Isabel Bishop Early Sketchbook c. 1928 - 1936

This is a page from Isabel Bishop's early sketchbook, and it's all about capturing a fleeting moment with a few deft strokes. You can almost feel the artist's hand moving quickly, trying to pin down the essence of what she sees. I like to imagine Bishop on the streets of New York, sketchbook in hand, always on the lookout. I see her, squinting slightly, trying to get the lines just right. What’s she thinking as she draws? Probably something about the rhythm of the city, about the weight and presence of bodies, about how to convey all that with the fewest possible lines. The figures are so minimal, barely there, but they have weight. They feel real. To me, this drawing has a kinship with the work of other artists who find beauty in the everyday, like Edward Hopper. It's like they're all in a conversation across time, each inspiring the other to see the world in a new way.