Beautiful Flora

I couldn’t draw.

2014 – 150 years of public garden Flora

Oh, I could not draw outside on public places. Not because of the people – I think – but because I could not decide which spot to draw… and I felt overwhelmed by so much, too much possibilities…. I had a beautiful afternoon at a public garden and took my sketchbook out my pocket more than once – and couldn’t draw… oh, no, oh. How do you deal with this? I asked on facebook group “sketchbook skool”. The answers are so helpful and kind (look at the comment section to this post). And therefore I love to be part of an online community.

Ohje, ich konnte draußen nicht zeichnen. Nicht weil ich mich vor den Leuten fürchtete – denke ich – aber weil ich mich nicht entscheiden konnte, welchen Ausschnitt ich zeichnen wollte… ich fühlte mich von so vielen Möglichkeiten überfordert…. Ich hatte einen wunderbaren Nachmittag im botanischen Garten und habe mein Skizzenbuch mehr als ein Mal aus der Tasche gezogen – und konnte nicht zeichnen…. Ich fragte in der Facebook-Gruppe “Sketchbook Skool”, wie die anderen Mitglieder mit einem solchen Problem umgehen. Die Antworten sind so hilfreich und freundlich (im ersten Kommentar habe ich die Antworten eingefügt.). Und deshalb liebe ich es, an einem Online-Kurs teilzunehmen.

One thought on “Beautiful Flora”

Here are the answers on facebook group:
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L.G.: I have no advice because I understand exactly how you feel! It’s the unending tension between sketching and enjoying “the moment”. Not easy to do both sometimes. Today I went to an amazing shoe museum with my sketchbook and could not bring myself to stop and sketch. Maybe on my next visit.
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K.L.: I totally understand. I sometimes get the same paralysis . My trick is to focus on some small part of my surroundings. It means I end up with more botanicals than landscapes, but at least I can draw something. And the sound of the birds and smell of the flowers is the same even if I don’t tackle the entire scene.
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K.M.: That happened to me at the Grand Canyon2010… too much, too big! Then I looked down and noticed a small aspen branch at my feet. I took it to a picnic table, pulled out my pencils, and suddenly the “logjam” was broken. One leaf at a time! Start small, focus on just one thing. As an intermediate sketcher, it seems like over time you begin to see the whole world like a sketch, and you begin to know what to put in, what to leave out.
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S.M.: Sunday I drove all around our campus and finally stopped to draw and chose something that was way beyond me…..so I drove home….
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J.D.: I’m planning on going to a Sketchcrawl this weekend and that is what I’m most afraid of. Whenever I go outside to draw I think I feel overwhelmed. If I start drawing something big, like a building…I leave out a lot if the tiny details and focus more on perspective and shape. If You feel too overwhelmed pick something small and just draw that one thing!
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D.H.: Go out alone, pick something simple, deep breathes and excepting where you are not where you wish you were, it’s the journey
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P.M.L.: Jutta, determine what would be a baby step for you then do it. maybe start out in your backyard (that’s outside!) then move to a friends you feel safe with etc.
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M.D.: I look really close at one little thing – something surrounded by something I love — a shell, a rock, a leaf — it takes the feeling of being overwhelmed away – I don’t have to draw a perfect image, so I don’t have to be too close up. I always remember my daughter in law’s favorite saying when I do my best to be brave and sketch in public, “Nobody cares” it works for me!
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C.W.: Don’t try to capture everything you see. Hone in one just one thing that interests you – and if that’s too big, then a smaller thing yet. Or, go back and re-watch Koosje’s lesson and listen again to her decision process as she drew the building outline then added blocks of detail. .
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C.R.: Jutta Müller, one of the first public sketches I did was in a rose garden, and I stood in front of just one rose and drew it, then a bit of the path, and an edge of a wall, and soon I had a page. As beginners we don’t necessarily need to do the whole scene. I learned this in Jane LaFazio’s classes.
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J.L.: Thanks C.R.! And great advice and Jutta Müller, Danny Gregory taught me to draw a box/frame, like a view finder and draw everything you see just within that ‘window’
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M.B.: Very recognizable! When I have to deal with something like stressing out because of the enormous possibilities to choose from, I close my sketchbook and take a deep breath. Then, I look around, until something catches my eye. That can be something very small, something moving or a feeling I have by looking at it. And then, I open my sketchbook. In that way, there are no blanc pages staring at me, wanting me to draw something perfect
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