We practiced Pure Contour or Blind Contour where the artist studies a subject intensely and does not look at his/her paper. The idea here is that the left brain has nothing to name or critique or measure, so it drops out. The right brain dives in the pure looking and recording of every line, crack, crevice, bump, edge, texture, and so forth. Because the artist does not look at the paper, the drawing ends up being a delightful mess of lines and curves. It sounds counterproductive, but indeed, the eye is being trained to draw what it sees!

Aiden drew his hand in several positions intensely focused on the subject and did not look at his paper. I drew some blind contours as well of my hand, so Aiden could see that every artist has his/her signature line or mark. I encourage him to not take his pencil off the paper, so the line and his concentration would be fluid and unbroken.

I asked him what he experienced during the drawings, and he told me he was concerned with the proportions of the hand drawings. I told him to let that go, so his right brain could take over. It is a process and journey, and Aiden told me he was enjoying it!

Art Elements: Texture, Negative and Positive Space, Depth: Linear and Atmospheric Perspective

Dr. Mary came to the art room and spoke with Ben about options for art class. Ben said he likes drawing, so for now he wants stay in the drawing class.

Ben chose to draw a still life today in drawing class. He was engaged in the drawing process and chose to wear his headphones. Ben has a unique style of drawing, and I want to encourage him to continue his artistic pursuit of drawing.

If Ben wants to continue in Drawing 1, we will not follow the textbook from the other drawing course. When appropriate, I can support Ben’s learning with image-based drawing references and diagrams for information, practice, and learning.

Given that Ben is a senior and has fulfilled his Fine Art credits, we can treat this as a senior studio drawing class that affords Ben choice and freedom. I did present this option to Ben at the end of class, and he said he didn’t know. We can let Ben think about this in discussion with his parents and Dr. Mary.

We are shifting from a Verbal L-Mode to a Visual R-Mode with the Vases/Faces Exercise: Aiden did this exercise several times to practice the switch from L-Mode Verbal to R-Mode Visual. He did very well! This Faces/Vases exercise creates a conflict because you want to stop naming the parts of the face to make the vase symmetrical. The first part of the exercise is a face in profile that you name the parts: forehead, eyes, nose, upper lip, lower lip, chin, and neck. Then you go to the opposite side and switch to the R-Mode looking only at shapes of the spaces in between as you try to make the vase symmetrical.

Then he worked on the famous upside-down drawing. It is a drawing that is upside-down and covered. As Aiden works copying it, he uncovers more of the drawing. He is only drawing what he sees: lines, shapes, and spaces. The L-Mode drops out because it does not do upside-down. The R-Mode is not bothered by the upside-down because it is able to see lines, shapes, spaces. Here we see as an artist who has been trained to see!

Aiden will work on this upside-Down Drawing in class until he finishes it. He is focusing intensely and is engaged in his learning!

Cam continued to work on his still life drawing and finished it. He is practicing measuring the height and width of the objects, the relationships of spaces between the objects, and shading the objects. I am encouraging him to look at the negative spaces: the spaces between and around the objects. He is open to my suggestions of checking the size relationships and adding more dramatic shading and highlights. Bravo, Cam!

Then Cam started working on the lettering for the Art Room Brag Wall! We will be putting up student artwork for the school to look at and enjoy!

Aiden continued working on his Pre-instruction Drawing #2: Self-Portrait. He was intensely focused on the task. The drawing will serve as visual record of growth as he continues in this course. Another important component of this course and textbook is to turn on the right brain/R-Mode to learn how to use and improve our drawing through nonverbal visual understanding that perceives the relationship of the parts to the whole without using words to name (L-Mode) and symbols to substitute (L-Mode) for what we truly see. For Example: the symbol for a human eye is universal; however, in R-mode we look at the following: 1) the edges: where one edge starts and another begins, 2) the shapes of the spaces surrounding the form, 3) the relationship of sizes, 4) the lights and darks that create values, and 5) the gestalt: the relationship of the parts to the whole. He finished his Pre-Instruction Drawing #2 and started his Pre-Instruction Drawing #3: Draw Your Hand.

Aiden is working hard!

To build on our learning from last week, I set up a still life for Cam with all white objects. The purpose here is to have Cam practice his line, values, and creation of form through shading while I introduce depth. The objects in the front are brighter, larger, and more detailed than the objects behind and receding in space. Using only white objects helps Cam to see the values from white highlight to mid-grays to dark shadows. I had Cam use a gray scale and value finder card with 10 values to see the possibilities of values using pencil. He has been working in his sketchbook and is accumulating a solid collection of drawing exercises.

The still life he started today shows great potential! I am excited to see his finished drawing!

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To continue our pre-instruction work as directed by our textbook, I gave Aiden a mirror, paper, pencil, and an eraser to draw his self-portrait. Aiden worked intensely for 45 minutes up to the bell. He made a great start. His contour line describing his facial characteristics has a lovely quality to it. He will finish it next class. When he is finished, he will label his drawing, sign it, and date it for his record to measure his growth in drawing skills.

I showed Aiden the self-portrait drawing that I completed this past weekend. It is important in drawing to practice frequently and keep your skills sharp!

Good work, Aiden!

I gave Aiden his textbook: Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by Dr. Betty Edwards. This scholarly introduction to drawing textbook has been used in art classrooms in high schools and on college and university campuses for over 40 years. It is the tried and true method to learn how to draw! I also gave Aiden his homework assignment related to the assigned reading.

Today Aiden completed his Pre-Instruction Drawing #1: "A Person, Drawn from Memory." He labeled it, signed it, and dated it. This drawing will serve as a record to refer back to as he continues to grow in his drawing skills.

Aiden will work on his Pre-Instruction Drawing #2: "Self-Portrait" on Monday.

Aiden shows great promise and enthusiasm for learning! I am excited to be working with Aiden on his drawing skills journey!