Barbara Hirst Visual Artist

Sketching is a unique way to see the world. I just returned from 2 weeks in and around Dublin, Ireland with my sketchbook in tow. When I travel, my sketchbook is my constant companion, compelling me to respond to my surroundings and make a visual record of my experience.

I am a visual artist from Calgary, Alberta Canada. My sketchbooks are records of distant journeys and places close to home. The drawings I make are often field notes or research which I use both directly and indirectly for paintings. I teach drawing classes for Alberta College of Art and Design, Extended Studies Program and meet my students in various locations around the city to help them capture a sense the immediate surroundings. Often when I begin a class I ask, "Why do we sketch?" The common thread seems to be an insatiable desire to capture a sense of place which is filtered through one's own perception.

Often the challenge for me is to work quickly, avoiding too many details. As a result I find myself asking, "What can I leave out?" Sometimes drawings are more interesting when the artist avoids rendering every detail and instead leaves only clues to what was seen. Sketching on location challenges one to be a "quick read" of life. It forces you to be in the present moment. By sketching I record my perceptions and process my observations about place.