Don’t erase. “Mistakes” are your lessons. See your drawing objectively. Understand why you drew what you did. Draw a new line on top where you think it “should” go.
Don’t toss out drawings that didn’t go the way you wanted them to, but acknowledge that they’re just a record of a way of seeing. … We’re not making pretty, perfect pictures. We’re making a record of how we see.
Danny Gregory, “The Creative License“, page 86
I’ve had the opportunity to do some in-person life drawing again, thanks to artist Elijah Smith who’s organising it. It’s been a while, and my results have been mixed.
Doing a one-minute drawings, you’re instantly limited by what the drawing can be because there’s only so much graphite you can transfer to paper in 60 seconds. As there’s no point in worrying about the ‘perfect’ outcome, my energy goes instead into making a decision about where to start, the type of drawing (line, tonal), and getting pencil marks on paper. After a few of these, a five- and then 10-minute pose seems far longer than it is. The idea is that you continue drawing at the pace and energy you did with a one-minute pose.
At the end of the afternoon, I’ve a pile of drawings. Inevitably I do a judgement of them as to duds, could-do-better, okay, and satisfactory. A drawing I like enough to put up on my studio wall is a bonus. Mostly what I get from it is the enjoyment of drawing, the practice, the dynamic between the model and the artists, the creative energy.
