Kids Studies- Part 1
Graphite / Girl in Grassland / Yao Cheng
Drawing is a lifelong practice for me, but it has been a long time since I last opened my sketchbooks. I am, however, trying to make room for it more now in my weeks. I recently finally figured out that I am most creative in the mornings, so I try to protect those first few hours to doing only creative work.
Ease of Drawing:
There is something really approachable about drawing. I can do it anywhere, and do not have to worry about paints spilling over or bringing along water containers. I just have to sit down, open up my sketchbook, and draw what I see. If I allow myself the time to flip to a fresh page and hear how my thoughts want to settle, I will then quickly fall into that lovely place of creative immersion. Everything else around me blurs and quiets down. I hear the leaves rustle outside and the etches of my pencil against paper. This physical connection to the paper allows my brain to say- Ok, let’s begin.
Graphite / Girl in Grassland / Yao Cheng
Beginning Pieces:
Most of these types of sketches remain just that- an interesting question that’s answered somewhat but also not quite yet. Sometimes though, the pieces do come together and then something interesting will arise. But to puzzle it all out, I have to first gather the pieces… Image reference is one- Pinterest imageries are an easy and accessible way for me to learn about proportions, face features, etc… Subject matter is another- kids remain a central fascination for me right now. They are full of spirit and curiosity, and it has been a joy for me to try and express these aspects through line work. Method of drawing is a third- there are so many ways to experiment with, and over time, I’ve found two that I come back to again and again.
Two of my favorite:
I am noticing that one of the ways I really like to draw is with very messy marks. This one here is an example of me liking to make very messy marks- some of them capture the person and some of them capture the light. I have always drawn this way, and no matter how much I try to “contain” this method or be more retrained with my marks, I’m never able to stray far from it. I always end up coming back to messy scribbles, within the subject and outside of it. All of the measuring lines stay- I rarely pickup my eraser to take anything away. In this way, all mistakes become part of the art.
“I always end up coming back to messy scribbles, within the subject and outside of it.”
Another way I love to draw is then the complete opposite. For whatever reason, there are then times where I can be totally “contained” and try to make as few marks as possible. My creative brain is such an enigma, and I suspect I will spend my life’s career trying to understand it fully!
In this way of drawing, I focus mainly on line work and only sparingly shade in tones. I love drawing in this method when I’m trying to capture movement. “How can I grab those ephemeral moments of running? Of jumping?” I can also see that these line sketches are definitely a cross-over from my watercolor brush strokes.
Above are two attempts of a child running through a field. While incomplete, I love them at this stage. I like to imagine the child slowly disappearing back into the page where so much is left unsaid. The foreground merges back into the background. This way of drawing, for me, is also the most difficult way to sketch. I have to rely so much on my eyes for proportion and placement. I like the challenge of not being able to put down measuring marks, to instead draw with intuition. It actually reminds me a lot of blind-gesture drawing. I cannot look at the paper and only at the subject. My pencil end up mostly remaining as one continuous line, the art is usually pretty wild and non-sensical. Still, it teaches me so much about hand-eye coordination.
Anyhow, that’s what this type of drawing likely comes partially from. A mixture of blind-gesture drawing and painted brush strokes. I love this discovery, and I know there are so many different ways I can apply it to future work!
Graphite / Girl Looking Down / Yao Cheng
This drawing is one of my favorites so far. I’ve combined both drawing methods here and found just the right balance- it says enough but not too much.
It is an example of what I think of as a successful drawing- where seeing what I’ve drawn matches what I was feeling. When it happens, it is art at its’ most magical splendor. Here, without imposing any sort of expectation on this sketch, I was able to express everything that I was thinking and wondering about at that moment. This drawing was actually meant to only be a fleeting thumbnail sketch. I was trying to figure out how much of the subject I do not have to draw but still convey the weight of emotion. I think it helped tremendously that I did not expect this sketch to turn into anything. It allowed my pencil lines to stay fluid and organic. There are just enough there to get the variations of tone, weight and rhythm. This drawing will be part of a new Art Print drawing series that I’m working on. More on that to come!
“...what I think of as a successful drawing- where seeing what I’ve drawn matches what I was feeling.”
I have filled a few sketchbooks at this point with trying to catch more of those splendid drawing moments. They are each a question, and I am folding this back into my creative practice to answering them, one at a time.
Graphite / Boy on Pond / Yao Cheng
