I can tell you, I’m really enjoying all of my latest art stuff, please allow me to share a few thoughts on this. As ever I am always pleased to hear from folk as feedback on my blog posts. Sometimes it is a comment on the blog, though not often. Sometimes it’s through Twitter or via the blog’s contact page. Most of all it’s what people say to me personally – but it all counts towards a rewarding time through blogging.
One of the nice things about drawing is that it’s such a simple thing to do. Unlike photography, you don’t need all that gear costing eye watering amounts of money and having to lug it around. No, just me, my sketch pad and a pencil. Thats all.
Drawing is turning out to be a relaxing thing to do. I can sit quietly on my own and produce a sketch such as the sketch above of my friend Chris. I did that sitting at the dining room table while Rachel was out yesterday. Other times I can be a little more socially inclined, such as the Tuesday morning Art Group at our church. Trouble is, I spend too much time chatting, drinking coffee and being nosey about what others are doing – but this is still time well spent!
Turns out that twee cottages and flowers aren’t my thing. I like people. I find people fascinating and I do value friendships enormously ~ especially long term friendships ~ this is therefore spilling over into art. I do, however, like seeing what others are doing and how they are using paint and colour, something I am not very confident with at all.
Trying to capture a likeness is quite a challenge. Trying to portray someone’s character is even more elusive but I like to give it a try. The sketch above is of my good friend Chris who I visited in Cheltenham a couple of days ago. We have known each other for 39 years and it is fair to say we have changed a lot over the years. Perhaps that shows in some way? Perhaps what I had in mind when I was drawing Chris was a certain gentleness to his personality which is mellowing nicely. He sadly lost his Mum earlier this year and that might explain some of the sadness which I saw in him.
I just don’t know where I’m going with this art stuff. I do know I like it and I want to see where it goes and, if I’m really honest, whether I can be any good one day. One thing which had haunted me many years ago was failing my Art O’Level in quite a serious way. I think I might have been ungraded and I always felt a sense of injustice. So perhaps I’m trying to prove to myself I can do a bit better than simply being “ungraded” which, it has to be said is about the same as handing in a blank sheet of paper.
I have read Instagram is a place to post visual things. Not so much about words and more about images, so I might give that a go. Again, “seeing where it goes” seems to be a fair summary of my life with its unplanned career.
For now I simply enjoy trying to capture a friend in a sketch. I work from a photograph as this seems easier and kinder on the subject and it allows me to work when I’m in the right mood and I have the time to do it. It is certainly a relaxing thing to do but only if the drawing is going the right way; other times it can be frustrating and I then get cross with myself.
Perhaps another time I will talk more about Made Visible, the art project which I’m involved with and will have me knocking on the door of a local prison.
I am unsure if any of this will make any sense but it is, nonetheless, nice to jot down a few thoughts and see where it goes….