We got to know a member of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir recently. His name is Ryan Snarr, and he shared with us some of his drawings that he creates each General Conference. During each session, Ryan quickly sketches each speaker between musical numbers, and it’s become something of a tradition for him. Ryan was gracious enough to allow us to feature some of his sketches, and sat down with us for a short Q&A. Following are some excerpts from our interview:
Q. When did you start making these sketches?
My first red pencil sketches were during a CD recording. During a recording there’s a lot more downtime than normal, but it’s silent downtime. Recording music for CDs involves many more moving pieces so they encourage us to bring something quiet to do like read a book. I brought paper and pencils and just started drawing whatever came to mind. I’ve always enjoyed drawing since I was little. Since I’m one of those guys who is prone to dozing off in church, I just need to do something to keep my eyes open and my mind going. It’s a terrible feeling getting drowsy during conference when you’re one of the participants so doing anything possible to stay alert is important to me.