The Big Sketch Series

Art What You Like

Mixed Media Study on Kraft Paper

Overview

Every studio eventually produces a drawing that starts giving unsolicited advice.

This one didn't wait long.

It began as a figure study—an excuse to chase light across a shoulder and see if a few confident lines could convince a flat sheet of paper it had depth. Somewhere along the way, the drawing decided it had opinions. Before I knew it, reminders, arrows, taped notes, and half-finished thoughts were competing with the figure for attention.

The little sign reading "ART WHAT YOU LIKE" isn't a slogan so much as a note to myself. It's the kind of reminder you write down because you apparently need to hear it more than once.

Like most studies in this series, the drawing documents the process rather than disguising it. The construction remains visible. Decisions overlap. Corrections become composition. The finished piece isn't the moment everything finally worked—it's the record of everything that had to happen before it did.

Methodology

Created through an additive process of drawing, painting, erasing, glazing, annotating, and revisiting over multiple studio sessions. Rather than removing evidence of experimentation, construction lines, written notes, tape, and revisions remain embedded within the final composition.

The translucent acrylic layers allow earlier decisions to remain visible, giving the surface the same history as the drawing itself. The result is less a finished illustration than an archaeological record of an idea slowly becoming comfortable with itself.

Materials

• Acrylic paint
• Graphite
• Charcoal
• Ink
• Paint marker
• Colored pencil
• Archival kraft paper
• Studio tape (intentionally retained as part of the composition)

Artist's Note

Artists are constantly told to "find their style."

This drawing suggests a different strategy.

Find your pencil.

Find your coffee.

Lose both.

Draw anyway.

The sign says "Art What You Like," which is conveniently shorter than "Ignore the imaginary committee that's been judging your work since art school."

It turns out the drawing wasn't really about the figure.

It was about remembering that making the work is usually a much better idea than worrying about whether someone else will approve of it.

Besides... if I had listened to sensible advice, there'd be a lot less tape on my drawings—and significantly fewer stories to tell.

Dimensions: Original mixed media on archival kraft paper.

Condition: Original artwork with intentional studio markings, tape, annotations, and process evidence preserved as part of the finished composition.

Authenticity: One-of-one original work from The Big Sketch Series, signed by the artist.