One of the great things about keeping a sketchbook is that you can work out ideas before you try a Big Important Work.  Often when I get my best paper out for a Painting, I wind up with a big disaster.  In the sketchbook, I can only make little disasters and they are easier to cope with.  It’s like the writing process — you write a terrible draft, then start revising and then you can sometimes make a decent story.

I want to paint koi fish so I found a nice photograph and drew and painted.  The result felt stiff, not like the fluid fish I was trying to capture.

I read about koi and looked at some more photos and decided to do some more sketches.  I let go of my desire to be accurate and then I think I got a more accurate picture of the spirit of koi.

If I have the perseverance to practice drawing for 100 years, maybe I’ll be given some great magic, too.  Until then, I’m content to make whatever discoveries I can on the journey.

Thanks for reading my blog.

I’m linking this to Dion Dior’s Friday Sketches.