When you go to a bar or a restaurant, you may encounter a lot of intriguing individuals, and one woman is taking her enthusiasm for people-watching to a new level. She is known as the bar sketch artist, and she enjoys illustrating her surroundings.
Roberta Socia takes the scene a step further by transferring it to her sketch pad.
“I enjoy drawing real life,” Roberta said.
The story of Roberta’s transformation into the bar artist is relatable. She said that she was looking for a way to unwind after a long day at work.
Roberta says that she had a background in both real estate and art. She explained that when she relocated to Royal Oak four years ago and returned to full-time real estate sales, she began seeking creative outlets, and the simplest one was to carry a sketch book during happy hour. She says that she drinks a cocktail, pulls out her drawing supplies, and captures moments that may appear brief or unimportant to others but are beautiful to her.
She sketches the diners and individuals as they enjoy their evening. She says that the karaoke drawings take less than three minutes to do and are more intuitive than anything else. Because the bar drawings are more intricate and have more shading, they can take anything from five minutes to a few hours to complete. She says that being around people and people-watching fulfills her extrovert requirements.
When Roberta draws, she often tries to remain unnoticed, but some people notice. People feel seen and heard, she says, and their cheeks light up when they see their sketch. Her Instagram is now loaded with drawings of strangers who have become friends that she has transformed into art, making people and herself happy, one charcoal pencil stroke at a time.
To view some of Roberta’s drawings, watch the video above.