The Sketchbook Project Series: Snapshots of a Single Father Pt 1
Previously in the series…
⇦ The Little Yellow Envelope – Introduction
(In my head when I just typed that I had a voiceover artist say it like in a series. Cue the last episode montage.. then fade to black)
The First Step is Always the Hardest
Too bloody right.. I found myself staring at a blank page for what seemed like an eternity. Half of me generally not knowing what to write down, the other half scared to put anything down on paper for fear of fucking it up.
Let me start again..
The First Step is to Take Two Steps Backwards
A nice little takeaway from Mark Manson’s book “How not to give a f*ck” is that “Action isn’t just the effect of motivation, but also the cause of it.” So whilst sitting there twiddling my thumbs thinking about what I should do, waiting for something to motivate or inspire me absolutely nothing was getting done.
I decided to create the outline of the sketchbook onto blank pieces of paper, a test run. If by just doing something, anything can bring about motivation then, if I can get the ball rolling the sketch is already in the right size and its just a case of copying what I previously did. If I mess up I can just throw it away and try again. Win-Win.
I roughly sketched out an outline of me and my son walking hand in hand. On first viewing it feels quite insignificant, just a father holding his son’s hand taking a stroll in the park. Look past the lines and you will see a father who had to fight tooth and nail through a contact and custody battle just to be able to hold this perfect little hand.
Did I just go a little dark? Let me turn back on the lights
Once the outline was finished I decided to test coloring it in using watercolors which I feel gives it that “illustration from a children’s book” look and feel. At a certain point I had to determine whether to sketch and paint the background or not. But I chose to not to.
I think having an ambiguous point of reference adds to the image. We may not know where we are, or how to get to where we are going.. but we will do it together.
Copying over the illustration into the book turned out quite well and I got to blow the dust off my beautiful Olivetti Valentine and type in the name of the sketchbook
Snapshots of a Single Father
It may not be my finest illustration, but I think it invites the reader in, to come with us and see our journey.. the good and the bad.
⇦ The Little Yellow Envelope – Introduction
⇨ The Sketchbook Series: Snapshots of a Single Father Pt 2