With the exception of a few lapses, I’ve dutifully been drawing in my sketchbook everyday this month. Granted, it wasn’t an overwhelming body of work, but it was a good start and I’m noticing small changes in my drawing style and habits. Here’s some of what I’ve done this month, ordered oldest to most recent:
The struggle to keep my eyes on the subject I’m drawing rather than my paper has eased up, and I’m actually more uncomfortable now if my eyes stay on my paper too long, like I’m missing out on vital details of my subject by drawing without seeing it (which, of course, I am).
My eyes and hand are still struggling to communicate with one another clearly, and I’m still too careful with my lines, always trying to avoid messiness. I’m trying to get better at just drawing right over what I’ve done before if it isn’t the right shape.
I’m becoming less judgmental of my sketchings, noting less whether I like what I’ve drawn and more whether I was able to capture any of what I was seeing. Ordinary things that before I’d have no interest in drawing (toes, coffee cups, shoes, candles) have suddenly become subjects that are interesting and complex beyond my ability to accurately sketch them. I’ve been humbled by my own beeswax candle, by my own fingers!
Brian and my cat Ronin are my favorite subjects and you’ll probably be seeing hundreds of attempts at sketching their portraits over the months to come (poor Brian almost always ends up looking like a caveman at my current skill level, and his crazy long hair doesn’t help).
I also recently began an exercise Claire told me about, where you draw the same object 100 times. On a walk I’d picked up an acorn and spontaneously chose that as my “100” subject. After only 5 drawings, tragedy struck (with a “CRUNCH”) when Brian stepped on my precious acorn that I’d abandoned on my porch after drawing it the day before. I was legitimately upset (you get attached to the subjects you draw!!!) and I needed a new acorn. Unfortunately, acorns apparently have a very limited season of wholeness upon the ground before feet and squirrels do them in, but Brian saved the day and managed to find one last whole and perfect acorn!
Below is all that remains of my doomed Acorn #1:
So, keep an eye out in the future for an exciting blog post featuring many, many drawings of ACORN #2!
Compulsive Creation 