I'm a huge fan of being the maniac at the coffeeshop just people watching. Just a pen and a notebook...no phone, no ear buds...just let the thoughts wander.
And thanks for bringing up the distinction between sketching and drawing. I never thought about it like that but it makes a lot of sense. I'm not great at sketching and I've done a few very nice drawings, but that ended with college. However with my recent rediscovery of the pen in 2023, I can sketch for days.
Thank you for sharing this, Jenna. I have always been a fan of sitting in coffee shops to write, and in fact that is the way I usually write the first drafts of my newsletters each week! I also enjoy the people watching 😉
Your piece also touched me though in your thoughts on the empty nest. Having just had our eldest child home for Christmas, I was bereft again yesterday when she returned home!
What a lovely post, Jenna! I deeply relate to scoffing at buying a beverage to sit at a cafe when I could be at home instead, but there is so much life we'd otherwise miss out on if we didn't have this "third place"—or a "second place" for those who don't have an office to go to for a 9-5.
It takes some time to get used to, but I love sketching from life—it invites a quick, loose energy where we don't have time to ruminate on where to put down our next pencil stroke. When the person we are sneakily drawing gets up to leave, we have to draw the rest of their body from memory or Frankenstein their form with another person we see. So much of the practice is about relinquishing control and staying receptive to what's around us, rather than focusing on the result. I hope you come to love the practice too, and realize that whatever you produce is a worthwhile reflection of how you see the world around you!
oh, I loved this so much! I love sitting in coffeeshops with my teen (I'm afraid I'm one of those people who spend WAY too much on coffee, and I've passed this bad habit along to my kid, ugh), but whether I'm with her or not, I'm usually not focusing on the people and place around me. I love the idea of simply sketching. And I really want to practice drawing. I hope to find moments like this over the next several years. Happy New Year to you and your family, and thank you for writing this lovely piece!
Loved this, Jenna. I decided that this year I’m going to start going out into the world more often, including working outside of my studio sometimes. I tend to do all of my writing and emailing at my desk and I need a change of scenery/energy for that part of my job. Maybe I’ll even enjoy admin work if I’m in the lobby of a beautiful hotel sometimes?
I'm the type of person who loves the *idea* of sketching in a coffee shop but always wimps out, citing my imperfect artistic skills & the possibility of a stranger noticing. This gave me encouragement to forge ahead!
Beautiful. I miss coffee sketching dates with my kids.... so much of what you said here resonates. I’m glad you are nurturing this in-public habit. It may serve you well in the transition. The portrait in the bottom image is gorgeous.
That's bittersweet. Alone coffee dates can be good too, but I hope you both can share a few from time to time. I adore gazing at people and hearing their conversations in cafes. I go rarely, but it's always a treat.
Thanks for the post. Drawing in public is my primary method for drawing, painting and sketching, so it is always interesting to hear from people experiencing reluctance to drawing it public. I find it can be very powerful to make the creative process public and hear people's thoughts in real time. Of course, I have yet to receive negative feedback while drawing it public, so that helps:)
thank you for this!! i don’t really go to cafes that much because i’m still a college student and don’t have the luxury for that. but last time that i went alone was when i was encoding my notes which is a no-brainer activity so i was able to listen to convos, saw a barista in training presenting the coffee he made to the manager, a couple sharing their different family traditions and such.
i hope that this year, i’d be able to do this more and not feel guilty of buying expensive coffee
Thank you for sharing this, Jenna. As an artist who works from home, I often debate whether I should leave the comfort of my home studio and go to cafe to sketch/journal. I started gifting myself with those little artist's dates and noticed that they started shifting something within me - the same actions I could do at home took on another flavor when I did them in a different setting. I think that those dates with myself helped me to be braver when I take my plein air box to paint outside. I was terrified to do that at first, but sketching in caffes served as a good preparation <3
One of the ways I've forced myself to get away from perfecting a sketch is to use a pencil to draft things out, but I won't allow myself to get too tight, then I go to pen and whatever happens, happens. Sometimes I'll abandon the pencil altogether just to really force myself to sketch with spontaneity. I don't always like it, but it's pretty freeing. I love that you are giving yourself this time to just explore, what a gift!
I'm a huge fan of being the maniac at the coffeeshop just people watching. Just a pen and a notebook...no phone, no ear buds...just let the thoughts wander.
And thanks for bringing up the distinction between sketching and drawing. I never thought about it like that but it makes a lot of sense. I'm not great at sketching and I've done a few very nice drawings, but that ended with college. However with my recent rediscovery of the pen in 2023, I can sketch for days.
Thank you for sharing this, Jenna. I have always been a fan of sitting in coffee shops to write, and in fact that is the way I usually write the first drafts of my newsletters each week! I also enjoy the people watching 😉
Your piece also touched me though in your thoughts on the empty nest. Having just had our eldest child home for Christmas, I was bereft again yesterday when she returned home!
As you typed, I could feel this lovely time with your youngest has been woven into a core memory that will last with you forever.
What a lovely post, Jenna! I deeply relate to scoffing at buying a beverage to sit at a cafe when I could be at home instead, but there is so much life we'd otherwise miss out on if we didn't have this "third place"—or a "second place" for those who don't have an office to go to for a 9-5.
It takes some time to get used to, but I love sketching from life—it invites a quick, loose energy where we don't have time to ruminate on where to put down our next pencil stroke. When the person we are sneakily drawing gets up to leave, we have to draw the rest of their body from memory or Frankenstein their form with another person we see. So much of the practice is about relinquishing control and staying receptive to what's around us, rather than focusing on the result. I hope you come to love the practice too, and realize that whatever you produce is a worthwhile reflection of how you see the world around you!
oh, I loved this so much! I love sitting in coffeeshops with my teen (I'm afraid I'm one of those people who spend WAY too much on coffee, and I've passed this bad habit along to my kid, ugh), but whether I'm with her or not, I'm usually not focusing on the people and place around me. I love the idea of simply sketching. And I really want to practice drawing. I hope to find moments like this over the next several years. Happy New Year to you and your family, and thank you for writing this lovely piece!
Loved this, Jenna. I decided that this year I’m going to start going out into the world more often, including working outside of my studio sometimes. I tend to do all of my writing and emailing at my desk and I need a change of scenery/energy for that part of my job. Maybe I’ll even enjoy admin work if I’m in the lobby of a beautiful hotel sometimes?
I'm the type of person who loves the *idea* of sketching in a coffee shop but always wimps out, citing my imperfect artistic skills & the possibility of a stranger noticing. This gave me encouragement to forge ahead!
Beautiful. I miss coffee sketching dates with my kids.... so much of what you said here resonates. I’m glad you are nurturing this in-public habit. It may serve you well in the transition. The portrait in the bottom image is gorgeous.
That's bittersweet. Alone coffee dates can be good too, but I hope you both can share a few from time to time. I adore gazing at people and hearing their conversations in cafes. I go rarely, but it's always a treat.
Thanks for the post. Drawing in public is my primary method for drawing, painting and sketching, so it is always interesting to hear from people experiencing reluctance to drawing it public. I find it can be very powerful to make the creative process public and hear people's thoughts in real time. Of course, I have yet to receive negative feedback while drawing it public, so that helps:)
thank you for this!! i don’t really go to cafes that much because i’m still a college student and don’t have the luxury for that. but last time that i went alone was when i was encoding my notes which is a no-brainer activity so i was able to listen to convos, saw a barista in training presenting the coffee he made to the manager, a couple sharing their different family traditions and such.
i hope that this year, i’d be able to do this more and not feel guilty of buying expensive coffee
Thank you for sharing this, Jenna. As an artist who works from home, I often debate whether I should leave the comfort of my home studio and go to cafe to sketch/journal. I started gifting myself with those little artist's dates and noticed that they started shifting something within me - the same actions I could do at home took on another flavor when I did them in a different setting. I think that those dates with myself helped me to be braver when I take my plein air box to paint outside. I was terrified to do that at first, but sketching in caffes served as a good preparation <3
One of the ways I've forced myself to get away from perfecting a sketch is to use a pencil to draft things out, but I won't allow myself to get too tight, then I go to pen and whatever happens, happens. Sometimes I'll abandon the pencil altogether just to really force myself to sketch with spontaneity. I don't always like it, but it's pretty freeing. I love that you are giving yourself this time to just explore, what a gift!