Ep 12 - Drawing on the Way with Sarah Nisbett
I speak with New York-based artist Sarah Nisbett, who has been sketching people on the subway for over 9 years. Her work is titled Drawn on the Way, which is an apt description for her art as well as this episode. Drawing on the subway means that Sarah is always racing against an invisible clock, because she never knows when a subject might leave. This makes her alert to inspiration, and ready to leap at a drawing opportunity. It makes her work simple yet expressive, quick yet surprisingly detailed.
We talk about the value of making quick and simple drawings for the social-media soul, and the various reasons why other people should try it too. We also discuss the incredible importance of social media to the career of an artist. We discuss how crucial it is to share not only the content but also the context of one’s work. Sarah and I work similarly in a lot of respects, so it was fun to go back and forth on common ideas and inspirations. If you find yourself stuck for subjects, hesitant over the blank page, or frequently foiled by your own sense of perfectionism, this episode will give you inspiration and courage.
Sarah has a **new book** now available for pre-order! Check it out here.
Sarah’s work on IG@drawnontheway | Website
SneakyArt on IG@thesneakyartist
Subscribe to my free weekly newsletter
Support my work, or become a member to enjoy exclusive privileges, by buying me a coffee
Transcript
Hello and welcome to the SneakyArt Podcast. This is a space where I have long-form conversations with artists who draw their world from observation, on location, in the practice also known as urban sketching. The idea of drawing from observation is a positive and mindful way to find beauty in your environment, and also a wonderful way to sharpen your art skills. But even if you are not trying to be an artist, I believe the practice of urban sketching will do you a lot of good, and this episode will reinforce that point.
In this episode I’m speaking with New York-based artist Sarah Nisbett, who has been drawing people in the subway for over 9 years. Her IG handle is @drawnontheway and that is an apt title for what she does and for this episode. I ask Sarah what it really means to both draw on the way and be drawn on the way. Her art is spontaneous and immediately you see that she is drawn to the quirks and idiosyncrasies of her co-passengers. You could look at her drawings and recall having seen such things yourself. You might think - I could draw like that if I tried. And not only would you be right, both Sarah and I encourage you to do so. It is a powerful and deliberate feature of her work - that it inspires others to find beauty in their own surroundings.
There is another reason I was keen to speak with Sarah. I’m interested in how she communicates with her audience. We discuss the importance of social media skills to the career of an artist. We talk about sharing the context of your art with the audience and not just the content - why did you make this drawing, how did you do it, what was it like on the subway that day, what were you thinking at that time? If making that connection with your audience is difficult for you, I think you will find encouragement in this episode.
I had a lot of fun speaking with Sarah, and I trust it will make for a fun conversation for you as well.
In other news, I recently instituted a membership option for listeners who are interested in going deeper with this show. You can use the link in the show-notes to read the details and sign up if you like. At the cost of just a couple of cups of coffee every month, members receive some great goodies and opportunities to interact with me and my guests. You get notified in advance about upcoming interview dates, with the chance to pose a question to my guest and me, as well as a chance to share your own sketching stories. Plus there are some other rewards from me as a gesture of appreciation for your generous support. I enjoy being an independent artist and podcaster, so I am eager to make this an attractive offer for the people who enjoy my work and give me so much of their time and attention.
I want to thank new members Shari, Marek, Clare and Smita, for making this episode possible. Also thanks to Mark, Ellen, Marta, Susan, Talbot and Linda for buying me coffee this month. Links to membership, and to my free weekly newsletter, are in the episode description.
Coming back to today’s episode... the point I want to emphasize is that we live in an age with hundreds of things clamoring for our attention. It is therefore crucial that we learn to take time for ourselves. A drawing, an urban sketch, or a little bit of sneaky art, involves our mind and body in the dual acts of observation and creation, which is a great way to spend our time, and celebrate our world. I hope that by listening to this conversation you will be inspired to pick up a pen and sketchpad the next time you are on a bus, train or subway, and create something … drawn on the way!
5:45 Sarah explains what it means to be “drawn on the way” and the origin of her Instagram project one fine day on the train.
“I drew the person across from me, this really interesting kind of dapper old man…. He just looked like he had such an interesting story, such a classic New Yorker … going into the city when everyone was leaving the city … So I drew the drawing thinking I would hate it, but I didn’t hate it. For a moment I was away from my own world and deeper in the ‘now’…. I did it the next day and the next, and realized I had started this project called drawn on the way.”
11:50 Getting over the hesitation about drawing people from observation. Sarah and Nishant both express their experiences about how this is a misplaced fear.
“You are a work of art, and we are all worthy of this translation, and especially for strangers, especially for people we don’t know.”
The idea of defeating perfectionism by drawing in pen, so you can never go backwards.
Nishant – “When I started drawing with this idea to look at my world and learn, I started drawing with a fountain pen because I can’t erase anything, whatever happens is what happens and I can only turn the page. And it’s such an important to let go of that feeling of control.”
Sarah – “It’s so freeing. Failure becomes less terrifying when you experience it regularly… Done enough times, you get the confidence that, for example, 10 bad drawings in a row have no bearing on the 11th drawing. The 11th drawing can be amazing… Working in pen forces you to fail, and to kinda figure it out, working with mistakes and coming up with something co-designed by me and my mistakes.”
Nishant argues that mistakes are what we call style.
16:14 They discuss the important design feature introduced by the lack of time, and never knowing how much time you have.
How drawing changes the way you see the world.
22:00 Sarah describes the kind of images that inspire her to draw on the NYC subway. Gives the example of a woman holding a purse on the train, and the drawing of her hand and purse.
Nishant asks if it is intimidating to make art in a city that is so well-photographed and so popularly made into art.
Sarah talks about drawing subjects that don’t look interesting at first glance, but the process of drawing them reveals their beauty.
29:50 Not being able to draw the first thing you see, or the first subject you want to draw, and the unintended positive consequences of doing that.
Sarah talks about how drawing in the real world creates exercises that challenge our choices and POVs - lack of time, blocked views.
“Real life is art-school in its own way.”
31:30 Sarah talks about speaking to a non-artist audience, sharing the views of NYC with the world. Also, by doing so she shares her own humility, letting people “access the experience” of being self-taught and making mistakes but still pursuing art.
Overcoming the self-doubt of a non-artist to share your work on IG, and just praying to the social media gods because one has no control over the reach of a post.
Sometimes a post becomes viral that you didn’t expect, so you can never know what clicks with the audience and for what reason. The only way forward is to chase your own vision.
They discuss ways to communicate the story behind a drawing with the audience, through insta-stories or writing a long description. Sharing not just a drawing in itself, but also bringing people to the reasons for why they should care.
They talk about the advantages and obstacles of social media platforms, the ways in which it is engaging and ways in which it makes life difficult for artists.
50:40 Sarah recounts the first TikTok video that went viral, a drawing of a couple getting married in Central Park
They talk about people recognizing themselves in Sarah’s art, and whether that makes the world larger or smaller.
55:10 Sarah talks about her trusted art supplies
Sarah talks about displaying art in a gallery and what it’s like watching people connect with her drawings. Nishant shares his own experiences in Wisconsin, selling art and showing sketchbooks at the farmer’s market.
Sarah talks about the importance of accepting imperfections, and working with them, and the way art can show the way.
70:40 Nishant shares the most adverse reaction he’s gotten from the act of drawing people, from 7-year old Edith at the farmer’s market in Eau Claire. Sarah weighs in on the question – “What kind of person goes around drawing other people?”
They discuss the natural curiosity of children.
“If you give yourself a moment to draw … anxiety is a future-oriented frame of mind, and a good antidote to that is being present in the moment. And drawing forces you to do that, because all you can think about is what is literally in front of you…”
Nishant talks about the magic of drawing in buses, subways and trains. They talk about breaking down the complex world into simple lines, picking apart the things that interest us or make us curious, and allowing ourselves the freedom to ignore the things we don’t care so much about.
Sarah talks about drawing shoes. Nishant shares how he absolutely cannot draw shoes. They circle back to the concept of mistakes/choices of exclusion becoming the definitions of our style.
82:25 Nishant shares the idea that mistakes make it our drawing, and how overrated perfectionism is.
They end on the note of chasing curiosity whatever form it takes, as Sarah explains her varied interests – opera singing, art, horse-riding and archery.