The (overly) Critical Eye

I received my ceramics paper back today.  We had written about each lesson and graded ourselves on creativity and craftsmanship and such.  The instructor added some comments to my paper, which began with the following:

"You were a bit too critical on your craftsmanship.  Rarely did I see you give up on a piece.  Your resilience and creative eye will take you places!"

I don't share this to point attention to my abilities, but to point out how artists tend to be their own worst critics.  We are so hard on ourselves it can be stifling.  The second sentence is not always true for me - especially when I'm sitting in my studio alone.  I'm tacking this up on the wall as motivation!

After too many days of bupkis, here's a bit of proof that I finally put pen to paper again.  Every fiber of my being wants to explain what is wrong with them.  Gaah!  It's so hard to not be overly critical!

Sketching in the Moleskine Cahier while my hubby checked on things at our business.  For once, I wish he would've been in there a little longer.

Contour drawing of negative space (drawing open spaces instead of branch lines) in our large locust tree.  It's remarkably easy to lose track in the many swaying branches.  The whiny cat interruptions didn't help.  (Milo hates wind).  He eventually won and we went back inside.

Fun with Lines

Virtual lesson 3 . . .

This week - contour drawing in pen, without lifting the pen, then paint.  The results can be "wonky" as our instructor says.  There's no sketching, erasing or redrawing, so the shapes are a bit more abstract - a challenge to the perfectionist in my brain.  The first go round, we drew with our usual drawing hand.  My subjects were a pitcher and an old cookbook of my Mom's.  My classmates and I submitted photos and shared feedback.  It's amazing the wide range of styles and skill levels.  Some have been artists for years and some are drawing for the first time.  Let me tell you (you "I can't draw" people), the newbies are catching on quick!

Then we moved on to contour drawing with your non dominant hand, still in ink -  YIKES!  Talk about no expectations of perfection.  I tried this a few months ago as part of my 30 day challenge (um, still not done with the challenge, oops) and found it freeing and fun.  This time around was just as fun, maybe more so since I'd tried it once before.  These angels really lent themselves to the imperfect lines.

You should try it.  It makes you laugh and the  wiggly results have a definite carefree feel.