Outtakes - the pleasure of the sketch

I've been a tireless sketcher for most of my life, long before it became a popular thing. If you know my Philly and International series you likely know that all those colorful finished scenes start with free-hand on-site drawings straight from my sketchbooks. Not all the sketches make it to the finish line; there are plenty of outtakes, sketches just for my own pleasure or interest, or ones that don't call for a place in the finished series.
Take a scroll through a few - enjoy them with me.

A cold night in January 2020 - a long awaited chance to visit an empty Mount St Michel in France out of season, with a stop in stony, historic St Malo. We were happy to find this locals' bar, rich in good drinks and camaraderie. Who could know then that Mount St Michel - and everywhere else - would be without tourists for a long time to come.

Sketching - as opposed to finished drawing - should always be loose, spontaneous, in the moment, and happy with unplanned quirks of pen and hand. Below is the kind of sketch I do for my interest in all things art historical  - a beautiful 16th c tomb in Nantes Cathedral. The sculptor is the awesome Michel Colombe - not well enough known, but one of the greats. My notes remind that I shorted the sculpture one niche. I took a picture too, of course, but sketching gives me time to drink it in.

Some sketches take a few minutes, some a good deal longer. The longer ones require a seat with a good viewpoint. (what you don't see is the nice lunch and glass of wine) Here's my view of the central square of Brussels, with the grand Hotel de Ville - that one may make a finished International Scene one of these days.

Paris is a sketcher's paradise; somehow every cafe seems to be peopled with the cast of an interesting art film. And who ever could get tired of the Seine and its bridges - here the Pont Neuf and the Vert Galant.

I was a high school art teacher for a long time - one of my mantras was that subject didn't matter. A kitchen counter, a pair of socks; small things are just as worthy of time and attention as a palace or a fashion model. The act of drawing - of seeing - is the magic. My daily housebound sketches in 2020 were as satisfying to draw as any grand scene. See some of them here

To end, one grand, one more comfy. On the left, the facade of the Rouen Cathedral - if you know Monet's Cathedral series this is his subject (his studio was just across the plaza). On the right, a summer day at Spruce Street Harbor Park in Philadelphia, with hammocks and fiber optic lights sprinkled in the trees.
Check out my finished Philly series here
Check out my finished International Series here

I'd love your thoughts! Are you a sketcher? Do you have favorites things and places to sketch? Leave a comment