Reasons to Learn to Draw

#13 in the series “Thoughtful Thursdays”

Reasons to Learn to Draw

Drawing is a skill that can be both taught and learned. If you compare it to typing, this makes sense: some people top out at 25 words per minute and others can become as fast as 90 words per minute. All are indisputably typing.

Why should a person learn to draw? Back in the “olden days”, it was considered a necessary life skill and was a regular subject in school. Now that we have easy and accessible photography and even easier and accessible internet, drawing has fallen into the categories of hobby or talent. Why draw if you can take a photo?

A few years ago there was a retired gentleman in Three Rivers who had trouble filling his days. We became acquainted at various art shows, and we would discuss drawing. After several conversations, he approached me and asked, “Do you really think you could teach me how to draw?” I responded in the affirmative and asked him why he wanted to learn. His answer still cracks me up: “I don’t really care about art; I just want to meet women!”

Besides the social aspect of taking drawing lessons with a small group, drawing helps us to look carefully at the places and items in our lives. It teaches how to see what is really in front of us, not what we assume is there, or think we see. A number of my drawing students have told me that after a few weeks of lessons, they begin to observe the world around them differently. Details, light and shadow, shapes, and ideas for drawings are all suddenly visible as never before.

Some people choose to take drawing lessons out of curiosity. They’ve heard me say I can teach anyone how to draw, with the qualifier that he can listen to instructions. These folks wonder if they are the exceptions and decide to just give it a try. The only ones who haven’t learned are those who quit too soon!

Other students come to me because they are painters who are dissatisfied with their paintings. Still others want to become painters and they know that drawing comes before painting. By learning to draw in pencil, a person will learn to see shapes, proportions,  perspective, and learn about values. Values are the darks and the lights, and without them, a picture gets described as being “flat”.

Several people have asked me for help because at some time in their past an art teacher crushed their spirits. If someone thinks he might have an artistic bent and his work is thoughtlessly dismissed, it can really damage his confidence. I have spent time listening to people’s stories, looking at their work, showing them new ways to do things, and watching them blossom into people who can draw.

Some of my drawing students draw better than I do! Although I thoroughly enjoy the time together, I ask them why they think they still need lessons. The answer is usually that if they haven’t reserved a spot in their week specifically for drawing, they won’t ever draw at all in spite of good intentions.

The man who just wanted to meet women did make some friends, and before he succumbed to cancer, he completed 2 beautiful pencil drawings. He just kept repeating, “I can’t believe I did this!” Rejoicing with him over his accomplishments is one of my happiest memories in all the years of teaching private drawing lessons.

What you want to see

After I got over the thrill of drawing what was really in front of my eyes, I began to want to make better pictures. Real life is messy; artists get to clean it up. It takes practice to draw what isn’t really there, to make up a tree that you didn’t see, to show the edge of the porch that was previously hidden, to work from multiple photos taken from slightly different angles. It is almost impossible to work from photos taken at different times of day from different distances and at different angles. This often requires the skill of a mind reader, and I have learned to say no to some of these requests. But to a certain degree, I can create what we prefer was there.

When someone asks me to draw a house and provides a perfect photo, I have been known to ask why they want a drawing when the photo says it all. The answer is usually that pencil is so beautiful. This is a thrill to my little pencil-loving heart!

Here is the main photo of Farewell Gap again:

Here is a painting in which I scooted things ever so slightly to suit myself.

If you are standing on the bridge at the end of the road in Mineral King, you are probably just in awe of the view. Your brain knows there is a stream underfoot, a cabin sort of close, and Farewell Gap in the distance. Not very many people outside of careful photographers ever realize that there is no place to stand where all three line up for a complete photo! So, when I draw or paint this scene now, I make the necessary adjustments. Until this blog posting, I have never admitted such treachery and deception in recordable form!

And here it is in pencil from 2005 when I really started becoming bold about deceiving the world! (yes, I exaggerate to make a point – try not to get all worked up here!)

What You Really See

As we learn to put on paper what we really see instead of our symbols, it is shocking to learn how much is really there and how it is really shaped or sized. Drawing upside down is one tool; tracing the basic elements and only looking at the tracing instead of the photo is another tool. Another way to simplify what is in front of our eyes is to squint, and the detail fades.

You saw an example of Farewell Gap as it was interpreted by someone who didn’t see or chose to ignore reality. Here is a drawing I did of Farewell Gap a long time ago when I was still bound to photos. It was such a thrill to put on paper exactly what I saw that I didn’t have any interest in editing or creating. I was lost in the joy of “I CAN DO THIS!”

This is not the actual photo from which I worked – 1994 is too long ago for me to be able to put my hands on that exact piece of paper! However, here is the photo of Farewell Gap for comparison purposes:

What we think we see

When we are beginning to make art, we depend on symbols more than visual information. The symbols come from our memory, from what we know. The visual information comes from what is in front of our eyes, regardless of what we know. You may know that a table has a round top, but what your eyes are telling you is that it looks like an oval. How can this be?? What do I trust? It takes a leap of faith to ignore what is in your mind and draw what is in front of your eyes. The first time someone tries this and it looks “real! it looks like a photo! I can draw!”, it is a thrill!

At the risk of annoying or offending (always a risk – why are folks so spring-loaded these days??), I want you to see a mural in downtown Visalia. I don’t know who painted it and I don’t know their instructions. I also don’t know their intentions. What I do know is it appears to sort of be Farewell Gap, sort of, maybe, kind of. This is an example of someone looking at a photo and painting from symbols in their heads. Those of you who are spring-loaded in the defensive position may be thinking that the artist(s) were being creative, not bound to the photo, and simply expressing themselves with a derivative work, using the photo for reference, et cetera. That’s fine, but I am trying to show examples here, and this fits, so just take a deep breath and try to follow along.

For comparison, here again is the photograph of Farewell Gap:

Three ways of interpreting

This will be a four parter, and thank you to Bill T. a workshop participant for the idea!

There are 3 ways of seeing when one is making 2 dimensional art. “Interpreting” might be a more accurate term here.

1. What we think we see – When we are children, or when we are untrained adults, we tend to put on paper what we think we see. For example, it is a table, we know it is a table, it has a rectangle and 4 sticks for legs, what is the problem?? The problem is the lack of realism, depth, perspective, proportion and believability. This isn’t a problem if you are 5 years old, but when you begin to understand more of life, it is highly discouraging to realize that your drawing isn’t as great as your Grandma thought.

2. What we really see – As we learn what is really in front of us visually, our work becomes more realistic. We can see distance, and things make sense. One of the tools for achieving this type of accuracy is the simple step of working upside down. No, I don’t mean standing on your head – this doesn’t work for plein air! Turn both your photo and your drawing upside down and the result will first be confusion. Then, your brain will shift into its right-seeing mode (right in both senses of the word), and your shapes will become proportioned correctly.

3. What we wish we could see – One day, we realize that real life isn’t all that grand to look at. Wouldn’t it all look better if we could just edit out the telephone lines, the power poles, the scruffy branches and the garbage cans? In fact, what if we could scoot that mountain over a bit (even without the faith of a mustard seed!) and perhaps reroute that stream? As our skills and confidence grow, we realize we can! “I’m fifty-one and I can do whatever I want! Besides, it’s MY picture!” This obviously has a few shortcomings – there are times when reality has to be recorded, but it is good to recognize the times that we as artists get to do our own arranging.

In conclusion to this introductory explanation, have a look at this photo of Farewell Gap. It will be the basis for illustrating the 3 ways of interpreting what we see.

Demonstration and Workshop

On February 25 and 26, I will be giving a demonstration and workshop in Porterville for their very active art association. There is still space if you’d like to register. The cost is $30 for members of the P’ville Art Assn. and $35 for non-members. I may have mentioned a time or two that I love to draw, and pencil drawing will be the subject of the events.

Everyone likes a freebie – door prize, raffle prize, pick-a-prize, silent auction, live auction, buy-one-get-one-free. (I like free stuff too, particularly consumables, specifically dark chocolate.) This is what I am donating to the Porterville Art Association – not sure how they will turn it into a freebie. Guess we will all have to attend!

First Things First

Second in a series called “Thoughtful Thursdays”

Living in a beautiful place often inspires people to create art. Lots of people get the yen to paint, often when retired. (Sometimes I have to bite my tongue to keep from saying, “Oh yeah? I think I’ll try practicing law when I retire!”) Most don’t understand that drawing comes before painting, sort of like grunting and pointing comes before public speaking.

A painting without drawing skills behind it is usually a weak piece of art. By “weak”,  I mean weird shapes, bizarre perspective, and lacking in contrast. Unless one can see proportions, perspective and understand values  and composition, the resulting paintings will most likely be exercises in frustration. Throw in color, paint consistency and brush behavior, and you get a recipe for visual chaos. (Of course, if one is more process than product oriented, poor paintings may not be considered a problem.)

Drawing is a skill that can be taught, learned, and developed through repetitious practice. I have been teaching people how to draw for 17 years and always tell beginning students “drawing is a skill, not a talent”. It is like typing – everyone can learn to type. Some type 25 words per minute, and others hit 90. Those speedsters are the ones with talent, but all are typists.

Despite knowing the proper sequence of skills, I do understand the desire to just dive in! When I was learning to knit, my attitude was “Scarves? We don’t need no stinkin’ scarves!!” My first project was a sweater, and not just a simple pullover but a cardigan, complete with button bands and button holes! Needless to say, I own many weird sweaters, and, after almost 6 years of knitting, quite a few good ones too. So, it is probably possible learn to paint without first drawing, if one is learning from mistakes in the process rather than just cementing bad practices. Of course one must also be willing to have a collection of weird paintings!

Musicians, particularly pianists, have to practice like crazy. They play lots and lots of scales, repetitious exercises, picking apart songs line by line, phrase by phrase, note by note. Artists sometimes forget to practice and treat each new piece as if it were the performance of a lifetime, or thinking in athletic terms, an Olympic event. Practice, practice, practice. This is how you learn to draw and to cement those skills of proportion, perspective, value and composition.

The drawing above was done when I was competent in my drawing skills. This painting was my first attempt at the same subject  when I was brand new to oils (try to be polite!):

Here it is again after 3 years of practice with oils (and I’m sure it will look hideous to me in another 3 years!):

It is all speckled because I photographed it wet in bright sunlight and the sun reflected off the texture of the canvas. Photography is another skill that requires training and practice!

Learning to draw, Chapter Twenty-One

I have a drawing student who has been very diligently working at her skills for perhaps 10 years. When we first met, my classes were full and the waiting list had 70 or 80 names on it. Her desire to learn was so strong that she asked me to recommend a book to her. As always, Betty Edwards’ Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain was my only and best idea. She bought it, worked through the exercises, and when space in my classes became available, it was apparent she really didn’t need drawing lessons from me! She disagrees with that analysis, but have a look at her work:

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Today’s drawing tip is this: practice, practice, practice!

Learning to draw, Chapter Nineteen

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A black and white copy helps see the values; a color photo has better detail.  The order of difficulty in drawing from easiest to hardest is this:  1. other people’s drawings 2. black and white photos 3. color photos 4. real life. When using other people’s drawings, all the decisions about texture and value have been made. A black and white photo has all the value decisions right there for you. A color photo requires decisions about texture and value, but it is still a 2-dimensional image. Real life won’t hold still, doesn’t have any boundaries, is full color and changes each time you slouch a little lower!

Learning to draw, Chapter Eighteen

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When drawing a portrait, the most important part is the eyes. If the person isn’t recognizable from the eyes, there is more work to be done. John Singer Sargent was probably the best portrait artist from the USA (turn of the last century). He said “A portrait is a painting with something wrong with the mouth”.  Apparently, one can have the mouth a little bit off, but my experience is that the eyes must be accurate. Then, if your subject is eating watermelon, the rest is a cake walk! (sorry – i think it is dinnertime at the time of this writing)