Saving Face and Pages

When I was a kid (and sort of looked nothing like the one on the right in the drawing above), I used to do one drawing on a sketchbook page.  Not only was it a waste of paper, but I think it created a bad mentality.

It's was all fine and good if I did a great drawing on a page.  The page was done, don't touch it, leave it, keep it perfect.  Same thing if I did a bad drawing, but I started a new page out of shame - don't touch it, move on, I never drew that.  Worse yet if I did a bunch of skunky drawings in a series.  That could wreck a sketchbook.  Bad book, bad book!

Recently I've been doing something different.  If I do a bad drawing and assuming I've not inked it or can somehow alter it, I do.  Often weeks or months later, I erase as much as I can, try to re-imagine the original inspiration and draw on top of the old stuff.

I still tend to do a single drawing on a page and leave it.  Take the one above.  I did the guy in the center with the child standing on the chair few months ago.  I liked it well enough when I did it, but the more I looked at it, the less I liked it.  Somehow it's too cartoony and the adult's feet look too heavy or out of proportion.  Maybe I didn't like the style.  Maybe I thought I was being too profound or like I was trying to say something.

Anyway, last night I returned to this page and did the unthinkable.  I drew some new figures on either side of the original ones!  They have a similar style an weirdness and  I can imagine some more elements - some other people caught in picture frames perhaps.  But do you want to know the best part?  I've dodged the shame of a lone bad drawing on a page and the page has been rescued!  As for the quality and fate of the sketchbook?  Well... that's not entirely decided yet!