Nearsighted Artist Finds Simple Form Under Overwhelming Detail!

Posted on July 19, 2010 by Carol

Hazel Drawn With Form

Hazel as seen without my eye glasses.

This is my cat Hazel drawn with shape only. It looks like a drawing of a rough clay model of a cat now, but with just a few details it could look much more realistic.

My Current Understanding Of Detail

  • Use a few details to convey subtle points of interest, or to create one spot for the eye to come back too as it takes in the drawing, and drawings hum with life.
  • Use to many and drawings look overwhelmed.

A Secret Drawing Tool – Nearsightedness

I’m extremely nearsighted, so all I do is take off my glasses and all details are merged into the underlying form. If you’re nearsighted and have never tried drawing like this, get ready for a delightful experience.

(Caution: Drawing without your glasses might give you headache from trying to focus your eyes. You’ll learn how to “not focus” after a few sessions though.)

(I’m sorry, but all you non-nearsighted folks have to squint to see shape!)

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Two Things – A Visual Thought About Drawing

Posted on March 27, 2010 by Carol

Two Things

Two Things

If your drawings are abstract and you don’t intend them to be,

just learn these two things:

How to see what you draw,

and

how to draw what you see.

:)

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Drawing Still In Process – Take A Peek At Earth Seed

Posted on March 1, 2010 by Carol

I was up to my neck in creation last week. One idea after another kept coming at me and I took notes as quickly as I could, but some of them got away. Oh well. They’ll come back someday I suppose.

I’ve scanned a few parts of Earth Seed. Some parts are much more developed than others because I’m not working over the entire drawing consistently, but it’ll be finished in a little while and then I’ll release it back into the wild. (I have a capture and release program for creative ideas.)

Earth Seed Drawing Concept Map

Earth Seed Drawing Concept Map

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Cycle Of Creation Mind Map

Posted on February 20, 2010 by Carol
A friend and I were talking about creative work this week, so I drew this mind map to express my own experience with the process. It’s never a straight line from start to finish for me. Each creation soars for a while and then submerges. After a while, anywhere from a week to a year, the idea resurfaces and comes to a finish or is relaunched in a different direction.

Creative Cycle Mind Map

Creative Cycle Mind Map

ps – I drew this map with iMindMap which is one of the most twitchy and unfriendly programs I’ve ever used. I prefer MyThoughts for Mac, which is very intuitive and easy to use.

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Who’s in Control Here Anyway (Not Me)

Posted on February 12, 2010 by Carol

The Muse winds its way around hidden obstacles and keeps me from stubbing my toes in dark. Thanks Muse-Dudette.

I didn’t think all those jigsaw puzzles I obsessed over last summer had anything to do with art, but they did. Same with those huge collections of found things. (Especially the rocks.) And now, as can be seen here, I’m having a passionate affair with mind maps.

So, here’s a map that was generated in a fit of self-reflection about how all roads lead to art.

Muse Mind Map

Muse Mind Map

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