Artist sets out to sketch the city of Tucson

PHOENIX — To Danny Martin, there is nothing better in the world than sitting outside on a Tucson street corner.

An artist since his childhood, Martin is on a mission to draw every building he finds meaningful in Tucson — and he’s already about 50 drawings into the project.

He calls his work the Tucson Sketchbook Project and completes every sketch on-site. He told Arizona Public Media this method helps him feel more connected to the place he’s drawing, like a photographer.

Although he’s originally from Alabama, he said Tucson is where he feels truly at home. This sense of comfort was threatened in November of 2011, when Tucson restaurant the Grill closed.

Martin said this event is what inspired the Tucson Sketchbook Project.

“It’s not only that (the Grill) is not there but it literally burned down,” he told Arizona Public Media. “It did motivate me to not just complain or not just talk and reminisce, but to actively feel like I’m engaging in the dialogue of what Tucson is.”

Martin also said besides documentation, he feels that he serves his greater purpose through his drawings.

“Deeper reasons than I’m aware of make me want to draw but for its definitely my language,” he said. “It’s definitely my best foot forward as a human being.”