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shati who wants to know favorite things to draw? however you interpret that
I haven't actually made an art post in awhile in large part because I hit a rather frustrating plateau. For two reasons, really.
The first is that the initial flurry of dramatic improvement as I was getting into it came down to finally understanding and being able to utilize concepts I just did not get before. These things rocked my world and allowed me to do things with a pencil I never thought I'd be capable of ever. It was awesome. Only now we have moved beyond that initially flurry comes the harder and slower work of building on that. Which I am! And still find incredibly satisfying rewarding. Just, it isn't the kind of progress that is quite as cool or dramatic from the outside.
And on top of that, the ability to obsessively sit and practice, practice, practice is not something I can physically actually do. Because between the lymphedema and shoulder issues on that side as a result of surgery, sustained repetitive motion with my dominant arm is a no go. I ignored the warnings when I was in the initial flurry referenced above and it resulted in very bad things that included painkillers and an inability to draw at all while taking care of flareups. I'm much more careful now about limiting the time I spend and enforcing breaks while I do. Good for my physical health, but not so fantastic for momentum. :)
So basically, I am still enamored with and pursuing learning to draw, I just don't have anything to show for it as of late. But my favorite thing to draw, the thing that keeps me going back to my sketchpad because I want it, and I want it bad. People. I'm downright fascinated at the way human beings are put together and desperately chasing the ability to capture that. The endless nuance in the emotions facial expressions can convey and the way the tiniest details can distinguish that face from a face. The way the human body is so fucking beautiful in the way it stretches and twists and bends and the endless configurations of same. I don't just want to be just be able to get the technical details of an arm or whatever (and still working on that bit too, heh), what I want...what I really, really want is to find the space that captures the feeling of a body or face in motion and emotion. I don't know if I'll ever get there, because that is far more elusive than being able to accurately draw the anatomy of an eye. But that, that is what I love and what I want when I say I am learning to draw.
shati who wants to know favorite things to draw? however you interpret thatI haven't actually made an art post in awhile in large part because I hit a rather frustrating plateau. For two reasons, really.
The first is that the initial flurry of dramatic improvement as I was getting into it came down to finally understanding and being able to utilize concepts I just did not get before. These things rocked my world and allowed me to do things with a pencil I never thought I'd be capable of ever. It was awesome. Only now we have moved beyond that initially flurry comes the harder and slower work of building on that. Which I am! And still find incredibly satisfying rewarding. Just, it isn't the kind of progress that is quite as cool or dramatic from the outside.
And on top of that, the ability to obsessively sit and practice, practice, practice is not something I can physically actually do. Because between the lymphedema and shoulder issues on that side as a result of surgery, sustained repetitive motion with my dominant arm is a no go. I ignored the warnings when I was in the initial flurry referenced above and it resulted in very bad things that included painkillers and an inability to draw at all while taking care of flareups. I'm much more careful now about limiting the time I spend and enforcing breaks while I do. Good for my physical health, but not so fantastic for momentum. :)
So basically, I am still enamored with and pursuing learning to draw, I just don't have anything to show for it as of late. But my favorite thing to draw, the thing that keeps me going back to my sketchpad because I want it, and I want it bad. People. I'm downright fascinated at the way human beings are put together and desperately chasing the ability to capture that. The endless nuance in the emotions facial expressions can convey and the way the tiniest details can distinguish that face from a face. The way the human body is so fucking beautiful in the way it stretches and twists and bends and the endless configurations of same. I don't just want to be just be able to get the technical details of an arm or whatever (and still working on that bit too, heh), what I want...what I really, really want is to find the space that captures the feeling of a body or face in motion and emotion. I don't know if I'll ever get there, because that is far more elusive than being able to accurately draw the anatomy of an eye. But that, that is what I love and what I want when I say I am learning to draw.