I had my sketchbook open while viewing televised Congressional hearings. US Attorney General, Eric Holder, was up to bat, answering questions pitched by Congressman Darryll Issa about recent government scandals and information leaks.

Anything is drawable, and whether drawing from life, photographic reference or the screen, it’s important to imbue a drawing with a sense of life and vitality. It is easy to make a study of someone where everything is drawn accurately. It’s difficult to portray an animate quality along with the accuracy.

Using streaming or broadcast content as fodder for sketching builds a quick hand and the ability to analyze structure, form and movement on the spot. The form is stationary, yet moving, so we can get a volumetric understanding of how things are put together. Interviews, news broadcasts and televised hearings keep the subject in the same position for a long time (minutes, as opposed to seconds), allowing a drawing to be constructed from a variety of impressions.

This sketch was made with pencil in a Moleskine, which has lately become my preferred type of sketchbook. It took about 10 minutes to get from blank page to signature.