drawing

drawing

amber made an interesting comment about 'art as language'. this got me thinking all over the place.
i mean, there is certianly a technical language of art. you learn terms to describe technigues, supplies art movements and types. in that way artists speaking to each other about art can sound like gibberish to other people.

clearly you dont have to know the technical terms for art techniques to execute them.
but really what about art as a tool for communication. i use art to communicate with myself (past, present and future), other people, nature, god. and what i am trying to communicate? a mood, an emotion, a moment in time, a place a quality of light or an idea.

there are exercises for art that i just love. i think writers have similar ones. they are often just there to loosen you up and give you ideas. two fo my favorites are teh gesture sketch and the contour drawing.
i hate both of these when i first started. they are actually really difficult to get your self to do (not difficult to execute tho). they jjust look like scribbles or smudges from your charcoal.

but the point of them is expression. of your own feelings or of the object or the objects surroundings.
i think people beginners and people of all skill levels occasionally get hung up on trying to acurately reproduce something. you keep trying to draw it and you keep being NOT HAPPY with your drawing. probably it feels to stilted. and thats why doing 30 second , 20 or 10 second gestrure drawings of your subject from different angles can help so much. because you have no time to worry about detail you have to capture the essance of the thing you are drawing. it can be hard. but very rewarding.

i love that art is communicating often at a subconcious level. think about how you draw something. with pressure on your tool, motions of your hands or body. when you are angry or feeling intense your strokes may be harder, more angular you may pick saturated or darker colors. when you are feeling more calm or centered you might see a swaying or flowing motion in your art. you see things in different lights depending. on your mood. emotional state. location. time of life. time of day.
all these things come out in what you do whther you want it to or not.

i imagine it is the same with the writing and poetry folks.

it is the language you are speaking to your audience.

i think about the painter that painted the same street corner over and over. one painting for every hour of the day. some photographer did that famously as well. how exciting!

try drawing your subject at different times. see what happens. don't show your work. do show it. change you mind. who cares? either way you have changed your own course.