Learning to Draw.

Sky-chariots

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Learning to Draw

Some readers might be interested in how I reached my current level as a selftaught artist, so today I shall fill in a little background about that. What has it taken for me to get to where I am now? And just where am I as an artist? Well the answer to the second question is I'm a work in progress but I'm getting closer to where I want to be. This is probably the same for most artists, I believe, being that we are all still striving to progress. But the first question is a little harder to answer. It comes in two parts, learning to draw and learning to paint. Here goes for what my experience was of "learning to draw". I'll talk about "learning to paint" another day.
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From my earliest childhood I have always found it interesting to draw. I would draw from my imagination and also from observing things around me. From the age of around six I would draw frequently, and this continued through to about the age of thirteen. After that I drew less often due to life in general taking over. By frequently I mean I would draw for about an hour usually two or three times a week. The first drawings I made were okay for my age, but looking at them now, they show many mistakes in line and form. However all the time I guess I must have been unconsciously improving. The drawings I did between age ten to twelve were definitely a leap forward. The one thing I do remember about all the drawing I did is that I was always interested in attempting something I felt sure I would not be able to draw. If anything, most of the time I was really sure I wouldn't be able to draw it. Usually the result was I didn't get it right but what I did find was I was able to see what was wrong. From this I learnt and the next time I improved at drawing a similar object. This was the way I remember learning. I often drew from old comics, by copying brilliant artists. The above is a detail I drew at age 16, copied freehand from an A4 comic. The original drawing was by the talented Mike McMahon. When I started, I thought I could make a good attempt at drawing it but that there was a high probability it would end up a mess. But I took my time at it and when it turned out so well I was filled with confidence. It made me really glad I had pushed myself to a higher level.

After this drawing, it was around then that I started to draw people from photographs. I thought that this was the ultimate level, but now I know different. The ultimate level is drawing them from life, both accurately and quickly!! Like most things in life though practice makes perfect. I eventually found that I was able to draw from photo's a good likeness and as long as I kept drawing periodically I was able to become more skilled at this. What I do find is that if you don't draw at this level for a while, meaning six months or so, you begin to slow down at your ability to get it right first time. But you can still get the likeness, it just becomes less instinctive. So drawing people really does test your ability.

Liam Neeson as Oskar Schindler, from the film "Schindlers List"

Here is an earlier post on learning to draw with a drawing demonstration, and my first post about learning to draw. Also how to draw a horse -- part 1. That's about it for today. This post is really making me realise what it has taken to be an artist. It's like running a marathon, you have to go one step at a time, but you can get there. I hope it's been of interest. I'll talk about my experiences of learning to paint another day. So see you then...

A Road Less Traveled ...Painting and Poem

A road less traveled...

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both,

And be one traveler, long I stood,

And looked down one as far I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth.

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear,

Though as for that the passing there,

Had worn them really about the same.

And both that morning equally lay,

In leaves no step had trodden black,

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh,

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I -

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

Poem by Robert Frost

This poem is from the public domain, and I discovered it after I had completed this painting. Poetry and art have some things in common, in that they can stir emotions. In that regard they sometimes compliment each other. If you want to say "stir emotions" in art-speak, you would say " enhance the aesthetic appreciation of the viewer"!!!
You can tell I don't like art-speak.

Visit this article by Steve Atkinson which I stumbled across to see how this poem relates to the artistic journey.
Well that's it for a short post today, and hope you enjoy the painting and poem.

Colour Schemes - Monochromatic and Analagous Colour Schemes, Part III of a Series

Martian Dawn

It's an almost sunny day this Monday here in Ireland and I'm going to add a little more to this series. For earlier parts see part I here and part II here.

When dealing with colour there are various colour combinations that work together to create harmony within a painting. Some involve several colours widely spaced on the colour wheel and some are more restrictive. The most restrictive is the monochromatic colour scheme, shown above in Martian Dawn (if you omit the foreground). It involves just one colour used in varying intensities. Black and white may also be used in this colour scheme. When white is mixed with a colour, the result is known as a tint. When black is mixed with the colour the result is known as a shade. When the colour is not mixed with black or white, but allowed to vary in strength of pigment the variations are known as tones. If you want to experiment with various effects described here with a particular colour, you can visit http://www.wetcanvas.com/ and look for their virtual reality colour mixing program. It is unique on the web I believe, and allows you to experiment on a virtual palette with mixing all the various combinations you desire.

When first we think about it, a colour scheme based around a limited amount of colour or just one, might seem to have little impact, but these limited colour palettes can be used to create unique atmospheres within paintings. Hence they should not be dismissed so readily and this post is really to make people aware of their possible uses.

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Compare my work Symphony of Silence with Desert of the Blue stones, shown above. The latter uses what is almost a monochromatic scheme, whereas the former is very colourful. I like both pictures, but the restricted palette of Desert... is able to convey a certain type of atmosphere. The colour scheme for Desert... is best described as almost Analagous. All the colours are emphasising a cool atmosphere. If I had used the complimentary colour to blue, which is orange then it would be a complimentary colour scheme. Orange is warm and would transform the atmosphere of the painting. However I preferred to use a colder yellowy green in places and this is not a compliment.

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Analagous is where the colours used are all close together on the colour wheel. Desert... is using colours which are slightly further apart than would fit this model, but is okay to illustrate the general idea. For a true Analagous colour scheme, all the colours used are fitting into at least one quarter of the colour wheel. Martian Dawn is really an example of this when the foreground is included as all colours are close together. If the foreground rocks were the red brown colour as the background it could be a monochromatic scheme.

Some points about the two schemes.

When using the Monochromatic scheme it is easy to achieve balance in the painting, but it may be more difficult to emphasise a particular element. However it is easy on the eye if used correctly and creates atmosphere easily.

The Analagous scheme is as easy as the monochromatic scheme but increases the possibilities for creating interest in the painting. Mixing warm and cool colours together should be avoided in this scheme. One of the colours should be used as a dominant colour and the others used to enhance the painting.

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Where did I get the idea for Desert...? Well, the answer lies in a combination of my imagination and a dream I had which left a vivid memory. I dreamt of this place with those mountains in the distance and straight away I drew a sketch the moment I woke up!! Crazy, but true. The sky, well it just evolved as I worked. I didn't really know what was going to be, and just tried experimenting. My handwriting is filled with such swirling shapes and I just allowed them to fall into the brushstrokes of the sky. The girl and the dragons, from a strange imagination!! The result is what you see! Hope you can enjoy it.

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That's it for a Monday wakeup call! I hope you are enjoying the blog. Feel free to share it with anyone you think would like my art. If anyone likes poetry, tomorrow is the day to check in... Catch you later.