Here are a 
few of my nightly doodles...I like to pic up a plain ol'blue BIC pen and copy some draughtsmen I really like, as noted in my last post. 
It makes watching Adam Lambert on America Idol even more exciting! What a hottie. Boy, I wanna paint him. My blue Bic pen would work perfectly on his blue/black hair.
And I don't feel like I am wasting time watching TV indulging myself in Adam fantasies. www.myspace.com/adamlambertmusic
I remember once Glenn Vilppu saying in a class you could teach yourself to draw if you practised hard enough. This stuck with me.
I was also lucky enough to watch Glen Orbik's class (http://www.animationartgallery.com/aglenorbikfineart.html) going on at The California Art Institute where we both taught. Him, WAY longer than me. I will NEVER draw as good as this guy. My exceptional artist friend, and generous colleague, Tony Pro, http://www.tonypro-fineart.moonfruit.com/,also a teacher at CAI for many years advised me to do this.
So I would pop into Orbik's class tired at the END of my double teaching class feeling 'cream -crackered, London cockney slang for 'knackered') just to watch this guy draw for a while. But one of the things I KEPT hearing him say, was to pick a draughtsman you liked, or style of drawing, and copy it again and again to learn, and then some. I also saw a lot of paying students return to that class each week telling the teacher Orbik when he asked, that they had NOT been practising that week. Then they got frustrated at their progress. They also didn't watch Glen much which baffled me. He was more patient than me as a teacher, that I can tell you.
Which brings me back to Adam Lambert. He is the best singer AI has ever seen (don't care if he is gay or not!) and he has been practising his craft since the age of 10 years old - hard. I have watched ever single interview he has done and his passion and hard work shine through.
HMMM...could talent all be in the repetition? Or is it sheer genius?
PS. If anyone out there in Blogsphere knows Adam Glambert, tell him I want to paint him will you?? I believe in the power of the universe. Get busy.
6 comments:
Wow...the eye and mouth study in particular really knocked me out! These are beautiful...and in blue Bic? There is NO excuse for not drawing now! This reminds me of an assignment my first painting teacher in art school gave us: a year-long (really a life-long) assignment, to pass in at least 20 drawings per week. They could be on anything, scraps of paper, whatever...we just had to keep drawing. You're right, it's that persistent practice that matters.
Thanks Paula..yes, all done in blue Bic. For some reason I love those pens and it is a really nice blue. I think 20 drawings a week would be huge for anyone!
Our demonstrator at our SFVAC meeting this month said much the same thing. (Brenda Swenson) She's a watercolorist but has in fact published a couple of books about drawing. WITH A PEN!!!
You know, Teach, it seems that your sage advice is always true!! Now if only I would follow it. I always love your blog, Johanna!
Nice drawings! I need to practice 30 minutes a day at least. I've signed up to take a drawing class with Dawn Whitelaw and I'm very excited about it.
Well, this was a British kick in the buns that I really needed, thanks, teach.
Love your drawings!
Hey, leave my British Buns alone!
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