43 - Looking for Magic
This week, a new episode of the SneakyArt Podcast, and new portraits for the 100+ Faces for India project. In both places, I go looking for magic. In both places, I find it in different forms.
Read on.
Last week, I sent out a SneakyArt Drop. There were no words, but many lines.
If you’ve had enough of words and numbers this week, maybe that’s what you need. Take a look here, here, here or here.
100+ Faces for India!
Earlier this week, “100 Faces for India” became “100+ Faces for India”. On popular request, I had raised the limit on portraits by 25. And very soon all 25 were claimed. Thanks to the generosity of 100+ supporters, I have raised more than $5000 to send to COVID19 relief in India. All of the money is going to GiveIndia and KhalsaAid, who provide essential supplies to India’s vulnerable populations.
Visit here to see all the portraits made in the project so far. I am drawing more everyday to finish all portraits by the end of next week. *fingers crossed*
I love all the portraits equally, because each one is that of a helper, a symbol for humanity that reached out with kindness in a time of need. Still, some were more fun than others to draw. Here are my recent favorites.
I give this project a lot of my time these days - coordinating emails, noting payments, collecting pics, drawing, scanning, sharing, and thanking everyone individually. I am grateful for that in some respects. It is a better feeling than the helplessness of doomscrolling Twitter. And I like to think I learn a lot from the drawing process. It is working on me like a crash course, as I tackle a bunch of different challenges.
I will upload more videos on my YouTube channel soon, to give a sense of those challenges and my on-the-fly solutions.
Featured on News1130 Vancouver
This week, I was interviewed by News1130 in Vancouver. I talk about the 100+ Faces project, and SneakyArt.
Ep 17 - Looking for Magic with Roisin Cure
In the new episode of the SneakyArt Podcast, I speak with Roisin Cure, an urban sketcher and illustrator living in Galway, Ireland. We talk about learning to draw from comic books, and the ways that urban sketching has transformed her art and her approach to life.
I enjoy Roisin's work for the unique illustration style and her focus on human activity. People are the subject of Roisin's work, and in this conversation I learn about the art that has helped her see the world in this way. We discuss learning to draw from comic books, and the useful habit of finding solutions to our problems in the styles of other artists.
But despite drawing all her life, Roisin felt that she had not found her mojo. We begin this conversation with the story of how she finally found the magic, in the practice of urban-sketching. She shares also the experience of putting together books of, and about, urban-sketching. We discuss her experience leading workshops, and how she has pivoted to online classes since the pandemic.
Follow Roisin Cure on IG, Twitter, or visit her website.
Visit the SneakyArt website for a transcript.
If you liked this episode and would like to support my work, buy me a coffee.
To discuss the episode afterward, join our private Facebook group!
Listen to the episode on your choice of streaming service, or catch a link to one here -
Bonus Commentary
I will send out the bonus commentary for the episode this weekend. It will discuss my favorite tangents from this conversation.
To get it in your inbox, sign up to become a supporter of the podcast. Membership costs as little as buying me 2 cups of coffee every month, and comes with several exclusive privileges. More details below.
Workshops
This Sunday morning (Pacific Time) is my first People Drawing Workshop. There are still some seats left in it. It will be lots of demos and draw-alongs, and tips and techniques, for including people in your sketches. Read more and sign up here.
The May batch of the Urban Sketching Workshop for Beginners sold out immediately, so I am offering another one in June. Read more and sign up here.
That’s all from me. Next week, some stories.