Tag: drawing

Why Artists Choose Three Rivers, a rerun

Because I just began year 5 of blogging, I decided to repost some of my earlier blogs for my newer readers.

When my art studio was in Exeter and I lived in Lemon Cove, people assumed I lived in Three Rivers. I’m guessing this was because of my occupation of pencil artist. (Given the choices of of towns in Tulare County, this is a reasonable assumption.) Now that I actually do live here and have become a painter, I recognize a multitude of reasons that any artist would want to reside in Three Rivers.

We are surrounded by beauty that takes no effort to see. There are incomparable views from my yard, studio, mailbox, and even from in my neighbor’s pool. The beauty continues as we go to the post office, the Memorial Building, the golf course, or maybe even from the dentist’s office!

Then there is the beauty that might require a little more effort to take in: the North Fork, the South Fork, Kaweah River Drive, and the Salt Creek area of BLM land come to mind. If you are able to walk, there is so much more that becomes visible.

Another great enticement to living in Three Rivers is the shorter drive to Sequoia and to Mineral King. In less than an hour you can be among the big trees and in a little longer than an hour, you can be in a valley that I have heard resembles the Swiss Alps.

Everywhere I look there are subjects to paint. The wildflowers could keep my brush flying for several seasons. The gates alone could occupy my pencils for a year. I could produce an entire series of drawings and paintings simply of loading chutes. Curves in the road, bends in the river, the autumn leaves, light on the rocks, Moro Rock from every possible angle, Alta Peak from every attainable viewpoint, sycamores all around town, the grand oak trees of every variety, the assortment of fence styles – every one of these subjects could be depicted in pencil or paint.

It is true that there is beauty in almost any location if one learns to recognize it. I certainly had plenty of subjects available in my former locations. Now, the accessibility of paintable scenes is almost overwhelming!

The Kaweah Post Office V, oil on wrapped canvas, sold

Fourth Blogiversary

Today, April 16, I begin year #5 of blogging. There are many reasons that I blog. Since lists float my boat, here is the list for you:

1. It is fun. Remember Show-and-Tell in grammar school? For some kids it was a chore (and a chore for the rest of us to listen). For others, it was the highlight of their day. I tried to only participate if there was something I was really excited about. That is how I feel about blogging. Every day!

2. It keeps me accountable. Ever tried to work alone, day after day, week after week for 19 years? How did that turn out? Unh-hunh. You HAVE to show someone. You HAVE to tell someone your progress. (Pity my UPS driver and the mailman!) The blog takes out some of the party-of-one-ness and forces me to produce even when the distractions are oh so very inviting.

3. It gives my work credibility. Published, even if it is online and even if it is self-published, is public. If it is worth putting Out There, it is Real. It counts. (Remember Steve Martin getting all excited about seeing his name in the phone book? It is sort of like that.)

4. It provides a record of my work. (No, I don’t want to keep a journal. The more stuff I own, the more stuff I lose.)

5. It allows me to connect with those who like my work. They can tell me what they think, and I can learn from them. “They”? Who is this “they”? It is YOU!

6. It is a bit like an online brochure, continually being updated, always available. That is a business thing, or perhaps a marketing thing.

7. I am building a platform. Doesn’t that sound fun? No hammer and nails required. It has to do with developing followers so that when I have something to share, there are people to participate.

That is why I blog. I’d love to hear why you read it. Not so I can gather compliments, but so I can learn what is interesting to you and what I should skip!

Completed pencil drawing for upcoming book The Cabins of Wilsonia

drawing pencil drawing

Product or Process

In knitting, there are regular discussions about whether one is a product knitter or a process knitter. This is in reference to one’s motivation – is it the journey that you enjoy, or is it the destination?

When it comes to drawing, I am both a process and a product artist. The pencil feels like an extension of my hand which is an extension of my eye and my brain.This makes it immensely satisfying to build a drawing.

In addition to enjoying the journey, it is always a thrill to see the finished piece. Getting to my destination never loses its buzz. My latest drawing is usually my favorite.

(Painting is a completely different story, and in the interest of not going into a navel-gazing session here on the blog, we’ll just stick to drawing for now. You’re welcome.)

Seems to me that in order to finish a project, you have to want the product AND enjoy the process. One without the other equals more unfinished stuff, or UFOs, as knitters call them. (Un Finished Objects)

Finished pencil drawing for the upcoming book The Cabins of Wilsonia

commission pencil work drawing Wilsonia

Drawing Tools

Hmmm, that could mean “creating a picture of tools using a pencil”. It doesn’t. It means this blog post is going to explain to you some tools used in drawing. I probably used all the techniques (except the last one) in this drawing called “Release”.

An eraser shouldn’t need explaining. It erases; you get that! But, did you know an eraser can do these things too:

It can draw. (yup, it can draw light things onto dark spaces)
It can soften hard edges. (especially helpful if you need to add on to something)
It can smear things that were too specific.
It can create hard edges.

An erasing shield looks like a 2×3″ metal template. It is used by architects and engineers to isolate small parts in order to erase only them and not their neighbors. (so called “friendly fire”). But it can be used for these things too:

It can serve as a block to shade right up to a straight edge.
It can act as a template.
It can provide a shield so that you can create a hard edge with your eraser.

Now that I give it thought, a pencil can do more than just draw or write.

It can shade (duh!)
It can smooth out previous shading
It can make an impressed line (meaning scratched into the paper so it doesn’t take any more color)
It can scratch an itch in your ear (not recommended)

And thus we conclude another free drawing lesson.

Can you think of any other uses for these tools?

drawing drawing lessons

More Drawing Lessons

On Tuesdays, I teach people how to draw. You can read a bit more about it here on my website.

I love to help people draw in pencil. The only people who haven’t learned are the ones who quit too soon. Why did they quit? Because it wasn’t instant. or it was too hard, or it wasn’t what they really wanted to learn.

Nothing worth learning is done well without practice.

Actually, I can’t think of anything that can be done right the first time. Malcolm Gladwell says in his book Outliers that it takes about 10,000 hours of practice to become an expert. He is talking about intentional focused practice, with the purpose of improving rather than mindless repeating.

Jennifer has been drawing since she was a little girl. I don’t think she had any specific instruction, just some practice, some natural talent, and lots of desire. She is careful, and listens well to directions. This is her first drawing with me, and it is almost finished.

The photocopies are so that she could try various methods of drawing the mane. I showed her one, and she tried it. She thought of another, and tried that. Suddenly, she got it, she was ready, and now her horse is finished!

Great work, Jennifo! (please excuse the inside joke)

drawing drawing lessons pencil drawing

3 Little Known Factors that Could Affect Your Ability to Draw

Pencil drawing from the upcoming book The Cabins of Wilsonia

I have a theory about people who draw. It is based on teaching people how to draw since 1994. In addition to teaching people how to draw, I draw myself. (Oh? You didn’t know that about me?) I have also spoken to many people who draw for fun and those who draw for profit.

If you have the following three qualities, I believe you might be able to really draw well:

Perfectionistic tendencies
Nearsightedness
Lefthandedness

None of these things are necessary, but each one has its strength.

Perfectionism

Perfectionists seem to do well with the finicky detailed nature of pencil drawing. Detail is hugely important in drawing well. So are values (the lights and darks), composition, hard edges and soft edges in the appropriate places. And proportion – oh my goodness – gotta get those shapes and sizes right. Getting the idea yet? There are many things that have to be Just Right in drawing, because there is no color to distract.

I am not a perfectionist and have to work hard to remember to stop the “get-er’dun” tendencies. It is fun to finish things. It isn’t fun to think I am finished and have to return to fix something.

Nearsightedness

If you are nearsighted, you are more tuned in to detail. Sometimes it is all a myopic person can see! I think of it as an asset for a pencil artist. (Glass is always half full!)

Up until a few years ago (ahem) I was able to put my nose a few inches from a pair of ants playing checkers and know who was winning. (What? You’ve never seen ants play checkers?) I might still be able to do this if I pop out my contact lenses. Now, with the contacts, I have to wear old-people-sit-on-your-nose magnifiers. Sometimes they aren’t strong enough. And have you noticed that all the lights are dimmer than they used to be?

Left-handedness

There is a connection between the left hand and the right side of the brain. (There is a book about it called Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, by Betty Edwards.) The right side understands the non-verbal things in life such as proportions, perspective, and values. The theory is that left handed folks are right-brain dominant and thus more naturally equipped for tasks such as drawing.

I am right handed. Oh-oh, I can hear you wondering how I could possibly be an artist with 2 strikes against me. Here is the answer: I am left-eyed. A dominant left-eye is almost as good as a dominant left hand. (Phew, had you worried there, didn’t I?)

If you don’t have a single one of these three qualities but you want to learn how to draw, I can still teach you how.

The only people who haven’t learned to draw from me are the ones who quit too soon!

drawing drawing lessons pencil drawing Wilsonia

A Drawing Success Story

I have a favorite customer named Bob. In Artspeak, he would be referred to as a “collector”. (I try to avoid Artspeak in this blog, because I think it is read by more normal folks than those who use Artspeak.)

Bob has a wonderful wife, with whom I have been acquainted since 1973. Really! She began taking drawing lessons from me last fall, and was just sure she would be the exception to my assertion that I can teach anyone to draw. Bob was also sure she would prove me wrong.

Mrs. Bob worked her way through the beginning exercises. She did well. She likes to get an A on her work, so in spite of the fact that drawing lessons come with no homework, no grades, no tests and no deadlines, I happily gave her As. She earned them, too!

When it was time to start, she chose a hairy dog. It scared her a bit. (No, it didn’t bite her!) All my reassurances that it was only paper and we could erase didn’t help.

I realized that she needed a subject that meant less to her. Many of my beginning students have found it easier to draw old wood than anything else, so I found a photo of a window on an old shed wall.

Bob My Favorite Customer occasionally asked Mrs. Bob about her progress. He wasn’t encouraging. He is still My Favorite Customer. They are still married.

Mrs. Bob was very determined, and we slowly worked through many of the techniques that a good pencil drawing requires. She stopped showing Bob her progress, and he stopped asking.

Bob’s birthday was a week ago. Mrs. Bob presented him with this:

Want to know what Bob said?

“Who drew this??”

Isn’t that just the best ever drawing lessons story?? 😎

Here is a closer version, and it really looks better than it photographed while under glass.

Texture, depth, contrast, detail, and precision – WOW! Congratulations, Mrs. Bob!

drawing drawing lessons pencil drawing

Wise Up

I regularly read Michael Hyatt‘s blog. He addresses many topics, and words fail me when trying to describe his blog. Business? Publishing? Marketing? Being a better human? Life? All of the above!
Recently he wrote on the difference between a wise person and a foolish one. The definition of being wise came down to 3 things:

Listens without being defensive.
Accepts responsibility without blame.
Changes without delay.

It occurred to me that in my quest to be a better artist, this is my method to learn and improve. I show my drawings to my students or friends and ask them to tell me honestly what they think. If they are new to the process of drawing and critiquing, they are a bit reluctant to speak the truth. If they have known me awhile, they just let it fly without fear!

I appreciate the honesty so much. I depend on their unbiased opinions, their innate good sense, their experience, their wisdom.

Then, I usually follow their suggestions.

This is not to toot my own horn about my great wisdom. We are all wise in some areas and foolish in others. I’d be foolish to think myself capable of producing my best work without input. I just wanted to share my method of processing feedback in order to improve.

Here is a recent example of a piece that got some great feedback from my students. I listened, I accepted, I changed.

drawing pencil drawing

Is The Fat Lady Singing?

Not yet. Looks finished. It isn’t. It will stay in the studio for awhile so I can evaluate it, refine it, spend some time adding a few more layers, emphasizing the contrast, darkening the darks, and finally, taking a decent photo.

commission pencil work drawing pencil drawing