Missing the Essence

2/27/14 Platinum Carbon ink, watercolor,
Canson XL 140 lb. paper

After spending three hours focusing on the essence of the human form, I took my car in for an oil change, which gave me about 45 minutes to kill. The day was unexpectedly dry and mild, so I walked over to University Presbyterian Church for a sketch.

It occurred to me too late that I might have benefited from applying life-drawing principles to architecture. The building wasn’t going anywhere; why didn’t I spend several minutes trying to capture its essence with a few short “poses” before going in for the form and details? I think I missed its essence completely.