Drawing Philosophy

Funny. Funny how some days you pick up a pencil and you draw that figure like it's no one's business. Other days -- thankfully, they're rare -- you can't put two and two together no matter how hard you try. I find that from day to day, my visual perception of things changes dramatically, and I notice this when I put pencil to paper. Most times I won't know what kind of day it is until I start sketching.

What is it that makes you able to connect your eye to your hand? Is it space in your brain, occupied by other thoughts? Being able to clear your mind so you can let some kind of "creative energy" flow through? I've made some different connections to my drawing abilities which I'm going to try to list.

1) Shapes, blocks, negative and positive space are what my eyes grab instantly.

2) I'm not even aware that I'm using my eyes at all, it's more of a "feeling" of knowing what I'm drawing.

3) My hand and my body is loose, eager, always waiting for that next stroke, whereas some days it's a struggle to get the hand to move at all.

4) Doubt. Doubt that what I'm doing is right, judging every move I make -- from the very start knowing the drawing is blotched.

5) Feeling disconnected from the image, not relating to the subject. Sometimes there is a connection to the object/subject even though I'm not familiar with it at all, every curve I draw being familiar and cozy.

6) Stress? I'm feeling a bit more anxious today. That alters your state of mind and reception to incoming emotions (yes, I would refer to drawing as being emotional).

7) Visualization. Some days I can totally see the picture on the paper already. So then, it's almost feeling like I'm tracing over the image that my mind is projecting onto the page. So easy.

I guess I'm going to have to update this as I find new things out. Today, my brain feels a little bit more foggy, I do admit. So no matter how hard I try I can't draw what I want to be drawing. But perhaps this calls for another style of drawing? Perhaps less realism? Maybe my hand would move easier if it weren't constrained to certain lines and specific subjects. One moment, let me test this theory...

Ah yes. Feels much more comfortable without guidelines today. Wonder if I could do an anatomical drawing and get some good results.

So I can gauge my mood on my drawing abilities. Now, can I alter my mood by altering my drawing style? Or perhaps vice versa?