August 05, 2005
Book inspirations

creative perspectivesI’m a little tired of my drawings. It’s not the drawing process itself, but the way the pictures are turning out. Some days it’s hard to get into the right frame of mind and as you have seen, they sometimes end up not well-observed or well-executed.

So to find a bit of outside inspiration, and maybe a few new ideas, I stopped into a Bargain Books yesterday. These are the bookstores that take over a vacated shop in a stripmall and fill the place with folding tables full of paperback overruns and out-of-date travel guides. They always have a big selection of large-format paperback cookbooks and crafting guides. And plenty of books on art.

I browsed through some of the “Best of Art” titles: Picasso, Degas, Monet, Calder. Studying those familiar images was helpful, but I realised that I’m not likely to imitate any of their styles. It may be sincere flattery, but I am not interested in copying. So I tucked into a few art instruction books until I found one that wasn’t too annoying and put it in the basket.

Though there’s nothing new to me in The Sketching and Drawing Bible, it’s good to have some reminders of techniques I don’t normally use. When’s the last time I did a scratchboard? I don’t have what I need to do one right now, but with the materials I have in my travel bag, I could try more crosshatching or a different blending technique.

Glad I stopped into that cheesey bookstore. I feel possibilities opening up.

Posted by kuri at August 05, 2005 11:58 PM

Comments

Yes, you drawings are awful ====

Posted by: Simon Oxley on August 6, 2005 02:48 AM

Yes, you drawings are ******* —— I mean beautiful!!!

Posted by: Simon Oxley on August 6, 2005 02:49 AM

Yes, you drawings are
beautiful!!!

Posted by: Simon Oxley on August 6, 2005 02:49 AM

The BIBLE of Sketching and Drawing? Eep. Is there an old testament and new testament?

Don’t write off the influence of the elders. I know you don’t want to “copy” but trying to imitate a drawing might show you a new technique. I do this with poems sometimes - in fact, it’s a workshop favorite among a lot of writers. Imitate a poet you like - write a poem in the voice of that poet. You learn new rhythms, vocabulary. It’s fun to imitate yourself, too, because you see all of the little details that make up your own voice (it’s a little like taking off your stockings to see how pale your legs really are too). Weird analogy. Sorry.

You have a style. I like it. I like that you are working to develop it seriously. I could very easily pick your drawings out from a group.

Posted by: Jenn on August 6, 2005 11:13 PM

You go girl….! Here’s a paraphrased quote from The Artist’s Way - “in order to be a good artist you have to also be willing to be a bad one.” (I personally like your drawings as I mentioned before, but of course it’s nice for the artist to be happy about their own works too).

Posted by: Julianne on August 12, 2005 02:07 PM
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