Every year, there are more and more Art Challenges I see posted online. I don’t do them all, but I do a few. And amazingly, with a little bit of planning, I’ve called almost all of them a ‘win” for me, so I thought I’d share how I’m thinking about the upcoming “One Week 100 People” Challenge.
Winning at a challenge starts with choosing to do it. A challenge needs to fulfill at least one of these two things for me:
1) It’s a subject or medium I love
2) It’s a subject or medium I am committed to learning
This makes the “One Week 100 People” challenge a no-brainer for me since both criteria are a YES for me.
Next, the dates go on my calendar. Because otherwise, I could completely forget when the challenge week comes by…
After that, I decide what the ONE top criteria of the challenge is, to me.
If I hit that top criteria, I win. I don’t need to stick to all the rules of the challenge to benefit from it. So this challenge says three things: the subject is people, the time is 5 days and the target number of sketches is 100.
If hitting 100 is important to me, I could take longer than 5 days or do super quick sketches. But if just making people my subject to explore that week is my goal, I don’t have to get to 100, and I still achieve what I want.
However you decide to do this, here are some ideas I’ve used in previous years to participate in this challenge in the middle of a busy week.
• The quickest of line drawings count. I spot this guy outside my studio window with a jackhammer. Less than 5 minutes later, I’m 8 people sketches down.
• The same idea works with life drawing. Either an in-person session or an online one usually has a bunch of short poses involved.
• Draw a crowd. Your guess about how many people are in the sketch below is as good as mine. (Also, does David count?)
• Draw a sport. This can be something you’re watching on TV or in real life. I drew my son and his team practicing baseball one year. Most of the sketches, unlike these three, didn’t have color. I got through most of my week’s quota in one practice session. (Hint: You don’t need 100 good sketches)
• Go where the action is. Make time to be where there’s lots of action. This isn’t someplace fancy. Outside the grocery store, in the neighborhood when someone is mowing the lawn, parked outside a school at pickup time… it all works.
• You don’t need full figures. These quick captures here are sketched while waiting to board a plane. When I run out of subjects, I draw myself. And once in a while I get ambitious and do a watercolor portrait. But I certainly don’t do 100 of these!
Everything counts as long as you spend time looking and drawing.
My Sketch-Together group will be sketching 30 people in 30 minutes on March 15th. It will be a fun session for sure, and will be a great way to get to a whole lot of sketching on the last day of the challenge! If you’d like to join in, sign up for an annual membership or try a one-month membership for the month of March.
UPCOMING WORKSHOPS
ONLINE WORKSHOP with Early Bird Pricing
People Alive! Sketches Full of Life: March 2024
Date and Time: 4 Saturdays in March 2024: March 9, 16, 23 and 30, 8-10 am PDT
Location: Online on Zoom. Or watch the recording each week.
Last few spaces: Four-week online workshop to get you sketching people without fear!
In this 4-week long workshop, we consider many aspects of people sketching, starting with shape and contour drawing, then adding an understanding of proportions to take those sketches to the next level. We explore gesture drawing and take a closer look at drawing the head. Lastly, we'll move to principles and strategies that help bring people and places together for a sketch that tells a story.
Spring Sketching in Mixed Media: A Celebration of Color in Santa Fe
Last spots in this spring 2024 color-filled workshop with Maru Godas and me. We’re excited to teach some of our favorite color-forward techniques inspired by the colors of Santa Fe. Learn to use color—regardless of media—more fearlessly, boldly, and vibrantly in your art. More details and signups are here.
Save the Date for these Upcoming Events
I'm teaching a workshop at two events this summer and they promise to be very exciting. If you’d like to attend be sure to save the dates now!
Urban Sketchers Chicago Seminar
July 12-14, 2024 • Chicago
More details here: https://urbansketcherschicago.org/chicago-sketch-seminar/
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Sketcher Fest Edmonds
July 19-21, 2024 • Edmonds, Washington
See who will be there here.
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My workshop in India, Gateway to India, 2025 Edition will be announced in March. Learn to sketch in India and you are guaranteed to be a confident sketcher anywhere in the world!
Details coming soon. Email suhita@gmail.com to get on the mailing list.
Random Interesting Stuff
- Sometimes, all I’m looking to do is improve the content I surf online. Google Arts and Culture is one place I go to and randomly read a piece.
- My Art-Focussed Book Club is reading What Are You Looking At?: The Surprising, Shocking, and Sometimes Strange Story of 150 Years of Modern Art.
- James Gurney asks “Should Teachers Draw Over Students Work?”. There are very few middle-ground feelings on this one in the replies he’s getting!