Extra Drawing Time!

 This week I have found a fun and easy way to draw every day outside of my studio. It all starts with my "day job".  From what I have been told and from what I have read, many artists who are working today are not able to create their art full time. Many of us have to have a "day job" to help with the financial strain of trying to make it as an artist. I am no exception to this. I am working toward being a full time artist, but currently I have 2 different part time jobs that help me to pay for rent, bills and groceries.

     One of my part time jobs is a van driver for my church's after school program. Our day care center is called 7C's, which stands for "Camarillo Community Church Christian Child Care Center". About 3 years ago I took my Bus Driving test at the DMV and now have a Class B licence. I take kids to school in the morning and I pick them up throughout the afternoon. Check out the buses at my work! They are a rainbow of fun!!! I drive the blue van. And yes, we do park them in color order everyday. 

     My schedule is a split shift. I get to work at 7am, take kids to school, and after I get off work at 8:30am I have designated that time for my studio work. I go straight to my studio (which is also in Camarillo) and stay there until about Noon when I have to return to work for my afternoon runs. In the afternoon I drive to different schools and wait for the kids to get out of class. In the past while I was waiting for the kids to get out of school I would do a number of things within the 10 or 15 minutes before the bell rings. I have read books, my bible or magazines. I have taken quick naps and most of the time I play games on my phone.

     This is where my drawing comes in. Now instead of doing all of that other stuff I will be creating small 4" x 6" drawings. I have a small case with my essential drawing utensils (pencils, erasers, sharpener and blending stumps) and my sketchbook. Inside my sketchbook I place a 4x6 photo that I want to draw next to a 4x6 blank paper. When I am waiting for school to get out, I take my sketchbook and pencils out, place the sketchbook on my lap or lean it against the steering wheel and draw for a few minutes at a time. It takes a few days for each small drawing, but I was able to complete 2 drawings over 8 days of bus runs. Here is my set up:

These are the 2 drawings I did this last week