Terminal B

Cellphones and rollerbags

The dreariness of airports

Time is fast and slow.

Staring at smartphones.

Vacant looks in sterile lounges.

The joy of travel.

Sparrow flies to the high ceiling

– at Terminal B

Notes: Airports are strange places*. I was travelling earlier this month so I got to experience quite a few of them. And, of course, airports always seem to involve either rushing around in a panic, or boredom – there is not much in between. For someone who likes certainty (don’t we all?), I find that airports can sometimes be anxiety-provoking. I generally try to practice my figure and portrait sketches** when waiting in an airport lounge, and the images I am sharing today were done earlier in November at airports in Orlando, Newark, and Raleigh, and I also had time for writing more than a few Haiku***. I seem to be unable to focus on much when in transit, so getting out the pen and sketchbook is somewhat therapeutic and helps pass the time. People watching is, I think, a fun part of the airport experience, and I certainly observed the ongoing attachment to fast food, cellphones and music-listening. While a few people had books (or e-books), most were scrolling through their screens, texting, or otherwise fixated on the small screen they were clutching, or enjoying French Fries. Or, they were sitting with their eyes closed, listening to music (or, of course, there were some families present too, and their level of activity was markedly different, and was more about parents trying to ‘shush’ their kids, or chase after them. It was hard to do figure sketches with all that activity!). Overall people were in their own bubbles, so despite airports being such busy places, they can be surprisingly quiet.

* They are strange because of people, long lines, lots of emotion, security, exaggerated food prices, weird kiosks (how many phone cases do people need?), ‘massage’ chairs, but also because sometimes you see nature in airports too – sparrows and other wildlife can sometimes moves about the cavernous spaces. The strangeness of airports, I think, is so well captured in Station Eleven. A book I highly recommend.

**full disclosure: I really struggle with drawing people or any parts of them. For some reason I can’t seem to find the enthusiasm to practice the human figure or face, but like all things, practice is the key. I try to keep the tools very simple when doing quick figure sketches i.e., technical pen and sometimes a grey brush pen for a bit of shading, and a small (3 x 5”) pocket sketchbook. I also try to be really discrete and quick about the sketches. I try to sit relatively far from subjects, and each sketch is typically done in just 2-3 minutes. More time does not tend to help, I find!

** this is very full post compared to usual. I was struggling with what to publish (for both the quick sketches and the Haiku), so I just published a bunch of things. Hope you don’t mind! Maybe this will inspire you to grab a sketchbook and pen next time you are travelling? It’s a low investment way to make your boring time in airports perhaps a bit more interesting.

© Christopher M Buddle 2022