Not all superheroes wear capes.
The daily commute is a horrendous yet necessary evil of modern day life. Busy buses, treacherous trains and talking taxi drivers; getting to work can sometimes be more stressful than the job itself. Searching for empty seats and too scared to smile and hoping the sneezing person full of mucous doesn’t sit next to us. We know this might be outrageous but, what if, it wasn’t so bad? What if we used it as a time to unwind, to talk to the person next to us or to relax? Rather than falling asleep after 4 hours sleep and being woken up three stops too late.
An outrageous suggestion maybe but one that the daily_sketcher practices every day. Who is he? Well, even we don’t know. All we know is that he’s an anonymous pencil wielding male shielded in a mountain of post-it notes and sharpeners. You might see him or his illustrations around Liverpool trains his aim is simple; to make your day through a sketch through little quips and messages that’ll get you through the day.
We caught up with him to find out how it all it started.
Hello! Tell us all about it then
As stupid as this sounds I never set out to start the daily_sketcher, it grew from a fascination of people watching on the train fuelled by a long commute. The more I watch the more I became dismayed by how isolated everyone is on the train, it’s become almost taboo to smile. So I started leaving little notes on the Metro newspaper or on discarded tickets hoping to make people smile. It kind of grew from that, I tried to think of ways of leaving messages that wouldn’t be considered destructive graffiti (and I’m still hoping it isn’t considered littering) and post-it notes seemed the obvious answer.
So we hear this started in April 2013, how has your life been since it started?
I wouldn’t say it’s really changed my day to day life a lot, rather it’s been a cherished addition. It really makes it all worthwhile when I get messages and photos of thanks. I think that although we’re all different we’re all facing the same emotional challenges and so often my feelings resonate with others or their feelings resonate with me, that’s sounds deep, but it’s often something as simple as wishing to be on the beach in the sun rather than at work.
Why do you choose to keep anonymous?
People ask me a lot why do I remain anonymous. When I started the Twitter account and tried to start posting them regularly I decided that since I was often talking now about emotions or thoughts if I was there it would stop people personalising the daily_sketcher. I really wanted these little messages to be for the finder and not me.
The daily sketcher represents exactly what we and everyone else seems to love about Liverpool. A selfless act of doodling that on the off chance could make the day a little easier, a little happier, a little shorter is enough for him. Often he isn’t even around to see the reactions. We’re convinced he might be Batman.
The next time you’re on a train make sure you’re showing your best side as he might just be capturing you. Keep in touch with him through Twitter, Instagram and website.