Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Drawing Blind!

Carla Sonheim’s class “Silly the Third” has been so much fun.  Each day there is a new worksheet to play with.  We are two-thirds of the way through the class and I’ve enjoyed all of the activities.  I think however that the “Blind Contour” has been my favorite.

The Blind Contour is a very basic drawing technique used to teach the brain to slow down and really look at the object being drawn.  So often we think we know what an object looks like and when we over think it, the picture comes out much different than the actual object.  Instead, Blind Contour is an exercise where you draw something without ever looking at your paper.  You work slowly, following the lines of the object with your eyes and allow your eyes to tell your brain where the drawing tool should go.  The writing tool never comes off the paper.  Essentially the drawing is one continuous line.  It’s very scary at first; just imagining what the drawing will look like, eyes darting off the object towards the paper, the logical side of the brain trying to take over.

Even though these drawings end up a little lopsided and obscure, there is something very right about them.  Lines that are difficult for me to perfect end up looking correct in a Blind Contour because I really look at the object rather than trying to draw my perception of it.

”Silly” reminded me how much I like this technique.  To me, it’s very relaxing and I so enjoy the way the drawings turn out.

Some of the drawings from “Silly”…
5381548151_6bce944c8c_bThe car, window, and computer keyboard are blind Contour.  My left hand and the tulips are Contour  Drawing which is like Blind Contour other than you can look at the paper every-so-often and adjust the writing tool as needed.  The computer keyboard kills me!
5381551595_349038bd68_bMy (very round) foot is Blind Contour.  The Coffee cup is not only Blind Contour, but also done with my non-dominant (left) hand.  The books and elephant statue I brought home from Zambezi are done in Contour.5381536413_ba7ab24e08_bBoth the orchid and pots are Blind Contour. 

Fun! Fun! Fun!  I need to remember to do this more often.   Next time you are in a meeting or waiting for an appointment draw something nearby using this technique.  You’ll be amazed!

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4 comments:

  1. I am totally storing this away in my memory bank to try! I love it! fun. fun. FUN!

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  2. Oh, it is Becky from Life with Kaishon. I just did our communal global post. Feel free to pretend that is me in the picture though ; )

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  3. I did that in an art class a long time ago at Weber State....fun to see what the drawoing looks like...usually better than when I look!

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  4. That's kind of how I do monart in my class. I am very good at looking at a picture and recopying it...but I have no imagination to just draw whatever comes to mind. (I know that's not what you are talking about.)

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