Drawing - The Heart and Soul of Art

Lets keep things simple - if you don't draw you are missing out on the most fundamental and creative aspect of yourself. It doesn't matter if you draw as a starting point to other things or if you use as a record, or even if it as a form of expression in own right. Lots of people think they can't draw, however if you make marks in the mist of a mirror or window, doodle while on the phone, make marks in the sand with a stick, or arrange pebbles and shells in patterns then you are in essence drawing. Drawing is essentially about making marks with a number of different tools on a two dimensional surface and anyone and every one can do it.

So for those of you that have never done a drawing before I want you to collect as many things as you can that will make a mark, it doesn't really matter what - twigs and feathers can be dipped in paint just as easily and effectively as expensive markers from an art shop. Collect your bits together and start making marks - just play on any paper, board, card anything at all... see how many marks can be make with the same thing vary the pressure you use and the thickness of the lines - play, have fun, get to know what everything does and what you can achieve. Above all don't get bogged down with worrying that it doesn't look pretty or that it is wrong - just go for it. Think of the way children draw, be spontaneous.

Draw anything you see, it doesn't matter what it is, as long as we are really looking at the object we are drawing. Draw quickly, draw slowly, use both hands, use your dominant hand and your non dominant hand - which do you prefer? The answer may surprise you. I have recently taken four students on an artists retreat and we concentrated on sketching, this enabled people to look at their surroundings in a different way. There is a fundamental difference between a photograph and a sketch, you should never be in too much of a hurry that you can't sketch. I know some artists that, when on holiday, never take a camera and I am coming to this way of thinking myself.

A camera records what you see whereas a sketch or a drawing records your feelings and reactions to your surroundings. Good art is always about how we react on an emotional level to what we see, whether it be a realistic rendition or an abstract interpretation. With a sketch we can choose what we put in and how we depict it. A photograph can be manipulated later or with different filters but they are two different mediums and if we only take photographs and then draw from them, we miss out on a whole way of looking at things.

So try drawing realistically and really look carefully, study in detail, take your time and then draw - use a variety of different mediums, and then compare them, how do they differ. Try working on different shapes, sizes and colours of paper, they will all read differently. Drawing in black and white will give you a different feeling altogether to colour, try them all.

Have fun.

Source : Ezinearticles