Draw Every Day
One of the pieces of advice (or demands, as the case might have been) given by every single art professor I have known is this:
Draw Every Day.
I was always guilty of never doing this. Drawing every day. I made up lots of excuses for this misbehavior, including "I'm too busy being poor" once I moved to San Francisco and began paying $650/mo for a charming closet, while making $9.50/hr in a bookstore. I also used lack of space in said closet as an excuse. I also dreaded being one of "those people" who sat and drew for hours in a crowded coffee shop. What I was forgetting was that, as an artist, you are supposed to put all that self-conscious fear aside and let your creativity out. I, in fact, have a sketch that I did (see below) at a coffee shop in Berkeley during the first week I was out here. It's really good. Don't know why I didn't do this every day.
Today I don't so much DRAW every day as I SCRIBBLE MADLY every day. Did you ever see that scary movie "The Ring"? I did. It scared the shit out of me. Anyway, there was this scene in which the main character was researching the dead girl, and she was taking notes, and then looked down, and instead of notes, she saw a big horrible scribble all over a photograph of a woman's face. Remember that? OH THAT WAS SO CREEPY. Anyway, that's what I find myself doing while I'm on the phone. It's not really art, but I think just using that kind of habit as an excuse to get your hand moving with ink is a good start.
Here are some recent sketches:
Oh, and here's that sketch from the Berkeley coffee shop: dated 01.16.03.
The note beside the sketch reads: "At Berkeley Espresso in Berkeley. This guy with the ponytail was obsessively playing w/ his ponytail. Like using both hands and grabbing his pony tail back & forth. Weirdo." God, I was a sweet girl.
Draw Every Day.
I was always guilty of never doing this. Drawing every day. I made up lots of excuses for this misbehavior, including "I'm too busy being poor" once I moved to San Francisco and began paying $650/mo for a charming closet, while making $9.50/hr in a bookstore. I also used lack of space in said closet as an excuse. I also dreaded being one of "those people" who sat and drew for hours in a crowded coffee shop. What I was forgetting was that, as an artist, you are supposed to put all that self-conscious fear aside and let your creativity out. I, in fact, have a sketch that I did (see below) at a coffee shop in Berkeley during the first week I was out here. It's really good. Don't know why I didn't do this every day.
Today I don't so much DRAW every day as I SCRIBBLE MADLY every day. Did you ever see that scary movie "The Ring"? I did. It scared the shit out of me. Anyway, there was this scene in which the main character was researching the dead girl, and she was taking notes, and then looked down, and instead of notes, she saw a big horrible scribble all over a photograph of a woman's face. Remember that? OH THAT WAS SO CREEPY. Anyway, that's what I find myself doing while I'm on the phone. It's not really art, but I think just using that kind of habit as an excuse to get your hand moving with ink is a good start.
Here are some recent sketches:
Oh, and here's that sketch from the Berkeley coffee shop: dated 01.16.03.
The note beside the sketch reads: "At Berkeley Espresso in Berkeley. This guy with the ponytail was obsessively playing w/ his ponytail. Like using both hands and grabbing his pony tail back & forth. Weirdo." God, I was a sweet girl.
posted by Emily Hunter at 7:01 PM
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