sketches

[libellum]

When I drew Fergus and liriselei in Oxford the other weekend, it was because I was very drunk, and because I was very drunk I gave the sketches to them without looking at them again. I regretted this later: I do draw quite a lot, but on the backs of envelopes or lecture notes, or on my skin, or I give them away, and so I have remarkably little to show for

Comments

[libellum]

I did AS Art. I had a scholarship at the school to do A Level but I had to drop it to concentrate on my Latin and Greek, or else I'd have no chance of getting the grades I needed for Cambridge. I was sorry to drop it, but it took up all my time. I still take the fact that I frequently got over 98% (as did other people in my school) in national art exams as an indication that the system was shot to hell. It shouldn't be possible, and as such was completely devoid of value.

I don't remember ever "learning to draw". I started copying people out of magazines when I was thirteen and just made it up as I went along. I suppose I had lessons and such in art class, but I never paid that much attention because still lifes and perspective exercises bored the hell out of me. I was taught to paint during AS level, but I don't think I was taught to draw. I could be wrong, however, and I've just realised it probably sounds like I'm bragging so I'll stop here :)

Laziness is the main reason I have so little artwork to me name. It's sickening. After finals is currently my mantra...

[ixwin]

(not that I'm as good as you but) I never formally 'learnt to draw' either - I started my art GCSE wondering why my teacher had thought I had any sort of talent, and finished it producing stuff I was fairly proud of (and in a few cases still am) - but all that happened in the middle was that I drew and painted a lot, rather than learning any specific theories or techniques.

[libellum]

It's bizarre. Maybe there are some skills that can only be learned through practice. I can't even think of what the skills are in drawing. It's just about reproducing shapes, surely, and choosing which shapes to represent and how much emphasis to give them and taking a bit of licence when something's too complex for you to reproduce all the lines. It's an art of looking at the world (like magic, according to Plutarch, although I'm not sure I agree). I don't know, can you teach someone how to see a certain way?