Put me in a fur coat, fake of course, purple turban and stuff a party invite into my hand, when I get old. I want to be just like this.
My drawing for today's challenge with a blue BIC pen on canvas and with a nod to Anders Zorn, one of my favorite draughtsmen. Copying his drawings really is a joy and very beneficial.
Regarding copying paintings and drawings of other artists, I think you have to have a certain understanding/art knowledge of painting and what the Masters were doing before you can really learn from them.
I remember years ago copying two Bouguereau paintings. I did a pretty good job as a copyist but learned nothing about cool transitions in skin tone which he was so good at because my knowledge wasn't there yet to understand. I thought I had learned though, because I had two fairly nice 'copy' paintings to show off. Dangerous stuff.
Same with copying a Zorn drawing. Where he put a hard edge or lost, how he used his light and dark value pattern for composition in a drawing, is a delight to observe when one knows what one is looking for. An 'ah-ha" moment so to speak.
How does one understand when one doesn't yet know what to look for? It is like reading an art instruction book. Reading it just two years later in one's art learning journey it IS a whole different book filled with deeper gems. What do you think? What do you get from copying The Masters?
2 comments:
Your wonderful drawing and thoughtful words remind me of a teacher I once worked with at the first school where I was principal. She was reviewing the notes of a workshop about developmental learning we had taken a few years earlier. She looked at me and said something to the effect that after two years of work with the program she was just beginning to understand the information in the notes.... -- We are all at our own level of development.
Yes, exactly Marian. And one can't rush that developmental pace. I am amazed by some artists that just get IT quickly and fly. I am such a slow learner.
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