This morning I realized that by there very nature artists must be very self centered people.
I was thinking about this drawing I was going to do that wouldn’t be very nice. Actually I was quite curtain that I wouldn’t like the drawing. And that you would have a hard time finding someone who did.
So why do the drawing?
Mostly because it is something I’ve got to get out of the way. It’s the drawing I’ve been working towards for the last year or so.
I did one that look a bit like it a few months ago. But then I didn’t dare to do it the right way. I rushed through it and didn’t like the result.
This time the result is almost what I wanted it to be.
I started slow and deliberate. And then increased my speed. By the last quarter I thought I knew what the result would be and changed technique. Which didn’t turn out so good.
But overall it’s more or less the picture I had in mind.
Finish and start
While I was drawing it I realized something else about the term “artist”.
I’ve finally earned the right to call myself an artist.
When I started this blog 2.5 years ago I thought that an artist was somebody who produced beautiful pictures. And since that was what I was trying to do I thought I could use that title.
(And besides “artist learning to draw” sound a lot better then “Dutch guy learning to draw”. Doesn’t it.)
But you don’t have to be an artist to produce nice pictures. Anybody can produce nice picture. Give a monkey a camera and he can produce nice picture.
Even worse: Give an elephant a paint brush and he can produce nice pictures.
And it isn’t even about producing nice pictures.
I don’t like a lot of contemporary art.
Even a lot of famous art works are an acquired taste. Like these paintings by Mondrain.
Being an artist is about development of your medium.
While doing this drawing I realized that I want to spend the next few weeks, maybe months, exploring the interaction between (color) pencils and paper.
Different colors feel different while they scratch or glide over the paper. Different kinds of paper feel different.
And of course using different techniques causes various feelings.
I don’t know if this is going to lead to interesting drawings. But it should lead to interesting experiences.
Comments on this entry are closed.