Sketching During my Coffee Break

It is not always easy to find interesting scenes (‘frames’) to sketch. The challenge in sketching a scene is to make any ‘frame’ work to your advantage to create an interesting perspective, especially if you are not confident with the current scene that you find yourself looking at.

On this particular day (20^th June 2012) I wandered into a Toronto Cinabon coffee shop to rest my weary feet and be energized. While there I challenged myself to sketch this ordinary coffee shop and make the experience an interesting and satisfying one.

Perspective depth on a 2D medium always gives me a satisfying feeling after a short sketching time. To start this, the scale of the sketch on the 2D medium is the first hurdle one has to overcome. Photography accomplishes this easily and automatically, and if you think about it from a philosophically and esoteric point of view, your ‘visual’ mind also does this automatically too.

Easier said than done you may say. I imagine a ‘perimeter-frame’ as I look at the scene I intend to sketch and then I draw entities relating to it. This establishes the scale and boundary in my mind’s eye as they relate to the scene and my 2D medium.

Many artists will tell you that they have a particular way of seeing things, and these theories will vary exponentially the more artists you chat with. Develop your own way by trial and error. Art critics never try to analyze visual theories from this point of view. Instead they usually criticize artist’s works from comparative and historical perspectives. Arthur Koestler in his book The Act of Creation, has tried to make sense of this approach by his personal theory he calls ‘bisociation’; where two ideas when fused together creates new and larger synthesis.  He believes the creative breakthrough occurs after a period of intense curious effort towards a creative goal. We all have the capacity for creative activities.

In any event I had a satisfying time sketching, during my coffee break and enjoying the delicious Cinabon pastry!