Mostly finished with my little boat. I’ll tweak it out at the end.
DRAWING LESSON 2
When working with graphite, any black and white image, all colors become shades of white, grey, and black.
In black and white photography, professional photographers and makeup artists use these four colors: black, white, brown, and red. With these four colors they can manipulate an image to be darker, lighter, taller, shorter, thinner, thicker, enhance, dilute, set a mood, etc., graphite artists use the same methods. - Technically photographers use OUR methods.
We draw images on paper underneath a pretend sun, a make believe moon, imaginary stars, the illuminations of a world we individually create. If you can see it in your mind, you can draw it. If you can see it directly in front of you, you can put it on paper in your own way. The reason why people think they can’t draw is because they don’t know how to focus, followed by unfortunate lack of dedication.
All images start with basic shapes. Lines. Circles. Squares. Rectangles. Diamond. Hourglass. When I outline a drawing like the one I’m working on now it was just shapes on paper. Only I know what those shapes will later become.
The human eye is an amazing lens. It’s both panoramic and peripheral at the same time. Without focus it’s easy to get overwhelmed and quit drawing before you begin. That’s why it’s important to focus on your subject, in the beginning one subject at a time, truly observe it. A tree. A bird. Whiskers on a cat. A book. A glass. One item at a time. Only then will you understand the relationship from one subject to the next. A string of pearls. A window. A table. A piece of fruit.
One drawing a day of one item. One item and nothing else. That one item in its raw basic image. It’s shape. It’s shadow. It’s light. It’s dimensions. It’s textures. Truly look at the foundation of the subject you’re drawing. Just look at it for a while. Observe it’s lines. Don’t worry about detail. Detail always comes later. In doing this lesson, you’ll learn what subjects you enjoy drawing. Place that subject in front of a window and draw it at different times of the day.
At least one drawing a day. One subject at a time.
When you discover those things you really enjoy drawing, draw it a hundred times over, in a hundred different ways. Example, I love drawing plants and trees. Wood in general. Bridges. Ladders. Cabins. Sailboats. It reminds me of home. It reminds me of my childhood. Not necessarily the subject itself but rather the mood, the feeling.
Not everyone will get what you’re drawing. Not everyone will see what you saw. It can be bothersome. But the sooner you learn to not let it bother you too much, the better. After all, maybe your vision of that half full glass of water on a table reminds them of something else, of someone else, something personal. They don’t have to love your drawing for the same reasons you do.
Now go draw. Practice practice practice!
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