"bottles" using vine charcoal and black china marker.ah...another week of drawing class!
last night we were introduced to the wonderful world of blind contour. we were not allowed to look at our paper while we drew (using china markers for this segment), only to stare at our subject; to really focus and concentrate on the shape, the edge - how it looked, how it felt. it was very much a "be the ball" moment (for those who don't know: "be the ball" - a classic chevy chase line from the movie caddyshack).
i chose a beer bottle, a wine bottle and a tea cup. to put it simply, i've seen 3 year olds draw better! but then we combined mass gesture, guiding lines and contour lines together (and were allowed to look at our paper while we drew, thankfully) and this picture of the two bottles is my result.
i really enjoyed doing this. what i was drawing actually began to look like something, rather than a roughly bottle-shaped blob o' circles! i really need to play more; to take time out, to sit down and just draw. you know the old saying about practice...so i won't repeat it!
i can't believe that the course is half over! well, this first course and then i go straight into the next 6 week course. i have only one issue - the class is only an hour and a half. i feel like i'm really just getting into the groove of it and then my teacher announces that it's time to clean up! ah, such is life.
another cool thing that came out of class last night was the announcement of an artwalk this friday night in gardiner! there will be 15 artists participating and various businesses have a map of who will be opening their studio for all to come and visit! a few businesses will be open late and will host some works by local artists who don't have a studio downtown. it's crazy how artsy gardiner is getting...i love it! it became such a diminished mill town and now there are so many little places springing up. it's really coming together as a community...and i really need to get more involved. hmmm, maybe i'll talk to the manager of the downtown revitalization program and see what ways i can get involved!
i hope you enjoyed another look inside my drawing class. if anyone has recommendations for art books for beginners, i would love to hear about them! that will be one of the things we do next week, checking out some books that my teacher recommends.
*homework for this week is to practice mass gesture, guiding lines and contour.
have a lovely lovely evening!
4 comments:
it's a little corny- but drawing from [or on?] the right side of the brain has lots of good tidbits in it....
so glad you are enjoying your class
Hi Tiff,
Looks like your really enjoying the drawing classes. Keep having fun!
Cheers, Louise
yes, ditto louise. glad you are having fun. seems like you are learning alot.
I agree with Lisa, "Drawing From the Right Side of the Brain" is priceless... I use it for teaching all the time.
Another book you may want to look into if you have time is called "The Artist's Way" and it contains daily exercises that you do for a couple of months that boost your creativity. There are lots of writing exercises but working your way through the book really enhances all of the creative synapses in your brain and helps you examine things differently. Good luck!
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