Why sketch when we can easily make a digital record of paintings with the mobile phone? Why bother sketching when when we can easily look up a painting on the internet? Why even bother going to an Art Gallery when virtual tours are so accessible these days?
I enjoy all the modern technologies & innovations available to us today. In fact I feel very privileged to have experienced the changes. I remember my very first instant Kodak Camera. I loved taking photos and still do. I snap photos at Galleries as reminders of what I saw, but I sketch to encounter the painting before me. Each masterpiece is a composition of the various colours and Art medium employed by the Artist to express her/his vision at a certain period and eventually point (when it is declared finished) in time. I have found sketching Art works that I am attracted to enables me to retrace some of the milestones and in doing so, discover some of the treasures. I the sketch of Dulcie (1915) by Sir Matthew Smith, I found myself appreciating his choice of bright colours and the way bold strokes were used. The whole process of acquainting and immersing myself with the painting as I sketched was such a enjoyable experience.
It is amazing that we can look up paintings, visit virtual Art Galleries and even order reprints of great artworks at a click of a button. The era of consumerism and instant gratification has certainly NOT led to lesser stress related illnesses or better mental health. Slowing down, taking time to appreciate Art by visiting places like Art Galleries & Museums can lift your spirits. Sketching has forced me slow down. I have noticed things which I would have otherwise missed had I not sketched.
Virtual Tours are great. I have benefitted from them a great deal and use them in my Art Classes. But they cannot replicate the experience of physically going to an Art Gallery, noticing the texture and engaging with others over a painting.
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