Thursday, February 16, 2006

Thoughts On My Progress

I asked Bevin (my love) if she thought my drawings were improving. She said that she thinks that I am getting more consistent, which makes me feel good. I told her the other day that I felt that I was getting less attached to my drawings and that I can more easily abandon one if it doesn't feel like it is going well. I think this is a valuable way of approaching a drawing because when I start over, I am able to apply what I learned and to correct errors that I discovered in my previous attempts. I like the feeling of learning a pose. I would rather build toward a completed drawing than to feel like Im spending most of my time correcting the marks I just made. There is a thin line between refining a line and correcting it. I think I'm getting a better feel for when I've entered "correction mode" which I think is a sign that I've started to focus too much on details and have yet to capture the major constructive elements of the form. This is my number one goal: to capture the proportions in a way that is representative of my perspective relative to the model. To be able to be confident as I do this (which I think brings along a certain amount of quickness) goes hand in hand with this goal. Secondary goals include line quality, being able to see the major divisions between light and shadow, drawing the air between the model and myself, etc.