How to Sketch in a Museum or Gallery
All you need to sketch in a museum is a pencil and a simple piece of paper, whether it’s in a notebook, a sketchbook, or torn off an old envelope! You don’t even need to know how to draw! Can you believe it!?
First things first – supplies. Paper and pencil may be the only thing a museum will allow you to use since they are concerned with the collection's safety, the facility's cleanliness, and the comfort and safety of all its visitors. It’s a good idea to contact the organization to find out what they allow before your visit. Taking only the bare minimum of supplies with you is also a good idea. A small sketchbook, a couple of pencils, a kneaded eraser so you don’t make eraser crumbs, and a pencil sharpener that collects the shavings will fit in a small pouch or jacket pocket and will not be intrusive to other visitors. If you want to do color studies, bring a few colored pencils.
Leave messy things at home, such as paints, pastels, markers, ink, etc. Even charcoal can make quite a mess. A museum or gallery is not the place to lay out a bunch of art supplies. Always be respectful of the place, the collection, and fellow visitors.
Next, you need to decide what to sketch. When first starting out, it’s a good idea to find something you are drawn to, then give yourself a few minutes to look carefully, read any posted information, and just start sketching what you see. Sketching is such a great activity because it’s not about exactitude! A sketch is about loose approximations of what you are looking at. Like written notes, sketches are just for you. They may be indecipherable to someone else, but they help you focus, record your impressions, and jog your memory. Don’t get frustrated if your sketch doesn't look like what you are looking at – it’s more about active looking than the finished product!
If you have limited time for your visit, you may want to set a timer. How long should you sketch? I’d say start with sketching for 10 minutes. If you have plenty of time and a nice place to sit, do a 30-minute study. While you are sketching, jot down thoughts, questions, and discoveries in the margins of your sketch. Don’t forget to write down the artist’s name, the date of the piece, and the medium. Note the name of the museum and the date of your visit as well.
If you are new at sketching, your goal is to simply enjoy the exhibit and get the feel of looking and recording your impressions of the display. If you are a student, you will want to be more deliberate in your observations. Art students can find a great deal of inspiration from detailed study of the composition, brushwork, color palette, etc. of an artist’s works. Science students benefit from study and comparison of artifacts.
