Still Life With Hipster Doofus

Sometimes, when I find that I haven't written anything in this blog for a while, I look through my current sketchbook to find a drawing that might spark a story. The illustration to the left was drawn a couple of Sunday mornings ago at the Broadway Cafe. The hipster was sitting across from a friend, but the friend was much too hairy, so I opted to leave his image out for the sole reason that my pen was close to drying up.

There's not really a story involved beyond that. The reason why this particular sketch caught my attention was because of the imperfections. For one thing, the hipster's sunglasses appear to be actually part of his face, rather than an accessory. Any artist worth his salt could tell you that the sunglasses should be resting lower on his nose. Also, the perspective in which he was drawn is off. Note the angle of the chair and table in relation to the position in which the hipster is sitting. Finally, the mistake that haunts me the most, the ghostly left hand that appears to be laying flat on the table. I hadn't yet committed myself to its existence and abandoned the idea only after having began the process of drawing it. Instead, I opted to scribble it out and explain myself with a caption and an arrow.

One thing I keep having to explain to young artists is that a sketchbook is nothing more than a tool for exercise and experimenting. When drawing in a journal, one should feel comfortable taking risks, and uncomfortable with an eraser within arm's reach.