Sketching, for me, is a way of observing and understanding the world. It is a process through which I learn to visually translate what I see, feel, and think.

Through sketching, I trained myself to observe the relationships between people, space, light, movement, and the subtle details of everyday life. Each line functions as a trace of thought and presence — a direct connection between the gaze, the body, and the paper.

Sketching often feels like a small choreography of the hand — a rhythmic and living act, where movement frequently comes before thought. Through this gesture, a personal way of understanding and expression begins to emerge.

For me, sketching remains a way of inhabiting the world through the line.

Most of the time, my ideas emerge through sketching. Through the act of drawing, I attempt to understand, explore, and develop a thought before it takes its final form. I usually study my ideas through a series of sketches, where each drawing functions as an intermediate stage of observation, experimentation, and composition.

A characteristic example is the printmaking work “Athens, the Enchanted City”, whose idea was born from a spontaneous sketch while I was spending time with close friends and fellow creators at the Printmakers’ Association, discussing the city of Athens. A city-palimp­sest of memories, stories, historical events, sunlight, the Attic sky, and people filled with a deep desire for life.

From that moment emerged the need to visually express the complexity, vitality, and poetic atmosphere of the city,  first through sketching and later through the process of printmaking.

©2026 Natalia Kesente