No. 5: An Homage to Cracks and Grit

Finding beauty in very unexpected places and an in-person workshop!

I read the picture book The Curious Garden to my kids so many times when they were little. If you are familiar with the story, and you know my work, I’m sure you will find it no surprise that I love that book. Nature popping up through the cracks and creeping along abandoned train tracks in a gray city sent such a positive message to my boys about why we chose to raise them in the big city without a front yard. There is beauty to be found in "old, forgotten things," as the author wrote, and there are plants all around, whether we are walking through a forest, a field, or an abandoned urban railway. I tend to draw my experiences and the world around me, so signs of life in unexpected places has become a favorite subject of mine.

Green leaves popping through the decay and rust on a bridge in Manayunk, Philadelphia

Three illustrations that appear in Draw Your World

I also love to find inspiration in random objects I encounter on city streets. Once I found a Polaroid photograph of the Brooklyn Bridge. There was no way of knowing who it belonged to, so I decided to rescue it, and I keep it in my wallet. I look at it every day, just as I do the actual bridge. When it became a subject of my work, instead of drawing the isolated Polaroid, I added the sidewalk, cracks and all, showing the photograph exactly as it was when I discovered it. I have also experimented with drawing utility plates, like the one above. I walk over this particular one daily, so it has become engrained in my visual world. Why not celebrate something so mundane and ordinary as a metal plate at my feet? It’s something that is meant to blend into the urban landscape and go unnoticed, but if you look closely, the symmetry, the lettering, and the bolts that hold it in place make it an interesting subject to draw. 

When people ask me how I think of things to draw every day, one of my answers is, “Just stand in one place and look down and then look up, look left and then look right, and you’ll find something.”

What do you think of this sort of subject matter? Do you find it strange to draw a sidewalk crack or peeling paint, or are you inspired to try?

A plant growing under a brick wall on Columbia Heights in Brooklyn

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An In-Person Workshop here in Brooklyn, NY:
“Sam and Nishant Draw Brooklyn!”

Sunday, Mar 5th, 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM EST

Join me and

Nishant Jain

in Brooklyn NY, for a special in-person workshop about being observant and mindful in public spaces. Using two very different approaches, we will learn to create a sketchbook-journal that illustrates the sights of the big city, captures the whimsy and dynamics of human activity, and records our thoughts and observations.

​We will meet at the benches at the end of Main Street in DUMBO, Brooklyn, at the entrance to Brooklyn Bridge Park. (Please wait for further confirmation on the exact spot - once registered you will receive communication by email.)

​All materials provided, but feel free to bring what you love to sketch with as well!

NOTE: If you are a paid subscriber, I have a discount code for you. Just send me a message for 20% off! I have also added the code to the subscriber chat for those of you who have the app.

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I spent the last two days shooting my next Skillshare class! The working title is, Drawing Everyday: How to Build Confidence in Your Sketchbook Practice, and I am really excited to share it with you soon.

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All Canvas lights and accessories are 10% off with my discount code: SDB10