The process in drawing is the THOUGHT-process. That’s where the excitement is.
There’s excitement in the finished painting, too, but that has to do with the effect the painter achieved.
When we love a drawing, we love it for the thought process that went into it. We feel that we are standing next to the artist as he or she is working it out. I don’t mean laboriously, tediously working out a series of syllogisms. What we’re witnessing is intense concentration where many variables and possibilities are instantly related and are coming into focus.
A lively drawing is full of abandoned possibilities, first takes that were superseded. Every shape is indicated, nothing is outlined. Even when the drawing is “finished,” it is a possible statement rather than a definitive one.
None of these words and phrases are adequate, none stand in one-to-one correspondence to the process.
Shown above, a student drawing that invites you into the thought process.
Drawing by Mary Shieldsmith, April 2022
All contents copyright (C) 2010 Katherine Hilden. All rights reserved.
http://www.katherinehilden.com
Great post Katherine! Love your student’s enigmatic drawing. Hope you’re enjoying teaching your drawing class. Your students are very fortunate to have you as a teacher ☺️
The political news keeps getting more discouraging if that is possible. My only hope that SCOTUS’ likely Roe reversal galvanizes Dems to turn out in 2022. Even with a big turnout however, there are so few truly competitive districts (thanks to GOP partisan gerrymandering across the country) it may not make much of a difference.
Our new vacation house in Door County has been delayed…more supply chain problems. So we’ll have to move out of our current (sold) condo and into a B&B and then to a hotel. It has been stressful but I keep reminding myself that this is a first world problem. Millions of others have far worse problems than we do.
Hope you’ve avoided COVID; we have for now. I know so many people who have (mild) breakthrough infections. And I hope you’re playing lots of ping pong!
K
Keven Wilder Cell: 773-636-6289 kevenwilder@mac.com http://www.kwilderart.com instagram.com/kwilderart/
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