Announcing! #OneWeek100People in 2022 – Our Sixth Year: Mon Mar 7 – Fri Mar 11

When the calendar flipped and we found ourselves in 2022, the first thing I thought about was our drawing marathon #OneWeek100People. < < < Just follow that link to find out about the event! You’ll also find the last five ‘seasons’ of my sketches all in one place.

This year, we had a big decision to make – should we draw at home in quarantine – as we did in 2021, or should we return to drawing from life?

My answer this year is going to be – hit the streets my son!

So – it’s been 538 days since my last drawing of a living breathing human being.
(Discounting Zoom, which I’m sorry, but it’s not the same :))

I’m not going to rail at fate here. We’ve had a very lucky pandemic. Boredom is hardly the worst outcome. My apologies and sincere sympathy to anyone who’s had real misfortune. And besides, I was already moving towards studio painting, the quarantine only helped me along.

Me: “Head into the studio and lock the door? Yes please!”
Covid: “Ok buddy, you asked for it!”

As the fifth Omicron wave begins to lighten up here – I find myself champing at the bit.

#OneWeek100People was originally imagined as *living your best life through the pages of your sketchbook*. I want to use my drawing skills as motivation to experience things. And my experiences as a way to improve my skills! Pretty neat hey?

My sketchbook is a life support system – a magical machine helping an introverted artist go into the world and do things I’d never otherwise do.

#OneWeek100People is about turning that up to eleven. It’s both a passport and a boot-in-the-behind. It’s an invitation to put aside distractions and responsibilities, and tap into a whole lot of peer pressure. The good kind! The kind of teamwork that will banish my desire to stay at home and play video games, or to noodle away at oil paintings in the comfort (and solitude) of my studio.

So I hope I will see you this year in the Facebook group, or using the hashtag #OneWeek100People on your platform of choice!

So – that’s where I am. Excited to be back drawing from life. BUT! If you’re not ready – if your local Covid situation isn’t great, or if you’re immunocompromised, I absolutely understand. I hope you’ll feel like drawing with us anyway, working from photos and film.

I’m sure we all have our social media of choice? I like street photography groups on Flickr, (above) and there is the iOS app Museum by Sktchy, (portraits) or the youtube channel Croquis Cafe (for nude figures). or my old standby – cuing up a movie and sketching on pause.

For the street sketchers – especially those of you in a warmer climate – we have a new idea this year.

We’d like to introduce the idea of a #OneWeek100People Scavenger Hunt.

We’re going to send out a list of sketching subjects, and if you want to play, see if you can find the right kind of people out in the real world – and capture them from life.

Let’s play a game of hunt-and-sketch. More than a little silly I know! – but honestly – the experience of wandering, pen at the ready, looking for a great subject – it’s actually exciting! And it’s not something most of us would do without a reason. This is my invitation to spend a few afternoons wasting time drawing. Let’s do it for the fun of it :)

Ok – last thing! If you’re like most of us and time is your enemy – feel free to bend the rules. Draw on the weekend if you need to – we’re not going to check the dates of your sketches.

Or try my favorite thing – every time you have an errand – waiting at the DMV? Awesome! Picking up the takeout – no problem. Spend an extra 10 minutes sketching. Leave a little bit early for work and sketch the subway crowd. Make your buddy wait while you draw – or better yet – go sketching with a buddy! Ask your partner nicely if you can sketch while they do the shopping. (Just this one time :)) And the #1 time management trick for me? No TV or video games for an entire week. That saves me more than enough time to get my 100 people. It’s only 20 people a day!

Ok – I’ll send out more info on that tomorrow. Stay tuned.

Thanks for letting me into your inbox –

~marc

OK! Last thing! Let me just leave you with these – our traditional ‘progress bar’ images for people who want to paste them under their sketches. I always enjoy watching the row of people fill up!