One of my favorite Calvin & Hobbes comics is the one where Calvin goes to a robot pediatrician. The robot anesthetizes Calvin, saws open his head, and spreads gray matter over his brain like he’s laying cement. It’s called a knowledge implant, and with it, Calvin never has to attend school again. Of course, it turns out to be a daydream, and when he steps off his school bus and back into reality, I’m almost as disappointed as he is.
The truth is, knowledge doesn’t come without study, and skill doesn’t come without practice. And although I’ve wanted to develop my drawing abilities more than any other skill, establishing a daily practice has eluded me for a long time. So I’m issuing myself a simple challenge: from this Earth Day until the next, I will draw one sketch for each day until I have 365 sketches, and I will post each one on my website so that you, the boisterous collective they call the Internet, can hold me accountable.
Today’s sketch is a statue on the cover of The Angel of History, a book of poetry by Carolyn Forché. It’s been sitting on our coffee table for months, and I’ve wanted to sketch it for a while. Now that I’m done with the sketch, I just might read it. What a novel thing to do with a book.
Many more sketches to come. Stay tuned.
