Observations on Observations

My class with Danny Gregory has come to an end. I learned so much about drawing and visual journaling...but more importantly, I learned about observation. Observing details about everyday matters as a way to be in the moment and live life just a little more fully.

Our last class was the most challenging for me. We broke into groups of three for a "portrait party." I had to draw a portrait of the classmate to my left. Three times. Once in my journal. Once in the third person's journal. And once in the model's journal. Well...I definitely improved from portrait one to portrait three, supporting Danny's point that the best way to learn to draw is to draw! However, as a means of protecting the innocent (e.g., the model), I am not posting the drawings. After all, it is the process not the outcome which is important!!

Danny spent some time in our last class sharing some of his thoughts about the process. A few of my favorites: "surprise yourself...do what you can't...love mistakes...never complain...never explain...express yourself." Thanks Danny!






This piece has gone through several versions in several blog posts and although I originally thought it was not yet complete, after more observation I now feel that it is. Observations.

Available in my Etsy Shop. Click images to enlarge.

News of the Day

Headline from today's paper. As you know, I have been seeking the elusive "anonymous" since July. Read all about it here and here. Thanks to this post on Lynne Hoppe's blog, I now have Lori's contact information and have been in touch with her. And trust me, if anybody deserves a special holiday this year, it is Lori! If you have previously contacted me about contributing, you should have already received an email with details. If you would like to contribute to Lori by sending in a few sheets of vintage paper or other art materials, leave a comment or email me. Be sure to include your email address. And thanks to everybody who has joined me on this search. And extra thanks to Lynne who not only was a big part of finding Lori but gifted me with this award too.


Thank so much Lynne! I cannot imagine that there is anybody who has not yet visited her amazing blog (really one of the best out there) but if you haven't been there yet, go now!

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There are more and more mixed media art books being published these days. One of the books that has great buzz and I am looking forward to getting myself is Susan Tuttle's Exhibition 36: Mixed-Media Demonstrations + Explorations She is also having a giveaway on her blog where you can sign up to be entered into a drawing to receive a free copy of her book.


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Class this past week with Danny Gregory was different than the other classes in that there was no drawing, although he encourages us to draw anything we want at anytime during class. And in fact, at any point you glance around, you can usually see a bunch of people drawing Danny himself or other students.

In this class, we spent a lot of time talking, introducing ourselves, and discussing our connection to art. Interestingly, there was a lot of discussion of the impact of both negative and positive experiences in childhood upon feelings of making art as an adult. You know, when your teacher told you in 4th grade that coloring the sky green and red was "wrong" and that sort of thing. We also got a short lesson in techniques to draw proportion and position more accurately, a lesson I desperately needed. We also learned what goes in Danny's travel kit for drawing.


At the end of the class, Danny handed out about a dozen of his journals for us to look through. I was knocked out! Let me tell you...while his pages are beautiful when seen in books and on the web, they are even more incredible and inspiring in person.

Negative Space

Class this week with Danny Gregory was another adventure for me. My favorite part, as always, was when he shared photographs of his pages. This time, pages from several travel journals he made while on vacation. Right up my alley. Having been to some of the places he journaled about (Italy and Mexico), it was quite interesting for me to see how his journals were completely different from mine.

Our "lesson" for the day was to focus on negative space..."the space that isn't anything." You can use the negative space as an element to draw. In doing so, you erase any preconceived notion of what you are drawing, making the process much more about observation. N'est-ce pas? We completed several exercises to better understand this concept.

As always, Danny provided a lot of inspiration and many random thoughts that struck a chord. When asked about writing in one's journal, he said that you can write the way you draw...just let it flow and don't over think it. When asked about dealing with self-judgment and being too focused on the outcome, he highlighted the importance of the process of drawing and said you need "a willingness to step off the cliff." And when asked about the importance of training and technique, he said the best way to learn to draw is just to draw a lot!


Homework

Observe the Elements

Another week, another class, another artistic adventure. For me, this week's class with Danny Gregory was all about giving myself permission. Part discussion, part lecture, part drawing, and all inspiration. We spent time reviewing art myths, such as "to be an artist you must be a professional" and "everything an artist makes is great." His beliefs that there are no rules for our journals and that there is charm to be found in the screwed up and wonky is so freeing to me and makes me feel so much more comfortable in exploring a new art medium. One of my favorite concepts that he shared with us was the notion that drawing is a reflection of your state of mind and that you can never separate the "you" from the drawing. This may seem obvious but hearing it aloud from Danny brought this thought to a whole new level.

We did a number of fascinating group and individual exercises, many aimed at being better able to observe the elements of drawing.


In one exercise, Danny gave us a drawing of a man that he made and asked us to copy it. The catch...copy it upside down. On the left is part of his original drawing.







This is a portion of my drawing, oriented in the way it was sketched








And here is part of my drawing turned right side up. For some reason, his facial expression looks a little meaner in my drawing. But I think they are pretty close. The lesson...by observing and focusing on the elements, you break the image down in such a way as to make even the most complex image easier to draw. How ironic that this becomes easier by turning the image upside down.

If the shoe fits...

First full class with Danny Gregory. Sat down at the table with sheets of large, blank, white paper waiting. What? No color to throw down on the page? And a pen. What? No chance to erase? Danny believes that using a pen leads the artist to commit. So different then my process with mixed media. Draw a hand. So ironic...because I seem to always be thinking of hands. Draw a shoe. So ironic...as the only drawing I seemed to have saved from "the early years" was a sneaker. After some discussion and a demonstration...take just a few minutes and do it again. Using his suggested approach, which initially focuses on outline only, you can see my shoe in the picture above. He is all about observation and what I took from tonight's class was that this process is almost more about observing the world around me than it is about drawing. Added some journaling on the page to document my thoughts in the moment. Ended with seeing pictures of many journal pages, by both Danny and other artists. Inspiration! And homework!!

This & That

I had my first class with Danny Gregory this week. No drawing or journaling yet. Just an introduction. His approach to art really resonated with me. He spoke about the way we all draw as children...without judgement, without caring what the drawing looked like, and only drawing for oneself. For him, journaling is a gift you give yourself. A record of one's journey through life. He stressed the importance of developing a habit of drawing as an adult as a way to see the world in a different way. As a way to stay in the present moment. Beginning next week we will be drawing as a group in class and on our own for at least a few minutes everyday in between. I am eager to begin the process, having not sat down to sketch in many, many, many years. I did find this old drawing of mine, the only one I seem to have kept, and am posting it as a way to fully commit to this new venture.

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I recently completed an ATC trade with Debra Tennison from n2theblue. The first 2 pictures below are the ATCs Debra sent to me and the last 2 are the ones I made and sent to her. Click to enlarge.





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Thanks go out to Spot at Ink Haven for passing the I Love Your Blog award on to me. Spot writes the most imaginative, lyrical, and poetic prose on her blog. Her words always inspire such vivid images. Much appreciation!

Danny Gregory

Are you familiar with the work of Danny Gregory? Danny is a talented, self-taught artist who shares his wealth of creative insight through art journaling, as is evident in his website and throughout his many publications. His newest book, to be released in December, spotlights the private sketchbooks of artists, illustrators and designers. I am lucky enough to be able to be taking a seven week course with Danny entitled Everyday Matters: Illustrated Journaling as a Path to Creativity. Beginning this week, I will be posting after class to share my experiences. This feels like a great way to bring 2008 to a close! Images in this post by Danny Gregory.