Once again this year the household took a summer vacation to beautiful Round Island, a private island in the middle of Long Lake, NY, on the edge of absolute wilderness. I did not touch my phone while I was there; I even bought myself a cheap watch ahead of time so that I wouldn’t be tempted to use my phone as a clock. The experience was positively liberating, as any extended time away from technology is these days.
Not having my phone on me resulted in fewer generic scenery or dog photos taken. What I choose to carry instead was a soft-cover ruled notebook and a blank page sketchbook. Of course I did less drawing than planned, and no painting this year, but I try to be flexible with my goals on vacation, since the purpose of getting away is to relax and reconnect with things more important.
The few sketches I did are of the water and surrounding mountains while I sat perched on a cliff or lounging on the dock. The world is overloaded with photographs which capture every detail in an instant. Drawing from life allows us to change our perspective and narrow our focus, making intentional decisions about what is important to describe about the scene before us.
When we’re limited by time, the hand, and our chosen medium, sometimes the result is an image that says more than a simple snapshot would have.
