Wednesday, May 11, 2011

About Accuracy

Every once in a while I'll set up a problem for myself,  - a  quick still life of sorts, - something different from the usual figures and organic forms which I've shown previously.  Here I've scattered a bunch of paint tubes in such a way that we see some in profile, others in end views, most all obliquely.  If total accuracy were my primary concern I might have resorted to linear perspective, a technical method of constructing and depicting 3-dimensional forms on a 2-dimensional surface, but that would take more time and effort than I'm willing to expend on a sketch.  Even tho' I say looking and seeing are very important, knowledge is power!   It does help to understand the rules of 2 & 3 point-perspective, so given a problem of this sort we can interpret what is seen more easily by keeping in mind the rules of perspective.   


Aside from perspective, one of the things I pay particular attention to is "negative space", the spaces between the objects. While looking at shapes of the objects themselves, observing the shapes of the spaces carefully helps over all accuracy. 

In the end, I love drawing without any intervention;  putting the pen directly to paper is a real challenge.   I accept the natural distortions resulting and enjoy the "hand-made" qualities of the final product.  For me there is so much more "life" in a drawing that looks as if a human hand did the work.  Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with accurate drawing.  A fine, beautifully rendered drawing is a joy to behold but if it truly looks like a photograph, why not use a camera?

No comments:

Post a Comment