Tuesday Tips & Tricks
Many moons ago, I had heard a lot
about how you should do little exercises while you are stuck in commuter
traffic–whether it be on a bus, train, airline or especially in your car with
stop-and-go traffic. So it made me think, with all of the hours I spend sitting
in a chair or at my desk urban sketching ideas or observations, should I be
exercising while I sketched?
I decided to do a little research
on some simple exercises.
“Calisthenics” are a form of exercise consisting of a variety of
exercises, often rhythmical movements, generally without the use of equipment
or apparatus. They are intended to increase body strength, body fitness and
flexibility with movements such as bending, jumping, swinging, twisting or
kicking, using only your body weight for resistance.
When
performed vigorously and with variety, calisthenics can benefit both muscular
and cardiovascular fitness in addition to improving psychomotor skills such as
balance, agility and coordination.
Likewise, over at Smashing Magazine, author
Laura Busche highlights the benefits of traditional sketching:
Extends memory: “The better you become at
translating imagery from your mind to paper, the more visual resources you will
have to draw on and the easier it will be to retrieve them in the future.”
Aids concentration: “Sketching stimulates us to a
comfortable level — enough to keep us awake, concentrated and engaged… Some
believe that we reach deeper levels of concentration and develop richer
concepts when our own hands are the hardware.”
Allows for flexibility: “Because of our brain’s limited
processing capacity, externalizing our ideas on paper makes it easier to
restructure them, transforming the initial structure into a new one.”
Cool,
there seems to be a common thread here that I wanted to explore further. I want
to be remembered as the first Urban Sketcher who creates a series of simple
exercises that can be done during sketching, especially at a two-day event such
as the upcoming 2015 Urban Sketchers Chicago Sketch Seminar #uskchicago2015.
Here
are a few of the exercises that I have developed (with a little help from my
personal trainer). Give these a try and let me know what worked and didn’t work
for you.
Disclaimer: I
am not remotely qualified as a physical trainer or therapist. Please consult
your physician to determine if a regular exercise regiment is recommended or
will even help your sketching technique. If you find that your sketches have
significantly gotten worse, please discontinue any exercise until you consult
your physician.
Note: Don’t forget to pause for a drink of water as needed.
Sit Up Sketching: Grab your sketchbook and pen, lie
down flat on your back with your knees bent, and do a normal sit up towards
your knees. When you reach the upright position, place your sketchbook and pen on
your knees and draw a few lines of what is in front of you while you hold this
position. Then allow your torso to slowly fall back towards the horizontal
position and repeat 10 times or until your sketch has been completed.
Sketch Push-ups: With your body in a horizontal
position, push yourself up so that your body remains rigid with your arms fully
supporting your torso and lower your body with both arms at alternating
intervals, holding your body in the up position for 1 minute and lowering for 5
seconds. Sketching is best accomplished while you are in the upper position. Repeat
until your sketch is complete.
Sketch Planking: With your body in a horizontal
position, push yourself up so that your body remains rigid with your arms fully
supporting your torso. Your sketchbook and pen should be directly under your
drawing arm. You may have to shift your weight over to your supporting arm
while you sketch with your free arm. Sketch quickly while you shift your
attention from your subject matter to your sketchbook. By the time your
supporting arm starts to fatigue, you should be wrapping up your sketch.
Approximate
sketch time: 10 minutes.
Lunge Sketching: Stand in view of the object you wish
to sketch and take a big step forward and bend your knees as shown. Place your
sketchbook on your lap and begin sketching the subject in front of you for as
long as your legs will support you (perhaps 30 seconds will be sufficient).
When you start to feel fatigue set into your legs, stand up and rest for 10
minutes while you sketch. Then repeat the lunge again for 30 more seconds.
Repeat until your sketch is complete.
Alternative Wall Sit Sketching: Stand in front of a brick wall, half
wall, fence or fire hydrant with your sketchbook and pen in hand. Bend over
slightly into a sitting position until your knees are at a 90º angle. Place
your sketchbook on your lap and begin sketching the subject in front of you for
as long as your legs will support you (perhaps 30 seconds will be sufficient).
When you start to feel fatigue set into your legs, stand up and rest for 2
minutes. You may choose to sketch while standing up during this rest. Then
repeat the wall sit again for 30 more seconds. Repeat until your sketch is
complete.
Bench-Step Sketching: This exercise is a derivative of the
box step and step platform exercises. In this version, approach an empty half
wall or bench (preferably without someone already sitting on it) and either
step upon or hop onto the bench. Select an object to sketch, raise your arm cradling
the sketchbook and begin sketching. Jump down safely off of the bench and back
up at regular 5-minute intervals. Not recommended if you have bad knees, back
or ankle issues.
Lower Impact Sketch Exercise Ideas:
Sketchabout: With your sketchbook supported by
your arm positioned at a 90º angle, place your pen over your sketchbook and
begin walking and sketching simultaneously. This is the same activity that
people will perform while walking and texting on their phone except that you
will be exercising your observation and drawing muscles.
Peddle Sketch: With your sketchbook supported by
your arm positioned at a 90º angle, place your pen over your sketchbook and
begin biking and sketching simultaneously. This will require great balance and
multi-tasking as you focus on your ever-changing subject matter, the motion of
moving your legs in a cyclical fashion, torso movements to maintain balance to
steer the bike “hands free” and build your observation skills. Perhaps practice
this in an empty parking lot while cycling before co-habitating with other
vehicles.
