Just Lines For This Clothesline

Staedtler Pigment Liner on Moleskine Notepad - Click to Enlarge

For us North-Americans accustomed to hiding our drying laundry as if it were something shameful, seeing clothes drying from balconies in Europe is one of the charms of the old continent.

That morning, I was going to go out to find an interesting clothesline to sketch, when I realized that I had a fine one right under my nose, or rather, right on my own balcony. I hadn't noticed it because in my mind those clotheslines had to be captured from the outside.

I decided to follow Miguel Herranz's suggestion and use no colour for a while, concentrating on the drawing instead. It was just the advice I needed at this juncture...

I had to take the necessary time to draw the lines as faithfully as possible, and to get the proportions and the perspective right. I realized that, for me, speed is definitely the enemy of straight lines, and so I drew these ve-e-e-e-ry slowly.

Now I have to practice drawing curlicues; I never seem to get those right.