Friday, February 02, 2007

A New Lesson


A new Foe
Originally uploaded by linfrye.
I spent an entire day and evening working on stretching my drawing skills ... attempting a grid, enlarging a scene and getting building angles correct!

Well, after all that you'd think that my 5'1" frame is now closer to six feet !!! NAH, still can't reach the top of the cupboard .... BUT, I've learned so MUCH in those hours!

* Another reason I love sketching flowers -- they're so forgiving!

* That exactness is admirable .. and using a ruler, my new foe, has its merits and when done well, really really helps a lot!

* That math, fractions, proportions are as important now in sketching as when I tell my students they need to know those skills in order to mix the proper amount of fertilizer!! (oh how this lesson bit me, the teacher!! my students are going to love this! LOL)

* Just how much more PRACTICE I need on buildings and perspectives....guestimates just don't work in fine work!

* What often looks so 'easily' done ... those architectural scenes, the house on the hill, the barn, the cluster of hill towns and all those angled rooflines -- is FAR MORE DIFFICULT (at least for me right now) than I could have imagined

* That struggling through such lessons fortifies ones determination to really LEARN a skill, and also gives a student of art, like me, clear direction toward learning even more new skills.

* And just how wonderful a good eraser can be.

3 comments:

Brenda Yarborough said...

My dear friend, I'd say you learned some valuable lessons today about perspectives and line relationships! Did I miss the part about sketches/drawings for art's sake are not the same as blueprints for building plans? Don't be so hard on yourself, architectural "renderings" are usually not EXACT either.

Teri said...

I'm with you on this one Lin. Buildings make me nuts. Someone once told me that you should think about the angles as the hands on a clock, and then sketch them that way. It does help,but like you, I prefer anything else :)

Terri said...

Working on drawing a scene requires a broader focus than working on a flower does. I found that when I did a few of my boat drawings (too long ago now unfortunately). I would think the observation skills needed would be the same, just broadened. A little trickier perhaps, but seeing how far you've come in a short space of time...I KNOW you'll have this one licked before long too. :o)