I Left My Ego at the Door

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I know a lot of my fellow artists are using their time to take classes, improve their techniques and hone their skills.  I decided to join their ranks and take a class.  I thought about some different classes I might enjoy, but remembered how important it is to push yourself outside your comfort zone.  So I rejected all the usual classes that I would find easy and decided to take an online college class with SVA (School of Visual Arts in NYC).  This class I’m currently taking is on drawing techniques used by the surrealist painters.   The class is geared for all levels (although there are a lot of MFA’s in my class!).  The professor, Peter Hristoff, is an award winning artist who immigrated to New York from Istanbul, Turkey.  Not only is he a skilled teacher, but I also find him inspirational and a wealth of artistic information.

The structure of the class includes one-minute, two-minute and three-minute timed drawings along with literal and imaginative drawing prompts.  Students produce anywhere between 30-50 drawings in each 2-hour session.   Students get to share their best pieces with the group and in the final class.

I’m finding there is nothing that brings me to stick-figures faster than a 1-minute timed drawing with word prompts like: democracy, justice, silence, honor, unity, war.   Drawing prompts that were simple, such as animals, material items, etc. those were not too hard to think about and draw. The more complex the word, the longer it took me to think about how I would represent the word.  I found out pretty quickly that I’m not a fast thinker.

After the second class, I was pretty discouraged with my horrible stick-figures.  I didn’t think I could go on.  To make matters worse, I spotted a post on social media by a dear friend.  She was taking a class and posting the most fabulous paintings she was creating in her class. 

Heading to the studio for the third class, I thought of how I really have to leave my ego at the door.  I kept an open mind and lowered my standards for myself.  I took a deep breath and sat down to my paper.  After that class, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the drawing that night.  I suppose the change of attitude was a good thing for me.  As I relaxed, I started to feel as if the ideas and images were coming to me a little easier.

As the classes continued, students were encouraged to mix their pictures up, adding images wherever they wanted.  We were given some artist’s names to look up between classes for examples of modern surrealist style art.  I’ve definitely learned a lot!  I still do some stick-figures in the shortest timed prompts but once or twice an evening I make something that might have some potential. 

My last class will be next week and now I don’t want it to end.  By leaving my ego at the door, I’ve accepted my own limitations and can embrace my absurd creativity without judging (at least not too much).   I know this has been a good thing for me to experience.

Have you ever taken on a challenging class?  How did things work out?  I’d love to hear your experiences.

To learn more about SVA: https://sva.edu/

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Drawing from Within

“Making Comics” new book by Lynda Barry

There are a few artists, a few illustrators, and a few musicians that I follow on social media.  Whenever I see an interview, a new song, a new piece of art surface on the internet, I’ve got to check it out.  One of those people is comic artist Lynda Barry.  Last year after she won the MacArthur Fellowship, she was interviewed by NPR (you can read the interview here:

https://www.npr.org/2019/11/27/782921983/cartoonist-lynda-barry-drawing-has-to-come-out-of-your-body).

Her interview was particularly interesting to me because she spoke about young children making  impressive art.  She also refers to how special kids’ drawings can be in her “Making Comics” book.  She spoke about how something happens around the age of 4 or 5 that shuts it all down.  She feels that when children enter school they begin to separate drawing and writing to elevate writing as more important.

Lynda Barry explains that drawings come more from the movement of these children’s hands than from intention and thus their works of art have originality and uniqueness to them.  As children age, they are expected and encouraged to move away from intuitive drawing toward intentional creating.

She explains in the interview that her task as a teacher is to help people overcome their fear and shame in creating and allow the drawing to come out of their bodies.  She states, “The trick is to show them that there’s another kind of drawing that is very different than representational drawing.”

The interview ends with acknowledging goals.  While an artist sometimes has a goal of creating a picture that has a specific look, that doesn’t always happen. Sometimes the resulting drawing is not that important and the real gem is the transformed mood or positive feeling that results from the creative release.  In my opinion, that’s the positive thing about creating – it has the power to transform not only the viewer but also the creator.

Have you ever created something just for the sheer joy of it?

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Three Kinds of Line

Three Kinds of Line

One of the most basic and fundamental exercises in creating art is drawing.  Drawing is simply the act of making an image with a writing utensil.  That could be a stick of charcoal, an ink pen, the tip of a sharp pencil or even a crayon.  Just about every art book I’ve seen starts with a drawing exercise.

The contour line drawing is when you use a long, thin mark that divides an object from the empty space around it and is usually the first thing an artist learns.  In time an artist will learn that line can express emotion, action and suggest volume as well as shape.

In addition to contour line there are two other methods of drawing I’d like to share.  They are linear tension and something called tonal outline.  Both are line but not in the traditional way.  Each produces different visual results that require a little different way of observing the 3-D form.

Here is a photograph of some apples in a bowl.

Photo of apples in a bowl.

Drawing 1: Contour Line

The first drawing (contour line) is done in a traditional way as an observational drawing.  I can measure it by extending a vertical pencil in my hand and compare shapes.  Then I can sketch in lightly, compare the shapes, make adjustments and finish with ink.  Drawing this way includes long contour lines to describe the overall shapes and I can use broken or dotted lines to suggest volume.  It’s a basic way to transcribe.

Drawing 2: Linear tension

The second sketch shows linear tension, which is a cross-contour technique.  Instead of a line circling around the apple shape following the outside edge, I’ve drawn a continuous line that moves back and forth across the form.  I can use this style of drawing to describe volume without shading.  This is more like bas-relief and can sometimes make the subject look like its projecting from the page.

Drawing 3: Tonal outline

The third way I’ve used line here is called tonal outline.  This is when I isolate and fill in shadows or mid-tones.  There will be gaps in the imagery but with imagination, the mind can finish the picture.  In my opinion this way of drawing shapes creates a more abstract and interesting piece of art.

It’s great to have these different ways of conveying form but many artists combine more than one in a drawing.   There are more types of drawing to investigate.  Just a few would include planar analysis drawing, sculpture line drawing, stippling, hatching and scribbled line, which I may write about sometime.  With so many interesting ways to draw, I believe each artist will find their own unique way to express what they see.  What is your favorite way to sketch or draw?  I’d love it if you share with me.

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Art As Communication

Art by Banksy

There are so many forms of communication but my favorite today is storytelling through art.  Art is one of the ways people can connect without using words.  It’s one way to express an idea in a way that’s more universal than speaking.

Although it’s not as important as basic needs, food, water, shelter, and such… communication does fill a need.  For an artist, there is an overwhelming desire to show what they see and feel.  Painting, sculpture, music, dance are all creative arts that connect people.  It’s a great way to express an idea regardless of what language you speak.

Art has three primary functions: for art to change the recipient, for art to change the artist and for its own aesthetic value.

Art is impactful, sometimes providing us with beauty and joy, bringing us peace and at other times it brings us to outrage, anger or fear to push towards transformation or action.  Take a look at Banksy’s art to see an interesting commentary on war, politics, people and compassion. Banksy, the modern graffiti artist, who is sort of a mystery man… he never appears in person.

Artists are storytellers.  Telling the story to the public or to a select group who react to the art.  Art is an open ended language – often left to the viewer’s interpretation. 

For instance, this snapshot tells me specific information – it is conveying captured information. 

Picture of Wisteria from one of my favorite garden catalogs.

This painting, on the other hand, includes subjective information through manipulation of color, light, composition, abstraction. 

Watercolor Painting “Wisteria” by Katie Turner

When comes to writing, poetry can also add meaning to ideas, using different methods to add unique meaning to words.

The only problem that seems to arise from these more creative forms of communication are mis-interpretations.  Sometimes meaning is misconstrued or even vague but still, there is no perfect form of communication – each form and style of communicating has its place and value.

Some folks say art is the ultimate language – the language of images.  Hey, even our dreams at night make use of this visual language!  Images are universal, some timeless and erase language barriers – even those who aren’t artistic can recognize line, shape, color and symbols.  It requires no previous knowledge or personal experience and maybe that is why some people say of a painting “I don’t know, it just speaks to me”…

Communicating through art is one of my deep interests.  My desire is to become a better communicator as well as a better artist! 

Have you thought about how you prefer to communicate?  Do you have a favorite way to communicate with other?  Feel free to share!

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