Socialscapes
Since the spring of 2015, I’ve spent six months in Glasgow, one year in San Antonio, six months in Israel, eight months in Albuquerque, and moved to Tulsa in December of 2017. Over this period of time, I’ve accumulated several sketches of the places in which I’ve worked, lived, and visited. Many of the places I have sketched I now consider a home away from home. This obsession started as a meditation practice to center myself in a place that was new and unfamiliar. Soon, my process evolved into a way to feel more connected to the community around me. I began to see myself in the places and people I drew.
I take these sketches and transform them into larger and more complex panoramic works or as I call them: “socialscapes.”
My Process
I typically work from a small sketchbook in order to capture a fleeting moment. I enjoy creating a quick composition and image from life instead of through a camera lens. Part of the appeal and challenge is trying to draw a moving subject. I start with pen so any mistakes just become part of the piece. Sometimes I add watercolor on location but I generally complete the sketch later. Watercolor is a quick and easy way to capture light, shadow, and color to enhance my quick sketches.
The addition of transparent paper or white ink to show more people and objects suggests a passage of time — a location revisited several times over a period of hours or months. Sometimes I even include myself in these works. An observer that becomes part of the landscape. As I recognize myself in the people around me, I feel a stronger connection to the place and a stronger sense of belonging.
Visit my favorite places with me
My journeys have taken me to Scotland, Israel, and many places in the United States. Somehow, I always find coffee shops and other gathering spaces to observe the people around me. Come with me to visit a few of my favorite memories and places.
Is there any better collaboration than books and coffee? I love the smell of the roasts, the clink of a spoon swirling, the gentle swoosh of a page turn, and the murmur of conversations. In this place, people gather together and another sits in peaceful silence alone. And both are completely right for the space. I sit here, a quiet observer, with my pen and capture my feeling of contentment in my memory and in my sketchbook.
