David L's online art college

Archive for March, 2010

Drawing Thoughts

Drawing is complicated, right? Well, it doesn’t need to be, it’s just that sometimes the subject in question appears to be far too complex: the more you look at it the worse it gets, until eventually you become convinced that it simply doesn’t want you to draw it. This is rubbish, of course. You can draw anything, providing you look at it in the correct way and approach it with the right knowledge. Drawing, as a famous artist once said, is 90% observation and 10% actual art.

The common mistake beginner artists make is trying to draw every little detail and not giving up until this is achieved, however awful the result. Now, not only is this tedious and extremely un-fun, but it’s also pretty much impossible. Even the most accomplished artist will tell you that he rarely draws every single line. No, instead he / she simplifies it slightly, picking the larger sections of dark and light so that the true shape and design of the piece can be exposed. Drawing, you see, is not always about what you can see: it’s also about the dark bits in the shadows. And they are a good place to start because they are definite. Definition is what you want when drawing anything, and for that reason, drawing in a darker room is actually more beneficial to the beginner than drawing in one flooded with light.

Start any drawing by identifying what is dark and what is light, then, once you’ve created a vague outline, lightly sketch these parts in. Once you’ve done that the whole piece should start to take shape. You’ll be able to see what goes where, and it’ll start to make more sense.

I have a favour to ask of all you, have just put down a call with my cousin and I asked what she would like for her birthday. So now I need to deduce where to get a linen kaftan , any assistance is welcome, I am not a woman and don’t understand any of this.

Just Kids

I wasn’t a huge Patti Smith fan, so I’m not sure why I was so excited about receiving a copy of her autobiography Just Kids. Yes I knew she was important and that she had a following of people who revered her and yes I liked Horses but that was about as far as it went for me. However, as soon as I opened the front page of the book I was immediately hooked and suddenly I understood what her fans had been praising her for all these years.

The book is her story, it’s hers and Robert Mapplethorpe’s story, and it could be the story of any struggling artist out there. You don’t have to be a fan of Smith to get something out of this.

It charts her struggles, not only to become an artist, but also to become herself. Her family background is traditional, but this does not stop the not yet twenty one year old Patti from landing in New York City without any friends or money, and starting out on what would be her meteoric rise to fame.

At first she dabbles with drawing and writing while working in a book shop in order to pay the rent on hers and Robert’s flat. Then as time goes on and the experiments continue, Patti finds more of what she does want to do and less of what she doesn’t, all with a backdrop of her affair with Robert until he realises that he is gay. Their affair ends, but their connection never did.

The language Smith uses is, as you might expect, poetic and lyrical and worth reading for in itself. The book is a must-read for any aspiring artist and for any fan of Smith, or even just for fans of something that is incredibly well written. It is as inspirational as it is open and honest.

Before I go I need a bit of advice, I have been asked to design a stand for a friend of mine at the marketing convention this wednesday. Any tips on where I can get some good pvc banners at short notice?

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I've never believed in God, but I believe in Picasso.