Fun!

As you know,  I really like drawing with close observation to convey the true character of object(s) being drawn.  I recently did a post about  understanding simple linear perspective as a tool in that endeavor.  Here, however, is a house drawn frontally (from the back actually) with no use of perspective at all, - none needed!  I like the graphic aspects of it, the emphasis on the shape of the building and the design aspects of the drawing itself,  e.g. the repetition of shape, line and texture. All this adds up to a nice little drawing but..........



Sometimes it's fun to play a bit!

Often I will use my memory of a particular place or object to produce a quirky interpretation that's fun to do and at least as fun to look at. The one here on the left was not hard to conjure up at all.  It is a federal style "townhouse" built about 1845, my happy home for many years. The other, just as loosely interpreted, is based on my mind's eye picture of another nice house on the same street. Neither are this misshapen or so rickety looking. It was just a few minutes playing with the shapes while enjoying the quality of the pencil line that resulted in these happy works.  They are the kind of simple drawings that might have been illustrations for a children's story book. (One of my not so secret fantasies!)  They could have been ink line rather than pencil or perhaps wood or linoleum block prints. While we as artists spend endless time "learning to see"and honing our skills as draftsmen, many times there is great satisfaction and profit in letting loose to produce less academic work, - pieces of  more poetry and less sweat!

As I often do, I end this short post encouraging you to draw, - but while you certainly have to work at it, take a deep breath and make sure you enjoy your work.  Do it!

"If It's not fun you're doing it wrong"  George De Carlo