I started my drawing class last night and this is my first image. (Disregard all of the background speckles, that is from my poor photography skills.) Our instructor had a still life set up on a platform in the front of the studio consisting of - although you probably won't see it here - several easels, stools, lamps and other art props, all intertwined and connected. I have to say that it was quite intimidating when I walked in and though, "I'm going to draw THAT?" Fortunately, almost everyone in my class is a beginner so I felt right at home and the instructor even applauded me for my courage in signing up for the class, after learning that I studied art history and have been working with artists for the past 8 years. And, believe me, it did take courage to sign up for this class.
She had us do a variety of exercises with respect to the still life in front of us. To develop a sense of looking we had to do the opposite- not look! For the first several drawings, we were not permitted to look at our paper, plus we had to focus on contour and create our images using one continuous line. The pencil was not to be lifted off the paper. Thus, is how the image above came to be. You can kind of make out a stool to the left and the beginnings of an easel on the right-hand side. Not so shabby huh?
We talked much about art theory and the elements that make up space - with each exercise focusing on a different element (value, density, intersection, overlap etc.) My drawings got better and then worse and then better with no real consistency. We each uttered a nervous giggle when it was time to put our pencils down and look at our creations. Fortunately, this lesson was not about formulating an accurate representation, rather learning to look and get used to feeling the pencil move across the paper.
Finally, on our last drawing - we were allowed to look at the paper AND pick up our pencil. Here is the result:
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