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| Sunday Papers Contour Drawing - 13 February 2011 Graphite Pencil on Paper 53cm x 33cm (21" x 13") |
I am putting the finishing touches to a painting that I will post next weekend. In the mean time, here is my latest and favourite contour drawing.
It is Elaine lying on the sofa, reading the Sunday papers. (In case you missed the last post - contour drawing involves not looking at the paper while you are drawing. This is why Elaine doesn’t really look like Elaine and the proportions are a bit crazy.)
I like the composition and the simplicity of the lines. The composition is pure chance. It is a result of not looking at the paper while drawing. I wouldn’t immediately think of cropping Elaine’s head and feet, but it sort of works.
Elaine is suffering for my art. I though she was having an enjoyable Sunday morning, but she was freezing cold and developing a stiff neck. Next time, I will remember to enquire about her comfort.
This is my last drawing from Section 1 of The Natural Way to Draw. I am a day behind schedule, but I should catch up by the weekend.
Elaine is suffering for my art. I though she was having an enjoyable Sunday morning, but she was freezing cold and developing a stiff neck. Next time, I will remember to enquire about her comfort.
This is my last drawing from Section 1 of The Natural Way to Draw. I am a day behind schedule, but I should catch up by the weekend.
Hi! Thank you for having documented your journey!
ReplyDeleteI just started with this book. It's quite challenging... :)
When you were doing the 1A (first day of contour drawing), do you remember how it made you feel? It kind of frustrates me to see the atrocious proportions I draw when not looking at the paper. Did you feel the same? Did you notice your proportions improve with time? I will read your posts as I progress with the book, I don't want spoilers :)
Hi Alex,
DeleteThank you for commenting.
Yes I remember the feelings, but it was a while ago, so I may have filtered them.
I'd done some blind contour drawings before, so I was ready for these to look bad. My initial and long term frustration was gesture drawing. Early on (maybe even in week 1), I decided to get on with it, not be too critical, embrace the process and trust I would learn.
It is challenging, but trying to work things out became part of the fun. I made the same decision as you to avoid spoilers and I still think this was the right choice. There is a lot of conflicting information out there and I suspect even the good sources may distract you from what there is to learn from the Natural Way to Draw. I researched materials but studiously avoided looking at gesture drawing advice until I was finished.
Yes my proportions improved, but not to the extent I would have hoped. There are definitely quicker ways to improve specific aspects of drawing technique, but you are spending 375 hours thinking about drawing and art. This changed me. It altered my sensibility to understand other people's art. My drawing skills didn't improve as much as I would have wanted, but I understood more about what makes a good drawing (to me) and this is a great foundation to build on. Most courses are teaching someone else's opinion about what is good. There is very little of this in the Natural Way to Draw. You have to work it out for yourself.