Fourth Drawing Class

Let's just say that it did not go well. Part of the reason was me. It's been a tough week with several different family-related issues.  

Aside from that over the four classes, I felt little to no joy during any of the class sessions. Generally when I am learning, I am happy. I didn't get that with this class. As an adult learner taking a beginning class, that was a big disappointment.

Yesterday's Painting

It's a cat (of course).

Sketching Out In The World

Last night, I went to see Flower Drum Song at the Park Square Theater. This was a co-production with Mu Performing Arts. It was a very well-done. In the five minutes or so before the show started, I did a very quick and very rough sketch of several patrons sitting several rows in front of me. While I still feel self conscious, it also felt very good and a tiny bit more normal to sketch in public.

I couldn't figure out the stage versus the curtain. I enjoy hair. I enjoy the backs of people's heads. Some day, I'll start to try faces.

Having to sketch quickly is a good exercise in learning which details matter and which do not.

You Can Learn

Several days ago, I got together with a friend to hang out. At one point, she had to do a little work, so I kept myself amused by grabbing paper and a pen and sketching simple objects near me. I like that this is becoming a natural way to fill in those little pockets of time that come up. Knitting is my other go-to activity. Yes, I also pick up my phone and look at FB and look at Instagram more than I should.

When she was done with her work stuff, our conversation turned to drawing and her comment was along the lines of either she can't draw or she couldn't learn to draw. I hope that I wasn't too obnoxious or preachy in my reply, which mostly was that anyone can learn to draw.  You just need to try and you need to practice. If you keep at it, you will improve. If someone is not interested in learning to draw or paint, that's fine by me. What's sad is seeing people psych themselves out before they even try. If I can learn to draw, anyone can.

I went to an open studio night at Kat's last night and met a woman who teaches music. We talked about the oddness that people understand that they aren't going to sit down at a piano and just start playing, but somehow that same level of logic doesn't carry over to drawing.  She also mentioned several recent music students. The first one had natural talent, but did not practice.  The second one lacked natural talent, but practiced regularly. After a certain period of time, the second person's skill surpassed the first person's.

Enough preaching.

I haven't been painting much recently. That changed, yesterday. I got together with a different friend and we painted at my house and later went to Kat's studio. I am rusty. It shows. I will keep practicing.

I had a lot of trouble with the eyes.  At some point, I gave up.

I would like to play with adding color to some of my sketches using watercolor and a water brush. Right before we had dinner, I did a quick sketch and painting of the parrot that I keep painting. I have no clue about what I'm doing with watercolor, but it's fun, anyway. 

I worked on this at Kat's. Overall, blah, although I do like the eyes.

End Of The Kitchen Drawing Challenge

A little over 30 days ago, I created my own drawing challenge. This helped me solve two problems. The first one was time. Life has been busy, which sometimes made it hard to find the time to make art. The second problem was that I wanted to sketch, but would get reluctant or shy about it. As a result, I challenged myself to draw / sketch something in my kitchen every day for 30 days. With a few exceptions, it turned out to be mostly consecutive days.  It started with the stand mixer and it ends with the stand mixer.

Day 30 - stand mixer

Over these 30 kitchen drawings, I learned to see better. I'm starting to notice how parts of things relate to other parts of things in a way that I never did before. These drawings were done without a viewfinder, so it was the first time I've ever had to figure out what dimensions or proportions matter. One day, I remember drawing one of my Bee House teapots several times. While focusing on some of the important dimensions, I missed the importance of addressing the overall height versus the width. Although something was clearly off,  it took a bit for me to see that.

I worked on trying to make marks and lines in different ways with my pen. I tried trying organic objects like broccoli versus other objects with defined shapes. I also grew my appreciation of how beautiful a simple line can be. Several times (mostly with cats) I'd start a drawing with a really good strong, initial line and it almost felt like I could stop at that moment. It felt like I had "said" everything that I had to "say" about that object with one simple line. I always continued on. Sometimes, that was good. Sometimes, it would have been better to leave the one line alone.

I'm not sure what's next. I don't think that I want to "declare" another 30 day drawing challenge. Instead, I think I'll continue to try and sketch something every day and do a periodic summary blog post. If I get off track, I'll go back to a 30 day commitment to keep the habit going. That's been the other benefit. If I keep up the habit, my drawing skills will improve. It might not happen every day and it might not happen with every drawing, but it will happen overall. Also, it makes me less reluctant to sketch, when a good opportunity presents itself.

At the same time, I have to get back to painting. I miss it and I've gotten rusty. I finally did some painting today and will try and post about it tomorrow.  

Recap 7 - Kitchen Item Drawing Challenge

It's the last recap. I'm back to visiting some items that I've enjoyed drawing this past month.

Day 27 - broccoli

I also revisited the rice cooker. The dimensions on this version are much truer than the first time that I tried.

Day 28 - rice cooker

The teapot was worthy of drawing, again. Although, the earlier versions were better. .

Day 29 - teapot

Right after I drew it, one of the cats shifted into one of those languid poses they do so well, so I did a quick drawing of her. I'm thinking about what to do next. This 30 day challenge has been good for getting me to draw something every day. While I really, really, really miss painting and need to carve time out for it, I know that I can carve out 10 minutes or so each day to draw. For my next "series" of drawings, cats would be an obvious choice. Although, I found myself looking at the shoes and boots in my kitchen and may have to do a week of those.

Day 29 - bonus cat

I Drew A Person

Tonight, I went to see a friend of mine in a flute concert at the Ordway. While I was waiting to meet a different friend, I pulled out my new 4" x 6" sketchbook, that fits in my purse, and quickly drew a person. Although, I wish I would have had a few more minutes to add details, perhaps it was better not too. It kept me from getting lost in too many fussy details.

I felt ridiculously self-conscious. Plus, I've been afraid to draw an entire person, but I did it. I drew a person!

Next weekend, I'll be at a juggling festival, so there will be lots of opportunities to work on drawing people.