Friday, January 03, 2014

A Venture Into Figure Drawing


Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: If drawing had value even when practised by those with no talent, it was, Ruskin believed, because it could teach us to see - that is, to notice rather than merely look.  In the process of re-creating with our own hands what lies before our eyes, we seem naturally to evolve from observing beauty in a loose way to possessing a deep understanding of its constituent parts and hence more secure memories of it.  -Alain de Botton in The Art of Travel
I just finished Alain de Botton's book The Art of Travel and loved it!  At the same time, and quite fortuitously, I was in the process of watching Bill Buchman's dvd entitled Art is an Attitude:  The Art of Drawing the Figure.  So it's no accident that I found myself trying to venture into drawings of the human figure and doing so without any expectation of what might occur.  Buchman's dvd includes many different exercises that focus on different ways of seeing the figure.  I have a long way to go, but I'm so glad I've begun the journey...and I'm looking forward to learning how to see :)  Have a beautiful weekend!

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