When I set my pen to paper, there’s something that happens that’s hard to put into words – all my cares drop away and I enter the “now”. I find myself in a beautiful world, a triangle between the person I’m drawing, my hand, and the paper. When it’s just right, that image flows from one to another and I feel an exhilaration, the excitement of creation. I feel a connectedness to my subject. No matter who it is, an old man, a beautiful college student, a dog, a businessman. There’s a sense of the oneness of all people. That’s especially why I love to sketch on public transit – because it is a mix of people from all walks of life. All races, creeds, and ages end up on the subway or bus.

You can feel that same joy, too. Even if you’re terrible at sketching to begin with (I started totally loving what I was doing right away even though my first attempts looked mostly like scribbles!) See, there’s an amazing freedom in letting go, in letting lines flow where you will them. You’ll find that as soon as you let go of any preconception about how good you are, or what sketching is supposed to be, you’ll begin to love it the same way I do. And it will bring you joy for the rest of your life.