The students who joined me for my third annual Day of the Dead sketching workshop…

“Life is Short…Buy the Shoes”
That advice is posted in the window of “Foot Traffic”, a great shoe store on 4th street in San Rafael. My Thursday workshop finds many styles to sketch, along with some hats and handbags. Here is some recent work at Foot Traffic (left) and Macy’s (right). The green line drawing of a sneaker was done “blind” (except for the two areas of quick shading). By “blind”, I mean keeping my eyes on the shoe and my pencil (or pen) on the paper. Part of the process involves drawing the object in one continuous stroke, if possible. This is a powerful exercise for learning to draw what you see, and it is the essence of eye-hand coordination. Also, when you can’t see your drawing, you can’t be judgmental of your skill!