Sketch 1 and 2: It begins...
Ok, here we go.
First and foremost, I made a copy of the 4 heads from Jana's drawing blog. I am sending her an email asking for her permission to reproduce her work here - nothing like the horse is already out of the barn...and by the way, Jana...
(Click to enlarge)
I will type out the writing on the page since by now you know why I tend to type everything.
At the top: To Paul, because I couldn't refuse his "please," and MojoMan for the encouragement, and Laura because you were looking forward to it also.
On the left: I printed these 4 heads - a cluster from soneone's sketching blog. I figured copying and sketching would be helpful ~ and I wanted to work on hair and hairlines.
Middle Right: these "blocks" are from an outline from a Triple A identification card (because the sense of a confined area seemed less daunting to me.)
Bottom right: This is my rendition of the head I downloaded. 1. I like the hair.
2. The jaw and mouth are "off" 3. And the mole and the jowl isn't even close.
The 2 drawings with #1 and #2 are "mine."
Whatchathink?
Tim
12 comments:
Hey, not bad, Tim! It's always rewarding to actually go and do something after talking about it.
I suspect you'll find the experience of going from real 3-D life to paper a little different from following the 2-D lines of another artist.
It would be fun to explore different media and different subjects and finally settle on some favorites and develop a real comfort level there. I looked at Jana's blog and enjoy Caroline's "Crayons."
http://carolinescrayons.blogspot.com/
She tells tales of her Wisconsin neighborhood with distinctive drawings that look like pages from a graphic novel.
MojoMan,
I was looking at some of Franck's drawings in his book, The Zen of Seeing.
There was one of Albert Schwietzer. I was enthralled looking at it. The drawing showed Schweitzer wearing glasses (although you could hardly see them) and he had his eyes closed and he seemed to be scrunching his face up. Hid comment to Franck was: "Oh no, the glasses will make me look old!" He was 86 years old then.
Franck went on to talk about the masks people wear and how when he "sees" / draws the masks are revealed.
Tim
Hi Tim,
Thanks for asking, even if after the fact. The truth is I'm honored that you thought my sketches were worth copying. I love the name of your blog--it's wonderful and I admire your intent.
Jana
Jana,
Thank you. And thanks for the comp - is it i or e - ment.
Tim
Tim, your rendition is different but wonderful! It reminds me fiercely of an old friend.
An exercise you might enjoy: try looking at a subject continuously while drawing, not looking down at your page, and not lifting your pencil. Things may get all out of proportion and crisscross each other, but you will get some delightful capture of shapes, and you will see differently. You will notice lines much more, as you look for lines to follow, and you will draw what you see is there instead of what you think is there. I once did a startling self-portrait that way, that captured my mood of hurt defiant persistence (as a youngster stuck at an art camp among much more "skilled" young artists) with just a few lines. I wish I'd kept it.
Very good that's what I think :-)
Monica
I am not much of a drawer myself, but I do also try from time to time. Every now and then, there is an image so strong in my mind I just have to try an draw them. If only the spectacular imagery and emotion could translate from my simple hands.
Good luck! Hopefully you have more patience then I.
-P
Hey it's April now. Where are you? Am I going to have to start thinking up scenarios where you got drunk hanging out with the easter bunny and fell in a hole? :)
Be well.
P
Very nice drawings. You are way ahead of me. Having graduated from an MFA program in art I am embarrassed that I can't draw. Not at all.
My wife and a few friends have an Artist's Way group going and one of the things I finally committed to is to learn to draw. We have the Zen of Seeing book but I opted for the Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain.
I look forward to seeing your progress. (That way I can avoid thinking about my own).
Steve Williams
Theoretical Agriculture
Where did you go?
Katherine
Well, well, well . . . More common ground, Tim. I, too, love to draw, and I share some of your perceptions about seeing and drawing. One of the knacks I have learned is to separate what I "know" and "understand" from what I see . . . For instance, if I am drawing a scene that includes a pergola, I must quiet the part of my mind that understands how a pergola is put together . . . what the dimensions and materials are . . . and simply allow my hands to reproduce what my eyes see . . . And yes, timelessness occurs, and I find myself "in the zone" and completely unaware of my surroundings. There's just me, and the scene I am drawing. It's a wonderful (in a very literal sense) place to be . . .
Cloudfire,
Thanks for your comment and insights.
We are creatures of habit and of generalities.
When we take the generalities as reflective of life and "reality" we ultimately put ourselves in harms way. We certainly lose all potential freshness that comes with seeing with fresh eyes.
There's an old Zen story (old yet they always seem to speak directly and with freshness) that says that the tea cup is most useful precisely because it is empty.
Tim
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