What is this all about?
In a word: kindness. In more words, read on...
Who are you?
Like you and everyone else, I'm a lot of things. You can learn all about me at my professional website https://www.ineffable-solutions.com/about. But, the thing that is probably most interesting and relevant to you, here, and now is: I'm an artist who enjoys drawing.
I've been drawing, doodling, and cartooning since I was a kid. For decades, I've exhausted and entertained my family and friends with my fun, informal art. However, I've never been a "professional artist"; it has never been my full-time job. Instead, I did IT/Quality Assurance for 25 years and became a full-time, public speaker in 2016.
And then 2020 happened.
Since the pandemic, my public speaking job has been largely on hold. Hopefully that changes soon (need a soft skills speaker?! Contact me!), but in the meantime - to keep myself busy and sane - I've returned to my past passion: drawing.
Why do you draw the strangers?
Often they request it, (though sometimes they don't).
Regardless, each drawing is always intended as a small gift - a random act of kindness to a total stranger.
But there are other reasons, too. In addition to keeping me busy and sane, I also draw strangers as practice ("...makes perfect") and for fun (I enjoy it). And yes, occasionally a free sketch leads to a paid commission, which is nice, too.
Where do you find the strangers?
Many strangers request to be drawn. I find most good photos of strangers posted online, usually at RedditGetsDrawn - a "community for redditors who want to get drawn and redditors who want to draw them!" - but also from various, other online sites and sources.
But some strangers never asked to be drawn. And they are part of my "Favorite Drawing of Me" project.
What is the "Favorite Drawing of Me" project?
In January 2021, an old friend posted their favorite photograph of themselves online. I saw it and decided to surprise them by drawing it. The entire experience and their positive reaction inspired me to start a small, personal project: I'd find totally random strangers on Twitter that publicly posted their self-described "favorite photo of me"...and I'd surprise them by drawing them - for them, for practice, for fun, and for free.
The entire project was innocently conceived, wholly wholesome, and simply intended as a small, random act of kindness for a total stranger.
However, the reactions were mixed. About half of the strangers were indeed surprised, grateful, flattered, and happy. It was truly satisfying when I was able to bring a little joy to a complete stranger. Unfortunately, that wasn't always the case. Many strangers never acknowledged the drawing, and more than a few were even offended. And so, I ended the project. But, you can still view all the photos and drawings of strangers on Twitter at #FavoriteDrawingOfMe, or at Favorite Drawing of Me.
All that for kindness?
Yup! However, the project revealed another, unexpected benefit: to gain perspective.
For each drawing, I'd always begin by searching Twitter for the phrase "favorite photo of me" (and many variations). This returned many results with new photos posted every hour. Trust me, there is no shortage of selfies on the internet. Anyway, I'd start browsing the results - looking for photos of strangers that were interesting, funny, poignant, artistic, inspiring - and when I found one that seemed like a good candidate, I'd then learn a little bit about the stranger. I'd explore the strangers Twitter feed, I'd read the past few days/weeks/months of their posts and replies, I'd visit any websites or blogs they had linked, and I'd check out any other online/social media presence they had listed. All this was to 1) try and get a feel for the person to help inspire my drawing of them, and 2) to avoid drawing jerks. I hate jerks.
But, I soon realized that all this was also giving me a tiny peek into their lives. I was learning about interesting people from all around the world! It gave me insight into what others thought and how they lived. It broadened my horizon. It allowed me to see and learn things that I might not have seen or learned otherwise. I read exciting Tweets and mundane ones, joyful ones, and heartbreaking ones. I discovered incredible introverts and insufferable narcissists. I read about cancer survivors and tragic loss. And, it was all amazing.
In my experience, whether we know it or not, most of us live in bubbles - perceiving and caring mostly (or only!) for that which we are aware of or know. And that affects our behavior - how we think, act, and react. And part of this project - specifically the "learning about a stranger" part - helped me see outside of my own, various bubbles and into the bubbles of others. It helped give me a better sense of perspective, which in turn helped me improve my own communication skills, empathy, and many other important traits.
How do you draw strangers?
Although I've primarily used physical media - pencils, pens, paint, and paper - for most of my life, in 2020 I tried and switched to digital.
Once I've selected a photo, I download and reference the photo on my laptop and draw on my 12.9 iPad. I use Sketches Pro by Tayasui (awesome app, awful support) and an Apple Pencil. Sometimes I begin with a simple line trace and add detail as I go, but other times I free-hand it all. It just depends...
Anything else?
Yes! If you're interested in checking out some of my other, non-stranger artwork, visit my full portfolio at https://www.ineffable-solutions.com/portfolio.
Also, I wrote and illustrated a children's book, "Hank and Stella in Something from Nothing" - an engaging story with cute characters that introduces children to a few, fundamental improv "rules" - principles and skills that are as useful on stage as they are at play and in life. The book is written in rhyme and has plenty of bright, fun illustrations so kids will laugh while they learn. So, if you've got (or teach!) little ones or enjoy improv, you might be interested. You can read it all for free at HankAndStellaBooks.com. I'm currently working on the sequel tentatively titled, "Hank and Stella in The Best Way to Know" that teaches kids how to think and act like a scientist, inspires them to explore, and gets them excited about critical thinking.
Finally, I was flattered when fellow artist Marcie London [Twitter.com] interviewed me about the "Favorite Drawing of Me" project. You can read the interview on her blog [marcielondon.home.blog].
Thanks for reading, and Cheers!