We PEOPLE, wherever we are, are creating stories with our actions and feelings. And, we SKETCHERS are artists creating pictures of these stories.
When I went into the Jewel Box Cafe at Point Ruston, in Tacoma WA yesterday, I was hit with an extreme emotional attraction.... "POW!'
An empty, over-sized, velvety-red chair, sporting ornate woodwork and twinkling brass tacks was cajoling me to come cuddle. It was a delicious feeling. I couldn't believe no one was sitting in 'my' chair, or either of her nearby red sisters. I stood for some moments before going to order a coffee simply because I was enjoying her siren call.
Finally, coffee in hand, I walked toward her. As I came closer, I realized she deserved a more memorable reaction from me than my sinking onto her cushion. I would sketch her, knowing that the intimacy of drawing her would remain in my thoughts and emotions much longer than a fleeting cuddle that would last only as long as my coffee.
That's my story.
Of course, I also noticed the women sitting at the side table, discussing Life while enjoying the sunshine. I understood why they were over there: the red chairs were much too far apart for the intimacy of their animated conversation and sunshine is a rare gift we treasure in the Pacific Northwest of the U.S..
That's their story.
In a way, their story and mine are similar: All three of us optimized for the highest and best intimacy and enjoyment we could achieve in that time and place.
There are a couple of ways our story is different, though: I am an artist...and, I want the viewers of my sketch (if I succeed with it) to feel what I experienced in that place and time. So, to try to achieve that I did 'some artist-things' :
I composed my sketch using the 'Rule of Thirds.'
I revised my values until I was sure the greatest contrast took place at my focal point: the chair.
Even though my palette was just a basic Red/Yellow/Blue...I made sure there was a complementary color combination taking place at the focal-point chair, making it 'stand out.'
But then, perhaps my story isn't so different from theirs: One of the ladies kept gesturing with her hand as she shared her thoughts: over and over again, she kept 'catching my attention' as she made HER point.
