Artist Spotlight

Carne Griffiths

Bruce Pollok

Hong Chun Zhang

Doug Bell

Peter Root

Daniel Matters

Aaron Earley

Interesting Article

3 secrets that could instantly improve your drawing and painting?

Wouldn’t you give it a try?..

1. What if I told you, you talk too much

Talking and drawing don’t mix.

The main problems associated with drawing is when you talk you engage your logical, language dominated left side of the brain. This side of your brain is keen on knowing an objects name, labelling it, and organising it.

Often when learning to draw, you need to temporarily hold off judgment and try not to second guess what you think the object should look like, rather than what the object actually looks like.

When you are trying to learn to draw something realistically, you have to engage your right hand side of the brain, which is keener on images and spatial perception.

It’s very hard to do both at the same time.

Why?

Because it causes mind freeze.

Have you ever been in a creative zone of absorption, a state where time travels quickly and you are in what psychology professor Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi calls ‘flow’.

How Does It Feel to Be in Flow?

1. Completely involved in what we are doing – focused, concentrated.
2. A sense of ecstasy – of being outside everyday reality.
3. Great inner clarity – knowing what needs to be done, and how well we are doing.
4. Knowing that the activity is doable – that skills are adequate to the task.
5. A sense of serenity – no worries about oneself, and a feeling of growing beyond the boundaries of the ego.
6. Timelessness – thoroughly focused on the present, our sin to pass by in minutes.
7. Intrinsic motivation – whatever produces flow becomes its own reward.

Flow is the mental state when you are fully immersed in an activity, a feeling of full involvement and energy.

You can get to this stage of involvement whilst drawing… until you get interrupted.

The combination of left and right battling against each other makes trying to draw tricky.

You can learn to talk and draw at the same time but it takes practice.

It all starts by understanding how your mind works, and how you can be subconsciously sabotaging your best efforts.

2. You have a harsh inner critic

You can learn to draw, you just might not believe it and this is often the first stumbling block to attaining a new skill.

Drawing is as much a mental game as an observational game.

Sure, you need a basic level of skill to hold a pencil and make a mark but not as much as you may think. It’s about the same level of skill as signing your name, or throwing and catching a ball.

However, your subconscious mind is extremely powerful and it can play havoc with your best efforts when learning this new skill.

You see, your subconscious is already telling you this can’t be true.

Changing your internal script

Often successes in our lives stem from our own internal beliefs. And these can be crippling both in your progress as an artist or in any other areas of your life.

“Well-meaning, intelligent people often resort to repeating self-defeating behaviour in their personal and professional lives,”

Robert Brooks PH.D and Sam Goldstein, authors of The Power of Resilience. 

If you keep on thinking you can’t draw, you won’t.

As you try and draw something realistically and it starts to go ‘wrong’ your inner critic starts to rear it’s head.

Often drawings start off really well and you observe things accurately, it’s only when you get to a perceived ‘tricky’ bit you start to question yourself.

The truth is you have probably started to ‘make up’ the rest of the drawing and have stopped observing, relying on what you think it looks like.

In comes the inner critic and says:

“That doesn’t look like a boat, give up now, it looks like a kid’s done it”

So what we have to do is stop labelling objects, and start to look more abstractly.

3. You label the object too much

Isn’t this correct?

You should be looking and labelling the object, you should be really concentrate on it, that is what you have to do, right?

Well yes and no.

When I’m drawing a bottle, I don’t draw the bottle.

I draw the shapes around the bottle and then the bottle is drawn for me.

Confused?

Let me explain some more.

All edges in drawing are shared edges, you cannot draw a line without it sharing two edges.

Imagine drawing the bottom of a boat, one straight horizontal line.

That line now shares an edge with the bottom of the boat and the water.

One line, two edges.

That boat you were having trouble with, is just a series of lines and shapes.

To draw

So if I draw the space around a bottle, it shares an edge with the space and the bottle so the bottle is drawn by me not drawing it.

In drawing you are constantly trying to disassociate from labelling real objects so your logical left brain can’t try to tell you how to draw what it recognises.

It seems wrong, it seems backwards, but this is why you can’t draw.

To see like an artist you have to learn to make a cognitive shift from left brain to right brain.

If you keep on talking to yourself, engaging your inner critic you will be firing up the left brain.

Ever wonder why Jackson Pollack drank a lot of Bourbon, Van Gogh absinthe? Alcohol calms you down, you’re not as self-critical.

So although I’m not suggesting you hit the bar before getting out your pencils, just try to be aware of the internal ‘voice’ that will hinder your progress.

Drawing is a paradox.

To see something as an artist sees it, you have to look at the Abstract elements within it.

Try not to focus solely on the object, try not to label an object but just see it as simple shapes.

Abstract elements once drawn then become real in front of your eyes and the left brain will then fire up to make sense of the shapes and label it.

A brief overview of left brain right brain

A right-brain outlook on life can give you a holistic view, where left brainers are often more detail orientated.

Left-brain thinkers focus on the logical, rational, sequential, and analytical while right-brainers prefer more random, holistic, and free-associated approaches.

Psychologists say that left-brainers focus on words and numbers while right-brain people focus on visual images and patterns.

Right brain thinkers make lateral associations whilst left-brain people make logical deductions from information.

Most people are a mix between the two, do any of these character traits seem familiar?

LEFT BRAIN FUNCTIONS      

• uses logic
• detail oriented
• facts rule
• words and language
• present and past
• math and science
• can comprehend
• knowing
• acknowledges
• order/pattern perception
• knows object name
• reality based
• forms strategies
• practical
• safe

RIGHT BRAIN FUNCTIONS

• uses feeling
• “big picture” oriented
• imagination rules
• symbols and images
• present and future
• philosophy & religion
• can “get it” (i.e. meaning)
• believes
• appreciates
• spatial perception
• knows object function
• fantasy based
• presents possibilities
• impetuous
• risk taking

Drawing as a learnable skill

This is an example of one of my students ‘Before’ and ‘After’ on my beginners drawing course – this is the same mug drawn 4 weeks apart!

Just like every other activity, your skills will be improved as you learn basic principles and get some practice.

The key to learning to draw, just like learning to write, is good foundational instruction and then working until you own it.

No one said it would be easy, nothing worth doing is. Yet just because it is challenging does not mean that, with time and hard work, you will be excellent.

Right Side of Brain...

Hey awesome people,

This is free online. Yes indeed!   It may be interesting to view it and pick up notions.  Even if you glance through a section at a time and pick up interesting observations....

https://d1e0u2actw4eb3.cloudfront.net/edu/src/New%20Drawing%20on%20the%20Right%20Side%20of%20the%20Brain.pdf


cool right?

peaceout,
Myrna.

David Hockney

interesting aspect of art - drawing, scale David Hockney

http://channel.louisiana.dk/video/david-hockney-i-am-space-freak

Coolness to Check Out!

http://www.juxtapoz.com/illustration/moleskin-sketches-from-anton-vill




http://www.boredpanda.com/charcoal-dance-drawings-performance-art-emptied-gestures-heather-hansen/

Good Thoughts

“What nobody tells people who are beginners — and I really wish someone had told this to me . . . is that all of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, and it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not.

But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase. They quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know it’s normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story.

It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.”

-Ira Glass

How to Speak Art

List of Descriptive Words to Critique Art

Have you ever been to an art museum and wished someone had given you a list of descriptivewords to critique art. Do not despair; you are not the only one who feels this way. There are many people who wish they knew more about art. Therefore, here are some words to help you be more art savvy the next time you spend the day at the art museum.

There are many words that can help you be descriptive when it comes to critiquing art. In fact, there are words to comment on every single aspect of art. The line, tone, movement, texture and shape are just a few ways in which art can be critiqued. However, the following list will go into more depth of the words that you can use to critique art.

Six Words to Critique Line

In art a line can be described in several things. The words used to describe line in the form of art are everyday type of words, nothing fancy.

• Flowing
• Delicate
• Simple
• Bold
• Thick
• Thin

Four Words to Critique Tone

When it comes to tone in art there are four words that can help you when critiquing. None of the words are fancy; however they may not all be use in your everyday conversations with friends.

• Subtle
• Contrasting
• Muted
• Dramatic

Five Words to Critique Texture

Texture is a very common element with and often used when referring to clothing, furniture and hair. Also, if you have ever painted a wall in your home you are most likely familiar with the following words.

• Rough
• Fine
• Smooth
• Coarse
• Uneven

Five Words to Critique Shape

Art comes in various shapes whether it is a painting or a sculpture. Therefore, there are specific words to describe each piece of art.

• Organic
• Curvaceous
• Geometric
• Angular
• Elongated

Three Words to Critique Movement

Movement is seen in every piece of art. Movement helps to create or define a piece of art.

• Swirling
• Flowing
• Dramatic

Five Words to Critique Scale

Scale is basically the size of the art. The words used to critique scale are common words that are already in our vocabulary.

• Large
• Small
• Intimate
• Miniature
• Monumental

Three Words to Critique Contrast

Two out of the three words for contrast have already been used to critique other elements of art. Therefore, it should not be hard to remember these words on a list of descriptive words to critique art. The only other word you need to remember here is the word strong and that is a pretty common word.

• Dramatic
• Subtle
• Strong

Six Words to Critique Color

In art color is very important. This is what helps each piece of art stand out. The color, no matter what type of artwork helps define the piece and the artist. A lot of artwork can be determined on who did the work just by looking at the colors, because certain artists use specific colors in every piece of their work.

• Bold
• Vibrant
• Subtle
• Pale
• Earthy
• Naturalistic

Another List of Descriptive Words to Critique Art

• Saturation- refers to the brightness of colour
• Geometric – refers to the shapes such as circles, triangles, squares, etc.
• Organic – free flowing or rounded
• Symmetry – meaning it is equal on both sides
• Asymmetrical – unequal proportioned elements
• Flat tones – no tonal effect in the colour
• Negative space – the space around the actual form of art
• Depth – the illusion of space
• Broken colour – dabs or small amounts of colour
• Focal point – the spot that stands out in the artwork
• Distorted – a shape that is changed and no longer looks proportioned

Ok, so now you have a list of descriptive words to critique art therefore it is now time to take another trip to the art museum. Look at the same art you looked at before and try to critique it. The artwork now has new meaning and is not just some painting or sculpture to look at.

Artist Spotlight: Eugene Andolsek

This dude's work is pretty darn interesting.  All done through drawing....

Eugene Andolsek (1921–2008) was an American artistic draughtsman.

For fifty years Eugene Andolsek had a secret life creating drawings with vibrant colors and linear complexity in his free time. Working at his kitchen table on graph paper with compass and straight edge he laid out black lines and geometries filling in spaces with colored inks mixed with eye droppers to achieve dazzling compositions. The pictures have elaborate layered patterns that can be kaleidoscopic with the radiance of stained glass and the complexity of oriental carpets and molecular structures.

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Surprisingly the pictures were never displayed on his walls nor exhibited. Once completed the pictures held no interest for Eugene and were put in the closet or a trunk. In fact Eugene did not think of himself as an artist nor see any value in what he created beyond the desire to draw them each evening. His drawings gave him a means to cope with his insecurities and dislike for his job as a stenographer for the Rock Island Railroad. Concentrating on the intricacies of each drawing would release him from worries and make his humble surroundings disappear as he withdrew into his self made world of dazzling colors and the space he created on graph paper.

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Eugene Andolsek began to make pictures in 1953 after moving from working as a stenographer at the State Department to a job for the Railroad. His life was complicated by his mother coming to live with him, fleeing an abusive husband. Eugene would become her caretaker through years of illness. After retirement and the passing of his mother he continued to draw until failing health and eyesight led him to seek help. It was only after a caregiver at a retirement home saw his art work and recognized their uniqueness that they were brought to the attention of the director of the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh. The perfect timing was Brooke Davis Anderson’s trip there and on seeing the drawings deciding to include them in a planned show, Obsessive Drawing at the American Folk Art Museum.

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The reception to the first showing of Eugene’s art proved to be excitement and recognition of an art world discovery. In Eugene Andolsek’s creation of his pictures he always tried to make each picture singular. What Eugene humbly suggested might make colorful place mats are works of art with remarkable complexity that continue to amaze viewers.

https://pittsburghfoundation.org/andolsek

Perspective

•PERSPECTIVE is a system for creating a two-dimensional illusion of a three-dimensional space.

•Perspective theory is often separated into two parts: technical (or mechanical) perspective which is based on systems and geometry and freehand perspective which is based on perception and observation of forms in space and is a more intuitive exploration of perspective.

Technical or mechanical perspective utilizes drafting tools such as T-squares, compasses, and triangles

•relies to a significant degree on the process of sighting to judge the rate of convergence, depth, angle. 

ATMOSPHERIC PERSPECTIVE

•Describes other characteristics seen in objects that are some distance from the observer. A veil of atmospheric haze affects and decreases clarity, contrast, detail, and color. Atmospheric perspective, which is not mathematically or geometrically based, is a powerful complement to linear perspective, and when used together the illusion of three-dimensionality and space can be powerful!

ONE POINT PERSPECTIVE - One vanishing point

TWO POINT PERSPECTIVE - 2 vanishing points!

THREE POINT PERSPECTIVE: WORMS EYE VIEW/BIRDS EYE VIEW