Creating new habits: sketching

I’ve read that doing something for 3 weeks can create a habit. I figure that at the very least, it’s enough time doing the thing to determine whether I want it to be a habit. As a tour guide, I have a six month off season, which gives me plenty of time to try out new habits. This year I’ve decided to try sketching.

It’s a little ridiculous since I graduated with a degree in architecture, and that should have been a skill I honed at school, but I was more interested in mountain biking than sketching. Now that I’m doing a lot less mountain biking, I’ve found I really enjoy the connection I make with a place when looking at it in such detail.

The view from my balcony in Chiang Rai, Thailand

I remember a friend of mine traveled around the world sketching the places he’d visit. His wife would go off to explore for 2-4 hours while he’d sketch. In that time, you can’t help but absorb the ambiance of the place you’re sketching.

Last month I visited a place called Grutas Tolantongo in Mexico. It gave me the chance to get out of my comfort zone of only sketching straight lines and angles.

I actually sketched this from a photo I took

A view of the mountains from my balcony at Grutas Tolantongo in Mexico

A woman saw me sketching and struck up a conversation. She was a painter and hadn’t sketched in years. She challenged me to break my fear of sketching people by sending me a picture of herself at the waterfall.

One of my first attempts at sketching a person

Like any beginning artist, I am challenged by perspective and proportion. I spent an hour on the sketch below and couldn’t believe how far off I got the lines. The front of the shack should have been parallel with the fence!

When I looked at this, I couldn’t figure out how I got the angles so off on the shack

This is the same house in Taxco sketched from the same location. Gotta figure out that perspective! Regardless, I was enamored with the place.

Again, I struggle with perspective. This was sketched from the same location.

Last summer, my step sister let me stay in her cottage when I went to my family reunion in California. It was unbelievable how fully stocked the vacation cottage was, so the only thing I could come up with as a thank you gift was a sketch of the place.

A thank you card I sketched for letting us stay at her house

To be honest, I don’t really care if I become better at sketching. I simply enjoy the different perspective on experiencing a place that it gives me and a chance to set aside time every day for my creative brain.