Those Drawings

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I’ve been drawing the last few days a little more. Drawing always takes me back to the college years when I walked around with my sketchbook just like Jack Dawson, the character played by Leonardo DiCaprio in Titanic. Those drawings also looked very similar. Drawing was a daily activity at any given chance. I don’t think I developed a classical drawing technique but I always had fun.

It is always interesting to see people’s reactions. The reaction to those drawings is still the same today after 20 years. I wish I knew back then about attribution theory, although I think I asked the right questions to their curious and judgmental questions about the nude figure. People ask why are the drawings nude and why I don’t draw clothes on them. My answer is that I’m a figure artist and not a fashion designer. I wonder if people ask OB-GYN physicians to change their specialty to something less intrusive.

People assume that because the drawing is a nude figure it is something impure, dirty, or sexual. This is not surprising in a society that measures the value of a human being based on their sexuality and not in the intrinsic value as a person. The figure is just visually interesting. The human body is a beautiful thing. No, I don’t see people naked when I walk around. I don’t have x-ray vision. I guess, and attribution theory comes to play again, that people see the way they see because of who they are. People will produce and interpret things based on their condition. However, the intentions of the heart are exposed to One and I am not the One to judge or justify.

Experimentation and Discovery

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Photo Dec 09, 3 36 39 PMI shared some studio time with a little friend, 4 year old Adie. As she began painting and mixing paint she turned to me and said, “Look! Yellow mixed with red makes orange! I didn’t know that!” This happened several times as she discovered green, purple, pink, gray, and the most exciting discovery: brown! She continued painting switching brushes, sometimes her using her fingers, and sometimes a brush in each hand at the same time. The task continued for about 90 minutes until the canvas was covered. Of course her hands, clothes, and areas of the studio got some share of paint, but it was fun to watch.

Kids have the capacity to engage in a task without considering what people might think. Kids are not creating because they want to please someone or to show off their abilities. They create because it flows from within. They create for the fun of it. Their minds are free from prejudice. Kids are not concentrated on a future sale or market value. They just create.

Photo Dec 09, 4 39 44 PMDo you remember the last time you engaged in an art project just for fun? When was the last time you experimented and discovered something new for your art? Experimentation leads to discovery. Engage in experimentation as kids do. I can’t stop saying this: Renew your love for what you do. Pretend you don’t know. Pretend it is your first time and enjoy it.  Forget about production and time for a moment and just go with the flow of your creative process. Try something new. Watch a kid paint or sculpt. A kid follows imagination where it takes them. It is not about technique or perfection. They just flow with it. Expose yourself with the mind of a kid, experiment, and discover.