The Natural History Museum in London is one of the most impressive buildings I have ever seen. As it was made specifically for that use, you can find flora and fauna sculptures everywhere, both on the façades and the insides (my favourite detail is the climbing monkeys on the arches).

I am not here to tell you how different is drawing anything from live (or sort of) than from a picture, but it is. Drawing from live changes the way I look at the world and, because I don’t want to stand in the middle of the way and bothering anyone, I have to draw fast so I focus on the important things. I love going out to draw because it makes me forget about the style and the pressure: it’s just me, trying to understand how everything works (in this case, animal bodies).

Also, something really cool happens when you draw in public; everybody has loved to draw at some point in their lives so it is not unusual seeing people coming forward to express interest in what you are doing. And even when it is a bit embarrassing, they are always so sweet (kids in particular) that is a great boost of energy to come back home and continuing to work in your dark dungeon.

These are some sketches from that day. Bugs were AMAZING, but I still have to come back to draw some dinosaurs.

Thanks for reading!