Art Thread

[spinningmytires]

I made a twig doll yesterday.
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Very interesting use of materials, colors, shapes and textures! This clearly illustrates the limitations we experience when creating using only paint or pen on a 2-dimensional canvas or paper surface.

 

[spinningmytires]

I drew these two charcoal drawings about 40 years ago from a posed life-model.

From about age 18 to more recent years, my life drawing skills really haven't improved all that much beyond developing stronger, bolder and freer line-making.

On the other-hand, the artworks that I've drawn using only my imagination without any visible reference have greatly improved over the years. Drawing entirely from my imagination is often much more demanding than when drawing from what's been placed in front of me.

 

[Friday]

Drawing entirely from my imagination is often much more demanding than when drawing from what's been placed in front of me.

Imagination is 360 degrees… from life, the light & shadow is fixed.

From about age 18 to more recent years, my life drawing skills really haven't improved all that much beyond developing stronger, bolder and freer line-making.

Try drawing WITHOUT lines. Any lines. At least 200-500 sketches. Pure light and shadow. If you start to freak out, mentally? Do some in pointalism, like old newsprint. Light and shadow alone create tremendously strong lines, all on their lonesome.

Then add lines back in… and prepare to be blown away.

 

[spinningmytires]

Imagination is 360 degrees… from life, the light & shadow is fixed.


Try drawing WITHOUT lines. Any lines. At least 200-500 sketches. Pure light and shadow. If you start to freak out, mentally? Do some in pointalism, like old newsprint. Light and shadow alone create tremendously strong lines, all on their lonesome.

Then add lines back in… and prepare to be blown away.

When I’m drawing a very structured object, such as, a human head or complex animal structure, such as a horse, even when drawn entirely from my imagination, I will often begin with a few light guide lines. This helps me to establish the object’s general perspective, size and placement on the paper. Then I’ll often tentatively begin to lightly lay-in the shadow shapes - sometimes using the side of a charcoal stick, if not, a series of hatch-lines. But these lines I use for structured objects. For freer works I would prefer to start with tone.

The key difficulty I’ve had when drawing shadows and light from my imagination has been in finding the terminator edge, which is basically the division between the lit-side and shadow-side of the form. Without this division the form will appear flat, ‘child like’ and lacking in 3-dimensional effect.

The problem for me is that, the imagined imagery within my mind always seems to be lacking any recognizable division between this lit-side and shadow-side of the form. My mind will simply ignore both the light and shadow patterns, as well, as the light source itself.

Perhaps, my difficulty in finding the terminator edge has something to do with the principles of Gestalt. My mind might be ignoring this splitting of the object’s light and shadow pattern while, at the same time, trying to fill-in the darkened obscure areas with more recognizable imaginary. In other words, my subconscious might be omitting this division of light and shadow in an effort to more clearly visualize this imaginary object in its entirety.

I’ve noticed that I have very little difficulty finding the terminators when working from a life-model - as you’ve mentioned earlier, these light and shadow patterns are ‘fixed’ and already determined for me.

In my past, some people had mistakenly assumed that, I could create an imaginary image in my mind and then, simply copy it to my paper. In no way could I ever do this, as these images are continually changing. If anything is stable and consistent it is only what’s already be applied to my paper.

I will often begin an imaginary artwork with no idea of what the objects will become - and here, I agree, the best approach would be to begin with variations of tone rather than line. With toned shapes and smudges on the paper, I will usually begin to see it as resembling something. Then I'll begin to clarify what I'm imagining is already there.

Using toned paper with charcoal or pencil for the shadow areas, and a white chalk or white pencil fir the highlights is a good start. The paper itself then served as the mid-tone or half-tone. Conte crayons are a nice alternative.

During my early 20’s, drawing intuitively like this would greatly provoke my anxieties. I would actually become physical ill and have to quit. However, during that same time, I would be able to draw from photographs without the anxiety.

Line is interesting in that, it’s only an invention that doesn’t exist in reality yet, is extremely useful in visual thinking. The skill is in making all of these visual elements work together.

I sometimes enjoy using my imagination beyond my artwork. For example, earlier this summer, I was cutting down a small tree in my backyard which, when only partially removed resembled a figurine of a tall, thin man wearing a yellow straw hat with dark clothing with his arms extended outward, as if, he were feeding the birds. I enjoying imagining this scenario for several days before I had to finish my tree cutting removal. Little imaginary pleasures, like this, seem to help me with my depression.

 

[Friday]

Line is interesting in that, it’s only an invention that doesn’t exist in reality yet, is extremely useful in visual thinking. The skill is in making all of these visual elements work together.

<grin> Yep! I remember, so distinctly, as a child… needing to ask “what” I was looking at (we moved countries a lot, so things like mailboxes & stop signs & curbs & all kinds of everyday things looked RADICALLY different)… and when answered? POOF! The shape “appeared” / I could distinguish what I was looking at. The lines we draw AROUND objects? Are a mental byproduct of knowing what something is supposed to be. LSD radically disrupts this process, as well as the mental filter of ignoring things that don’t matter (like air currents, etc., although we can still see dust mites on sunbeams when we look, with LSD all of the filtered out info floods into conscious awareness). Which is a huge part of why so many artists -before it was illegal, nearly all, some after- took it to change their ability to see.

Pure line-work, like Picasso’s cats, is also a fun thing to do… but since you said you had strong line work? A full notebook of nothing but light & shadow will produce WOWZA end results when you add lines back in.

 

[spinningmytires]

<grin> Yep! I remember, so distinctly, as a child… needing to ask “what” I was looking at (we moved countries a lot, so things like mailboxes & stop signs & curbs & all kinds of everyday things looked RADICALLY different)… and when answered? POOF! The shape “appeared” / I could distinguish what I was looking at. The lines we draw AROUND objects? Are a mental byproduct of knowing what something is supposed to be. LSD radically disrupts this process, as well as the mental filter of ignoring things that don’t matter (like air currents, etc., although we can still see dust mites on sunbeams when we look, with LSD all of the filtered out info floods into conscious awareness). Which is a huge part of why so many artists -before it was illegal, nearly all, some after- took it to change their ability to see.

Pure line-work, like Picasso’s cats, is also a fun thing to do… but since you said you had strong line work? A full notebook of nothing but light & shadow will produce WOWZA end results when you add lines back in.

Picasso was a master of division using line! He also recognized the dynamics of negative space while many artists tend to ignore it. When there's no awareness of this negative space there's likely a weak composition.

A drawing composed of only descriptive line would likely be unreadable to a young child. I suspect that my very first drawings were merely scribbled crayon colored masses on paper, as I was then lacking in hand/ arm coordination and abstract thought to draw objects any other way. The progressive stages of childhood drawing are interesting. I just think we often fail to develop our visual perceptions beyond their day to day usefulness. Those who confront this very limited utilitarian way of seeing the world are often known as artists.

I’ve never used any mind-altering drugs. When drawing I’m able to shift my awareness and perceptions to some degree. This is a necessary shifting or filtering of the parts, if back and forth, between the various ways of seeing. The filtering experience - though it will also blind me - provides me with the control I need when drawing.

If this visual filtering were disabled by means of a mind-altering drug, this might likely induce a state of total disorganization, in my opinion. Yet, it’s this ‘controlled filtering’ that enables me to perceive what’s in front of me.

The key might be in learning to skillfully activate and control my observation of what’s in front of me without becoming stuck in just one filtered state. Once ‘stuck’ I will no longer be perceiving the object in front of me. I’ll then most likely be stuck in ‘memory mode’ or worse ‘assumption mode’ where I mistakingly assume I’m still observing and yet, I’m not. Sometimes my ‘intuitive mode’ will take over where I might produce an awesome drawing yet, with no visual perceptions beyond the paper itself.

While any taking of a mind-altering drug might prevent the person from becoming stuck in just one filtered state, I’d suspect that, their drug induced lack of filtering might diminish their perception of what’s in front of them. As to how mind-altering drugs might effect an artist’s imaginary imagery, I won’t know.

 

[spinningmytires]

This charcoal drawing I drew from life while glancing back and forth between this foam-head and my drawing (see my photo). I wasn’t trying to copy anything exactly and yet, I was repeatedly glancing back and forth at this foam-head, but why.

I think I was actually drawing a collections of conceptualized abstractions - not to be mistaken as drawing errors but rather, my own creation of what I felt might be a more meaningful, if personal, truth.

I describe this drawing as a ‘personal truth’ because I doubt that any two artists would have ever drawn this foam-head in the same way.

 

[Teasel]

My take on a Margo in Margate for an art postcard swap. I really enjoyed doing it. I should do more art, I am not as happy now I'm not doing this.

 

[Rose White]

Work in progress based on the “Venus of Drãguşeni” from 6000 years ago.

 

[Rose White]

Struggling so yay art.

 

[Rose White]

More and this time faces yay. I like faces.

 

[spinningmytires]

More and this time faces yay. I like faces.
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I find the abundance of negative empty space surrounding these figures interesting. This reminds me of how I’ve sometimes felt when attending social gatherings, if, not wanting to hide myself in the closet. For some reason, I’ll experience myself as not wanting to disturb the negative empty space that surrounds me. I’ll be reluctance to even extend my arms into this space or to raise my voice loud enough, as if, this might disturb it or draw attention to it. Perhaps, my avoidance stems from my parents and siblings lack of boundaries - where I had sometimes wished I could make this surrounding empty space even larger.

The drawing of the large head sort of reminds me of the commonly known ‘tall grey mantis.’

I can’t say with any certainty that I’ve ever actually seen a grey alien, myself - not consciously anyway. If I had ever consciously observed an alien I doubt that I could have managed it emotionally. I suspect this had been a lucid dream about 20 years ago. A number of other things seems illogical during that experience, as well. The narrative alone, should have frightened me terribly and yet, it didn’t. I just kept telling myself that this couldn’t possibly be real. And yet others have described seeing similar grey-mantis. I don’t know what to think.