You Don’t Have to Draw to be an Artist…

But it helps.  In college I noticed that there was more emphasis put on artist statements and performance art than on more old-fashioned skills like drawing and color theory.  I think that is a loss to students and makes becoming an artist more difficult.  Being able to draw accurately gives one the freedom of structure. There is freedom in accepting limits.  To purposely limit oneself is not an idea that modern society promotes, but is a timeless principle.   

 A quick charcoal sketch I did several years ago to see if my painting idea would work.  I actually like the sketch better than the painting.

I like to compare it to a sonnet.  There are rules for the structure that makes a poetic effort a sonnet.  As long as you stick to those rules, you are free to say whatever you want to say.  You can make your point clear or more obscure as long as you keep the structure in a sonnet form.  It’s the same when I draw out a painting.  I can still choose whatever colors I want, how many details to include or where to put contrasts and, as long as I stick with the chosen structure- the drawing- it will still be what I designed it to be. 

Another quick sketch to see if I liked an idea enough to paint it.  It doesn't have to be wonderful to be useful.

To keep my skills honed and ready, I find I have to practice regularly.  It’s not enough to learn it, check it off the list and move on to other, more exciting things.  It has to be kept up to date and used often to stay accessible.  For me it’s easy to get caught up in the idea that it has to be a great drawing.  Silly me.  Any old piece of paper, of any old subject, in any old place will do the trick.  Keeping the hand and eye in sync is the goal.

Done on light weight sketch paper, this colored drawing still makes me happy.  Wish I could figure out how to work this loose more often! I think using junk paper made it more fun to do, too.  

So, tonight I am working away on the next painting, thinking about how glad I am to be able to draw this complex thing out- and getting my exercise in the process. 

Thanks for stopping by! Alice