The Scruffy Sketcher

My sketches of wildlife aren’t pretty, neat or tidy. They are of the moment, a moment, which is usually fairly fleeting and full of life and energy. Some of those encounters are certainly more fleeting than others. Some sketches too, are ‘tidier’ than others.

I am a scruffy wildlife sketcher, I draw or paint sketches in the field for myself; for my art and the paintings I wish to create. They form a diary of memories, which are quite personal, especially when they don’t turn out as well as I’d like. So sharing these sketches, especially the messier more unfinished ones, is quite a painful act.

These sketches are of preening coots and geese. I have to say it was a fantastic exercise in concentration and patience. The birds were constantly moving, as they were being fed by visitors and periodically chased away by over enthusiastic children and adults alike. I had barely put the tip of my pencil to paper when they moved or paddled away.

In situations such as these, the temptation to grab my camera and take some photos, so that I can ‘fill in’ what I missed later, is indeed great. Particularly when I look sadly upon what I have produced. Yes I wish they looked neat, accurate and perfect. But, what would be the point in that? I wouldn’t be drawing from life, which was the whole point of this exercise.

I think my dreadful drawings have some spirit and life in them. They are messy and scruffy, but they are truthful. I don’t think I can achieve a painting full of life from a meticulously detailed sketch. I believe I lose something when I try to do that; my wild subjects look like museum exhibits rather than living and breathing creatures. I have to learn to loosen up my painting style, to be able to approach it the way I approach sketching in the field and for someone who has been obsessed with the beauty of detail this is really hard.

All I can do is to keep sketching.