I doubt there is any better way to really see and notice a place other than sketching it. Drawing forces you to observe very closely. It’s actually very simple and everyone is capable of doing it, it just takes patience and focus. We all have the hand-eye coordination required to draw well, it’s simply a matter of looking closely and drawing only what you really see. That being said, you do get better with practise and not all drawings turn out as well as we would like.
Here is a sketch of the Chinatown Gate, which is a great marker of that unique neighbourhood and culture in this city. I’m impressed by this object, I always thought that Victoria felt more like a “real” city with some ethnic diversity and history because of it.
Victoria – Chinatown Gate (copyright Matthew Cencich)
The next sketch is a view of Bastion Square, looking into Chancery Lane. This is a really wonderful urban space in Victoria. There are not many true squares in Canada but this is one of them. It feels like a true outdoor room and even has a few finely detailed buildings defining the perimeter much as a great Spanish square might have. I was struck by the tree in this square which gives it so much character and sense of place.
Bastion Square looking into Chancery Lane (copyright Matthew Cencich)
Another quality that a sketch captures is a memory of the moment when it was drawn that no photograph can match. Just looking at the sketch of Bastion Square reminds me of how cold it was becoming as I drew in the winter shade.
Guest Author Bio
Matthew Cencich 
Matthew Cencich is a Designer and Architectural Technologist in private practice in Victoria.
Visit Matthew’s Flickr stream: https://www.flickr.com/photos/mc_images/
