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Visual compulsion

Sketchbook drawing by Chandler O'Leary

The other night I went to a talk by comics artist Art Spiegelman, and as usual, brought one of my trusty sketchbooks with me. Since comics and I go way back, and I’m a big Spiegelman fan, I think I got a little carried away with the doodles accompanying my lecture notes. I was a little abashed when the people next to me noticed and commented; all I could say was, “I do this a lot—it helps me remember.”

Sketchbook drawings by Chandler O'Leary

I’ve always been an obsessive note-taker, but I discovered in college that adding sketches to my notes went a long way towards my good grades in art history (this must have been the “Naked Ladies of the 15th and 16th Centuries” lecture or something).

Sketchbook drawings by Chandler O'Leary

Then when I fell in with the book arts, drawn diagrams were a godsend for remembering complicated equipment and technical processes.

By the time I graduated, the habit was ingrained. I found not only that drawing was an excellent memory trigger, but also helped me focus on the moment at hand.

Sketchbook drawings by Chandler O'Leary

The comments on my Spiegelman doodle reminded me that I had a funny habit of drawing comic artists and writers (from the left, Marjane Satrapi, Harvey Pekar, David Mazzucchelli)—and often portraying them as comic-book characters themselves. As I dug through something on the order of fifteen sketchbooks to find my grumpy Pekar sketches, I unearthed scores of these things, from all manner of locations and events:

Sketchbook drawings by Chandler O'Leary

classes, performances and lectures;

Sketchbook drawings by Chandler O'Leary

public transit and airports—

Sketchbook drawings by Chandler O'Leary

—among other things—

Sketchbook drawings by Chandler O'Leary

family gatherings (yes, I quoted the above verbatim; that’s the Tailor’s uncle, and he’s comedic gold);

Sketchbook drawings by Chandler O'Leary

work meetings;

Sketchbook drawings by Chandler O'Leary

restaurants, coffee shops;

Sketchbook drawings by Chandler O'Leary

wedding receptions;

Sketchbook drawing by Chandler O'Leary

and even my own mirror, when I’m working alone (that one’s an oldie from college).

I draw when I’m trying to document an event, when I’m nervous, when I encounter a particularly unusual face, when I’m telling a story of an odd person I saw that day, when I want to preserve a loved one, and even when I’m not really aware of it—I found plenty of sketches that I had no memory of making.

Maybe there’s some psychological disorder that lists obsessive and semi-conscious sketching as a symptom, but this is one compulsion I’d like to hold on to. I know I spend more time drawing the speaker than taking actual notes, but if I remember the content just as well, I suppose it all comes out in the wash. Besides, I can’t possibly be the only one who does this, right?

Right?


6 thoughts on “Visual compulsion

  1. Christina Rodriguez

    Now I’m wishing I’d kept all my art history sketches/notes from RISD! Mine were never as good as yours, though, which is probably why I remember nothing….

    The Hubs would sketch circles in the margins of his art history notes. Just circles and circles…. it made no sense at all to me, but apparently it was the Industrial Design major in him at work. He also remembered EVERYTHING that was said. It was weird.

  2. Grace Edmands

    WOW! Amazing! I so wish I could draw this way. Kinda reminds me of courtroom sketch artists. What a talent! Thanks for posting this and getting the juices flowing.

  3. Lara

    I was a once upon a time artist and I my abilities have atrophied…but yes, I do this. My notes from college are covered in sketches (not nearly as detailed as yours) and I had a high school history teacher who felt that my note-taking style was disruptive to the entire class. Whatever. Like you, it helps me pay attention in some bizarre way.

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