Something Sketchy in Memphis

I’m getting pumped up for my next class at Flicker Street Studio. In the fall, I took a sketching class from Elizabeth Alley, an artist, urban sketcher, and excellent teacher.

An Elizabeth Alley Sketch

The class combined a great subject for my ADD-style life, one in which I am always doing multiple things at once, or quickly switching from one activity to another.  Writer’s ADD side note: Currently, I’m alternating between watching the Tebowie video, playing Words With Friends, writing this blog, listening to Terrapin Station, and watching tv on Netflix End ADD no(wait! look at that)te…

So, anyway, sketching is a great activity for me, because it allows me to work on my artistic skills when I have a little bit of time. The other great part about it is that it lends itself to building up a visual vocabulary, which helps when I want to really sit down and draw or paint something. Just like I couldn’t write this blog the same way without the years of picking up random slang (“those potatoes are savage!” “That pizza was hella-unreal,” “Broseidon, where’d you get that local chalupa???” “This blog is total jibber-jabber” etc), I can’t produce much worthwhile art without having some visual vocab in my arsenal.

So, anyway, my first sketching class kept things somewhat simple by limiting me to blacks, whites, and greys (not so simple). But I’m really pumped for this upcoming session, because it will bring color into the picture. I imagine that it will be something like the cinematic classic Pleasentville.

So, if learning how to sketch sounds as awesome to you as it does to me, you should think about taking the class with me. It will be for the next three Thursdays from 6pm-9pm. It’ll be totally gnar-adical. See you there!

-Thomas

Sketching in Color
Flicker Street Studio