I try to push myself, to challenge the safe, the comfortable. We sat at a different table. It was near the door and with a view of the barista’s work space. I wasn’t comfortable. And people joining the queue kept disappearing behind the pillar. ‘Give it a go,’ he kept saying. I did, and tried to focus on drawings that showed a sense of space. But I became overawed by the detail, uncertain what to include and what to discard. I wasn’t happy with them and gave up. We returned to our usual space. Another time, eh?
It fascinates me how differently I seem to draw in different places. Is it the size of the sketchbook, the time I have to work in or the ambience and clientele of the café? This is in a M&S canteen-style café. I love drawing the people who frequent it, many of a certain age, they take time over their food or sit and stare while they wait for their partners, friends or grown-up children to bring them their tea or sandwiches. The light is different too, made stark by the stretch of window all along one side.
For all the customers ‘slow’ habits I draw quickly here (tending to go there after lunch when I am dog-tired). I’ve got used to drawing quickly, so much so that I don’t think I could manage a long-pose in a life room. Does it matter? I like the challenge of trying to ‘get someone’. These are from the coffee shop queue yesterday.
It was graduation weekend in our town and there were lots of parents and their student-kids. Most looked uncomfortable and the majority sat in silence or stood awkwardly sharing only the necessary information about the kind of coffee, chocolate on top and so on. My heart ached for them. And the ‘kids’ looked like they were barely out of school….
The question is, is am I getting better at this?
