I feel like drawing

AMH

Not learning to draw, joining a class, getting all the skills and spending a pile of money on things I may never follow through on, just actually drawing. I have had this figure in my head for a long time of a woman meditating, not slicked back or shaved head, just different.

So I may pick up a sketch pad and a few essentials (my kids are bomb artists as they would say) and just do it. Odd after seeing myself as a writer for 30+ years

zombiegirl

i prefer heavy weight computer paper and mechanical pencils. you don't always need something fancy, i would say... just do it. in my experience, i find it is best to start when the muse strikes you.

but since this is several days old, how did it turn out?

AMH

Well I started a sketch of a mediatation cushion I feel good about and then I sketched a man in the airport, I am pretty happy considering I have never had a drawing lesson. So yeah, when the mood strikes

zombiegirl

i love doing quick sketches of figures and whatnot. one tip that always really helped me when doing this type of drawing is to focus on capturing the spaces around the figure, rather than just the figure itself. this helps to activate the right(creative) side of the brain and helps to take out the reasoning aspect that sometimes ekes into your vision when you just look at the figure in abstract spaces. it's interesting just to try it and it really does help your poses/forms become more accurate. happy drawing!

AMH

Thanks zombie, I had this book (drawing from the right side of the brain) that was very helpful many years ago. I have also learned a lot from my kids who take extensive art classes. That negative space is important, as well as background. The art teacher they both had for years was a stickler for completing a background instead of having a figure floating in space. Like in sculpture I have heard that you take away the stone, clay, whatever, until the figure is free.

In any case it is helping me quite a bit to be in the moment rather than thinking too much.