Ep 7 - Seizing Opportunity with Suhita S
In this episode, I speak with artist and educator Suhita Shirodkar (San Jose, California) about how she finds artistic opportunities in brief moments of calm during her day. From looking at her work, you can tell that Suhita is always working against time. Her sketches are driven by instinct and inspiration. By drawing quickly, her work captures a domestic life that is nonetheless dynamic, people who are doing things, and settings that are alive with activity and color. We talk about the importance of drawing regularly to “turn the page” as an artist, the idea of the sketchbook as art, and the interesting ways she is reaching out to students and followers during lockdown.
This show is sustained by the enthusiasm of listeners. I would love to here what you think of this episode, or other episodes on the SneakyArt Podcast. Send an email to nishant@sneakyartist.com.
Find Suhita's work on IG@suhitasketch or visit her blog to learn more. You can also check out SneakyArt on my IG@thesneakyartist.
Other links:
Danny Gregory, "Everyday Matters", artist/author/educator in NYC
Liz Steel, urban sketcher from Sydney, Australia
Fred Lynch, Professor of Illustration at Rhode Island School of Design
Paul Wang, Singapore based urban sketcher
Transcript
The conversation begins with a characteristic style of Suhita’s work.
Suhita talks about “drawing quickly” - starting to draw in little pockets of time between work and parenting - whatever time was possible, and whatever location she happened to be in.
“I don’t have a plan … but I do draw where I am.”
Nishant wonders if drawing quickly also “opens us up” to drawing opportunities that traditional artists aren’t conscious about.
Suhita talks about drawing “anywhere” and “all over the house in a life that is 90% domestic”.
Mentions Danny Gregory “Everyday Matters” + Liz Steele, from whose work she came to know of USk.
Nishant asks about why trained artists hesitate to draw on location…
15:30 Suhita, “Working in sketchbooks breaks a lot of barriers and snobbery around art.”
Suhita on the unnecessary idea that there are subjects worth drawings and subjects that are not.
22:50 Nishant asks Suhita the things she would be attracted to drawing on a typical street corner.
Suhita goes early to (allow space for magical inspiration), being surprised that other sketchers don’t draw people.
Nishant asks how Suhita started out drawing people, and Suhita defends her (equal opportunity) agnostic drawing habits
They discuss Suhita’s use of color and the dynamic motion of her subjects.
Nishant asks about whether Suhita is a line or color person, and how it is to switch between them. They talk about colors v values, and getting comfortable with value differences.
Suhita mentions the storytelling inspiration from the work of Fred Lynch
Suhita talks about resetting goals at every horizon, and how the idea of good sketches vs bad sketches doesn’t fit very well.
Nishant asks about Suhita’s blogging routine (since 2009), how it helps her understand her work and communicate it when she teaches.
Nishant refers to Shari’s blogging habit.
Suhita talks about being an USk instructor. They talk about how liberating it is to flip between teacher-student roles in USk seminars/symposium, and the idea that you have something to teach if you have something to share.
“Teaching is the quickest way to learn”
48:00 They approach the common fears people face when starting as urban-sketchers, with reference to Suhita’s excellent handbook.
Gathering courage from other urban-sketchers to try things
57:40 Nishant asks about ways that Suhita has connected with people during lockdown. Suhita talks about IG Live and “Sketching Play Lab” with Paul Wang. They discuss the various drawbacks of sketching online, but also the surprising advantages in terms of access, sharing knowledge, and a renewed appreciation for others’ attention.
Thank you for following this lovely conversation with Suhita Shirodkar. I hope it had some useful insights, lessons, inspiration and ideas for you. Reach out to me on Instagram or Twitter or email me nishant@sneakyartist.com, to share your thoughts.
If you enjoyed this episode and would like to support my work, buy me a coffee.
Join me next time for a trip around the world with the remarkable stories and sketchbooks of Luis Simoes, on IG[at]worldsketchingtour.