I’m drawing – again!

Posted on Sep 11, 2009 in charcoal, drawing

Portrait of Ann 091009

Like an out of shape runner, I’ve taken up drawing again…but I’m out of practice! I have no stamina. I could barely get through the two hour class! :D Srsly, it was great to be rubbing charcoal across the page and even though I’m rusty and the results are primitive, it felt good. I can’t believe that it’s been over a year since I last made a drawing.

I mangled the left eye in the portrait of David but thanks to our 82 year old instructor, Jack Katz, I can now draw ears with confidence (and David has fantastic ears, I can assure you). Doesn’t it look grand?

Portrait of David 091009

I use the analogy of running because I believe drawing to be a practice like music or dance or sports or anything that requires perseverance. We aren’t born virtuosos and I think too often we forget that. There’s also the self-expression and the feeling of transcendence I get just smearing charcoal, carving dark lines and erasing to create highlights. This philosophy was bestowed upon me by the great drawing guru Phil Sylvester of the Drawing Studio and if you ever have a chance, do yourself a favor and take a class from Phil. You won’t regret it. Even if you think you can’t draw. You can. Anyone can.

1 Comment(s)

  1. I’m with you on the “yeah, you have to practice”. I, too, am just starting to draw again after a multimonth hiatus, and it’s painful. The lines won’t go quite where I want them to on the first try, the picture in my head doesn’t match what’s on the paper… drives me nuts for about the first month back or so. (You’d think I’d learn to keep my hand in, but my drawing table is such a handy surface to store things upon… like yarn…)

    CraftyGryphon | Sep 14, 2009 | Reply

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