Lots of sound but no vision

When I talk to students about the art, I begin by asking them: how many hours a day do you spend listening to music. Their response is usually in double figures and for some the headphones remain plugged in even during sleep. In response to my next question: how many hours a day do you spend looking at pictures (and I don't mean videos) the response is zero.

Until recently it would have been impossible for those of us living on a small island in the Caribbean to spend time looking at the work of painters and sculptors, both past and present. But the internet has changed all that. Almost every major art gallery in the world now has their collection on-line and there are hundreds of sites devoted to individual artists. A good starting point for looking at pictures can be found at: www.abcgallery.com

It is by studying the work of others that we develop as artists in our own right. Notice that I say studying and not copying. 

Art students in the following countries regularly follow my main diary page at: sculpturestudiodominica.blogspot.com 

USA, UK, Ukraine, Philippines, Spain, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Columbia, Czech Republic, Ireland, Portugal, Algeria, India, Chile, Russia, China, Thailand, South Africa, Sweden, Poland, Serbia, Romania, Bangladesh, Australia, France, Peru, Brazil, Norway, Belgian, Italy, Japan, Canada, Switzerland, Honduras, Kenya, Germany, Malaysia, ShiLanka, Hungary, Myanmar (Burma), and almost all of the Caribbean Islands.

If they can take an interest in Art, so can you!

My sketch of Dominica’s Carnival Parade gives you the vision and leaves you to key in the sound.

Keeping it simple

In terms of drawing materials, anything goes.  Toulouse-Lautrec and Auguste Rodin at times resorted to drawing on brown wrapping paper and painting on sheets of cardboard.  I made the sketch below with the only materials at hand: a ballpoint pen and a sheet of photocopy paper. 

Gretel Sleeping

The more readily available the materials the more you can afford to practice.  A successful artist covers acres of paper with sketch after sketch.  Take heart, for the learning curve does not always climb steadily upwards.  There are times when you feel to be getting nowhere.  But you must continue to work through those periods.  The reward comes when on day you unexpectedly break through to new ground.

I can draw and paint without any materials at all.  As I queue at the supermarket my eyes are studying the people around me and my brain is mentally working out how I would put the scene down on paper: the lines, the shades, the colours.

Below is one of Toulouse-Lautrec’s sketches that he made with a stick of red chalk.  Use the internet for find out more about this artist.

The Art Spirit

Almost a hundred years ago an artist named Robert Henri published a collection of notes that he had made for students attending his classes.  The notes are not about how to mix colours or draw perspective, but rather they delve into the very nature of the creative soul.  As such, it is worth more than all the How to Draw and Paint books put together. The book remains in print and is available in paperback from Dover Publications. My Notes for Art Students are in a similar vein. 

I will occasionally quote at random from the book, beginning with:

We are not here to do what has already been done.

This is something I have to keep reminding myself.  We can’t forever keep repeating the same painting, no matter how successful.  Creativity must break new ground. The fundamental necessity for any artist is not paper and paints, but passion.  Without it, technical ability is useless.   

The two sketches below show the possibilities of the materials that I introduced last week.  The first is one of my studies of the nude figure, and the second a drawing made in the Congo war zone by Feliks Topolski.  Use the internet to find out more about this artist.

Making a start

By following these notes each week you will begin to understand what art is all about. Furthermore, you will develop your own skill as an artist. It will take time and practice, but I assure you that it can be done. 

The greatest difficulty is making a start. Even after a lifetime of painting I still feel nervous when I begin a new painting. In my mind I can see what I want, but the challenge is to get that vision down on paper.   

To begin with we are going to use simple materials that cost very little. You can by 17 sheets of newsprint paper at J E Nassief on the Bay Front for EC$3.80. The sheets measure 34” x 22”. If you cut them in two you get 34 sheets and that works out at only 11 cents per sheet! From Garraway Enterprises you can buy a stick of charcoal for EC$2.00. For less than six dollars you have all you need to begin, so let’s make a start.

Newsprint paper and charcoal are two of my favourite materials. The paper has a nice off-white tint which gradually mellows to a brownish yellow with age. Charcoal is very versatile. It can make light lines or dramatic darks. Try making sheet after sheet of doddles and scribbles just as I have done below. Keep the lines crisp and try to avoid smudging. Don’t worry about making a picture, just get used to handling your materials.

Incidentally, one item you will not need is an eraser. Every line counts, whether it’s wrong or right, but more about this in later notes. 

The sketch at the head of today’s notes is a still life that I made as a five-minute demonstration for a class of art students. It was drawn with charcoal on newsprint; the very same materials that you are now using. 

Each week I will introduce you to famous artists from the past.  I will start with one of the world's best known painters, Vincent van Gogh.  Below is one of his self portraits.  

You can research Vincent van Gogh on the internet to find out more about his life and work.