As a child I was made aware, that I was terrible at drawing/sketching/painting. I was told I had no 'sense of art.' I know that is true, but am not sure where that 'sense of art' comes from or what it comprises of, so have never made an attempt to 'learn(?)' it, till now.
For the last few months, I have been wanting to draw or paint, but have hesitated knowing that I would not be good at it. So I did the next best thing and took up an online course in drawing. I am happy I did as it has proven to be a hilarious exercise for me. There is no doubt I am terrible at it, but I also now know why.
I am not very observant of the physical world. I see things as general shapes and forms, but do not notice details, so reproducing things as a drawing from memory is impossible. I love elephants, I know they are big animals with big ears and a trunk, but am not aware of the proportions, or where their eyes are placed, or how long the trunk is, and if there is a difference in ear size or tusk size from one elephant to another, or even if they all are the same color. So, what is it about elephants I love? It is their stature, their majesty, their grace, the way they move, the old soul wisdom in their eyes, their attachment to each other - that is what I have observed about them. I could write a short story about an elephant, but I would not be successful at illustrating one as a drawing. I am sure that is my unique quality. :)
Then there is the sense of depth that I am unable to reproduce on paper. I look out of my window and see the trees and the grass and I love how the colors seem to synchronize with the environment in general, but ask me to reproduce the sight and I would be flummoxed trying to figure out where each element should be on my paper. Not that I do not see the depth, because I could write a descriptive essay about it, but maybe it is a kind of drawing dyslexia I need to overcome.
I am enjoying drawing so I sit down with a reference photograph (I cannot imagine drawing without one) and when I am finished it does not look anything like the photograph. I am sure I reproduced all the elements, but no, the two do not match. The challenge is that I can tell they are different but know not how to match them :(. Also I find that I can tell the difference more from a photograph of my work than from my original work. Rather strange I think.
For the last few months, I have been wanting to draw or paint, but have hesitated knowing that I would not be good at it. So I did the next best thing and took up an online course in drawing. I am happy I did as it has proven to be a hilarious exercise for me. There is no doubt I am terrible at it, but I also now know why.
I am not very observant of the physical world. I see things as general shapes and forms, but do not notice details, so reproducing things as a drawing from memory is impossible. I love elephants, I know they are big animals with big ears and a trunk, but am not aware of the proportions, or where their eyes are placed, or how long the trunk is, and if there is a difference in ear size or tusk size from one elephant to another, or even if they all are the same color. So, what is it about elephants I love? It is their stature, their majesty, their grace, the way they move, the old soul wisdom in their eyes, their attachment to each other - that is what I have observed about them. I could write a short story about an elephant, but I would not be successful at illustrating one as a drawing. I am sure that is my unique quality. :)
Then there is the sense of depth that I am unable to reproduce on paper. I look out of my window and see the trees and the grass and I love how the colors seem to synchronize with the environment in general, but ask me to reproduce the sight and I would be flummoxed trying to figure out where each element should be on my paper. Not that I do not see the depth, because I could write a descriptive essay about it, but maybe it is a kind of drawing dyslexia I need to overcome.
I am enjoying drawing so I sit down with a reference photograph (I cannot imagine drawing without one) and when I am finished it does not look anything like the photograph. I am sure I reproduced all the elements, but no, the two do not match. The challenge is that I can tell they are different but know not how to match them :(. Also I find that I can tell the difference more from a photograph of my work than from my original work. Rather strange I think.
As you can tell my work has a strange perspective. I know where I am as I look at the boardwalk in the photograph, but am hovering among the trees looking down upon my drawing. If I make another attempt I will probably be closer to the picture but in the meantime this gave me the opportunity to add some flowers where there were none, simply to add some variety to the drawing. The end result made me smile - not as much at the drawing as at my inner child pushing forth and giggling with me.
I have had comments from my drawing instructor for the assignments submitted that are very encouraging as he guides me along to make necessary changes which is very helpful. Then of course, my dear husband looks at my work and says, "very nice, but definitely not right." He cannot fathom why I cannot get the perspective right. I do not blame him as he cannot un-see what he can see, so how in the world is he going to see the world as a flat surface - wonder if you know what I mean? A girl friend is very appreciative of my work and keeps telling me I am improving every day, while my son says I should not give up my unique perspective. All in all my art is getting me reviews that are fast depleting my soft pastels and sand paper sheets.
I will persevere, not to get to be a successful artist, but just to enjoy the process of improving my observation of this beautiful physical world that I live in. This art form has helped me to see things I have only glanced over for most of my life and I am enjoying this new found view of things around me.
