​Artist's Kayak

Healing Journey Workshop
  Artist's Kayak
  • Home
  • BLOG
  • BOOKS
  • Contact

Form and Content

12/28/2013

 
Picture
It is so hard to get past the meaningfulness of things so we can see in visual terms.  Can you tell whether this is a tree, petrified wood, or a rock?  Is it alive, a dead snag, a piece of plastic?  What if I told you it was a living tree?  What difference does it make?

If you think it is a tree, it is probably because you have been informed (incorrectly) by the trees and brush in the background.  This picture is from Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area near Las Vegas where I live.  It is, indeed, a red rock.  When it comes to content, context is everything.

When it comes to drawing and the visualization process, I think it is better to not know.  If I'm all worried about whether I can make this rock look like a rock instead of a tree, I am going to be distracted from seeing the light and form.  I try to keep it very abstract.  I am a shape wrangler. My questions have to do with how  the shapes overlap, butt together, or transition into each other.  That is pretty much all I need to know.

Picture
What is this?  Be careful... Don't say it.  See it as something else - like you have never seen it before. You have no idea what it is.  Place your thumb over its head.  For me, once I remove the head, it makes it so much easier to draw.  Why?  It helps me to forget and lose the meaning and impact of the narrative story and symbolism.  I feel the shift immediately.  With the head covered, place your other thumb over the tail.  Now it becomes very abstract. Is it easier to draw the shape?



Comments are closed.
    Picture
    ARTIST'S KAYAK
    Healing Journey Workshop
    Picture
    Chris E Hammond


    Link to 2019 Blog

    Archives

    January 2017
    February 2016
    December 2015
    October 2015
    July 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    November 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Home
  • BLOG
  • BOOKS
  • Contact