area where I looks less conspicuous, then try moving on to drawing on the streets, and then maybe head back into a coffee shop someday.

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