I have been drawing from the time I was little. Sometimes I drew a lot and at other times, not so much. The same pattern continues today. I drew things on newspapers, old diaries, envelopes lying on the table waiting to be checked…anything. These things often get discarded and you end up losing a frame from the narrative of your most favourite story- your own life.

I began recording my surroundings as drawings in a journal a few years ago and the randomness of the subject adds to the charm of flipping through. One day, a coffee cup captures your fancy and the next day you draw a scene at your marketplace. Sometimes an old key occupies a whole spread in your journal and a thumbnail sketch of a garden seems alright.

This was a quick sketch I had done in a regular 0.5 black pen. I always draw directly in pen except when I’m doing large scenes and want to narrate a story just as I had imagined- pencil lines are safer that way. While sketching, if a line doesn’t seem quite right, I re-draw it and the ‘mistakes’ add to the sketchiness.

Little trinkets and knick-knacks, usually collected over a lifetime, remind us of people and times lost. Nothing in life is as predictable as a straight line so why should the sketches in a journal pretend to be in-control? Let it go.

What are some of the things you like sketching? Have you noticed the stuff on your dining table? Do leave a comment! I’d love to hear from you.