One of the criticisms of the method used by Betty Edward (Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain) is that you don’t really learn to draw. You learn to copy. You learn to be a realist. Frankly,that’s what most people want. That is to say, they want to draw objects like they really are. It is a vital and important skill for all artists. It is really cool to be up and drawing stuff in just a couple of weeks with her course. I must say, however, the criticism is legitimate in terms of being able to really create. To have a style. To be able to draw what is in your mind, not just what you see.
To that end, I have acquired a couple of books that work on just that. Learning to be free. To let loose the creativity and make art your own. Being to to develop your own style of interpretation of what you see (in life or in your mind) I confess I don’t know how to just let loose and draw or paint. There is always some tension there, that what I have done isn’t “mine”, isn’t what I really want it to be. So I’ll be doing some abstract exercises and probably some goofy drawings (as in with your eyes closed). I did a watercolor bloom last night and it was fun. I just sort of dropped paint around on my wet page of my notebook. The paint just spread where it wanted, as it wanted and I was free to watch.
No great metaphors here, because I have no desire to just let my life “happen” like that. I don’t believe in such randomness. However, in art, there can be some lovely happy accidents. As I find these, I’ll share some of the happier ones with you. So let’s just loosen up and enjoy the art.
No comments:
Post a Comment