193. A Cellist in the Zone

and some other people I saw this week.

Dear reader,

I saw many tiny people this week.

The SneakyArt Post is a publication of secretly drawn art of the world. Every week I share my latest drawings and best ideas from a journey of self-education to be an artist and writer.

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Under a capricious sky, I sat inside a JJ Beans to watch the people of Vancouver wait at the traffic light before crossing the street.

In Vancouver, the weather likes to play games with you. You might dress for summer, assuming it is that time of year already. But a cold wind will pick up out of nowhere, making you regret not carrying a jacket. It is always good to also carry a jacket in Vancouver.

I saw this parking meter with a startled expression. I thought of the word pareidolia. It can take different forms but visual pareidolia is the human tendency to find human-like features in non-human things. I saw this parking meter with a startled expression. Do you see it too?

I thought about the parking meter too, a relic of simpler times. Almost nobody puts actual coins into that slot-shaped mouth. Nobody presses its buttons.

It used to be a real public amenity with real functions. It would show you how many minutes were left. If you were eating at a restaurant, you would have to come out and put in fresh coins to wind back the clock. The city hired people to collect the coins every week.

Now it is just a signpost with a code pasted on it. You enter the code into your parking app to pay on your phone. It reminds you when it is time to extend your parking, and you tap on the screen to do it.

The desire to ‘recognize’ human features in non-human things is part of the larger human tendency to find patterns in everything, even when they do not exist. We like to believe in cause and effect. We like to know the reason behind things. And when no reason exists, we like to invent a satisfying story. True randomness does not satisfy.

This is neither good nor evil, it is just human nature. We see the universe in ourselves, and ourselves in the universe.

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I watched a mother check in on her child. She asked a question and received a satisfactory gurgle in return. She smiled and pulled the hood as the sun broke through the clouds again.

I was invited to the launch of summer activities at a community space in the South Granville neighbourhood. A cello band played to passersby and residents, and I was asked to draw the people that showed up.

I watched a cellist completely lose himself in the music. For a moment, all eyes were on him. No babies cried, no car engines roared, no birds chirped. Nothing else existed in the whole world. For a moment.

I received some beautiful feedback from a listener of the SneakyArt Podcast.

It is a great privilege to be part of someone’s creative journey and to be in their ear when they make their art. I try to be conscious of this with every episode I put out.

Check out my latest interview, a conversation with SF-based artist and designer George McCalman about his creative process and the journey to make his incredible book of portraiture, Illustrated Black History.

This month…

🏷️ I am offering a limited-time discount on the prints in my print store. The next collection goes up in a couple of weeks. At that time, all current prints will be taken off the inventory. If there is a print you liked, grab it before it’s gone! Use code [SNEAKYREADER] at checkout.

💻 I am doing a Zoom workshop on “How to Draw Tiny People” on Saturday 10 June. A few discounted seats are still available. Use code [SNEAKYREADER] to grab yours!

🔏 I am reading Walter Benjamin’s 1936 document, “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction”, and interpreting it for the crisis we face as artists today. Next week, I release the final part of this 4-part series. Read parts [one] [two] and [three].

Thank you, dear reader, for your time and attention. I am glad to have a space in your inbox.