I really, really hate sketching – particularly with pencil. Perhaps it is because I had to do so much of it in my post secondary education, training for advertising design. Perhaps it is because there seems to be no useful purpose for it. Sketches stay in a sketchpad and are not used for anything. Perhaps I want whatever I create to be longer lasting – sketches are so temporary.

One of my favourite sketches that I ever did, was one of my dear departed Daddy, John Goertzen, playing checkers with my Opa. The piece wasn’t a “work of art”, but the two men in the drawing were remarkable. When my Dad married my Mom, my grandfather was against the marriage – not for any real reason (my Dad was a quiet, loving and hardworking man), but maybe because my grandfather had had a hard life, he thought his daughter should work on the family farm for the rest of her days.

It took many years for Opa to “come around”, discover what a wonderful guy my Dad was, what a great sense of humour he had, and end up playing checkers together on many occasions. They became quite comfortable with one another, and without bitterness.

I digress…I was talking about sketching. It is only in my “wise”, later years that I realize how valuable the discipline of sketching, while I was in school. It is probably one of the reasons I have become a painter later in life. In sketching, as in going to school, reading, educating yourself, you are building your knowledge and skills to end up doing what you were meant to do.

I still hate sketching – that won’t change, but I’m glad I learned it. It has it’s uses, as I found out.

My grandfather learned to love my Dad. He wasn’t beyond learning – none of us are.

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