Artwala Road

‘Common sense is the enemy of romance’ Oscar Wilde

In an art blog in The Guardian this morning Cathy Lomax, who’s founded an artzine called Arty, proposes that art now shift to the romantic. There’s not been much romance in art for the last twenty years. Art’s been all about minimal, conceptual and SERIOUS. It seems like fun couldn’t possibly be art. And that love can’t be fun.

Lomax remembers a teenage, secret fondness for the novels of the all-too-tacky Barbara Cartland—

“She had very large eyes in a heart-shaped face and her hair under her plain, unfashionable bonnet was the colour of ripening corn. Her eyes surprisingly were not blue but, unless he was mistaken, the grey of a wintry sea.” (Love for Sale - Barbara Cartland)

He was probably mistaken, but never mind. I love the idea of a new art movement that is F.U.N. It isn’t a common sense idea, of course.
www.artymagazine.com

February 7th, 2007 | Category: Drawing Life | Leave a comment

The day before class last Saturday one of our members called to ask if her husband might take her place as she had another commitment. I’ve met her husband many times socially. Scott’s a lovely man and a consultant, as it turns out, to government agencies. I knew he drew very little and I expected we ladies would offer encouragement.

Scott arrived at class and the ladies all welcomed him. This Saturday I’d decided we’d work on our life drawing skills. Most of the members of the class are more comfortable with drawing from nature but I think we need to be comfortable, fearless even, in drawing everything.

I posed and they drew. Afterwards when I went around to see what they’d done I discovered Scott had done the most beautifully rendered, accurate drawings. The ladies, meanwhile, were aghast at the way the proportions in their drawings had gone distinctly overboard. Then we did an exercise of drawing from our heads. Again everyone struggled, save for Scott. He drew a series of imaginative, bang-on portraits, more full of character than the ones I, the teacher, drew.

I asked Scott if he drew often. No, not since childhood, he said, but then he’d spent hours making carefully rendered drawings. Clearly drawing is like riding a bicycle, wherever you get with it stays with you.

Meanwhile the ladies were feeling, I think, a little frustrated. In fact, some of their drawings became less confident as the morning went on. What does it mean when we’re confronted with someone whose skills are more developed and appear to have been effortlessly acquired? Can we still assert ourselves and march boldly forward? Or do we shrink?

So, I’m thanking Scott for giving us the opportunity to march boldly forward. In the ladies’ drawings it was plain to see spirit and strength emerging because they kept trying despite discouragement. That’s just as important as what our drawings look like and far, far more touching.

February 5th, 2007 | Category: Drawing Life | Comments (4)

Our drawing class started up again on Saturday with some new members. We spent some time doing abstract drawings so we could get the feel of everybody’s hand and explore the pure possibility of line and shade. Then we moved onto imaginary landscapes and tried to bring those lines, smudges, shadings into them. I think the new people were relieved; their drawings didn’t have to look like anything. But it can be hard to just play too. It looks like we’re not going anywhere but inspired play is so necessary to art and creativity.

Once again we listened to The Essential Leonard Cohen. The art got bolder.

That same night, by chance, Dear A and I watched Leonard Cohen, I’m Your Man. It’s half documentary, half concert. The director interviews Cohen and various artists perform his songs to varying degrees of success. But the words really open you up. The best performance was the last, when Cohen performed with U2, Bono and the rest ever so respectful.The devotion of all the artists in the film was just great.

Cohen says he considers himself to be a minor writer. I wouldn’t say that but the devotion to just doing the work day after day is major inspiration. I’m going to assign the film for homework.

January 28th, 2007 | Category: Drawing Life | Comments (3)

Our drawing class met last Saturday again and I dreamt up a few new things for us to explore. It’s a nonlinear class; the idea being that whatever we do serves the greater good and practice yields gifts of skill and insight. It surprises me how thrilling it is for everyone. We’re just drawing, after all. Some of the class haven’t drawn since childhood and others have drawn off and on. I’m the teacher and I’ve drawn for a living for thirty years and it’s as thrilling for me as it is for them.

It’s because we’re going somewhere. And every time we do something new we take notice but don’t attach. We’re practicing staying open to inspiration and seeing what comes next. There’s no judgment, only discernment. We look to see what we’ve done and for each of us it’s different, without fail.

On Saturday we practiced drawing faces. I showed them how to draw a simple oval and then draw a face in a stylized way. We cranked up the music, something full of longing this time—Leonard Cohen. Something to open the veins of feeling. And everyone did something interesting with such a simple exercise.

Two people had real artistic breakthroughs. They did work beyond what they thought they could, beyond expectation. True creative exploration that surprised us all. It’s what happens when people gather together in good spirit to focus on doing something for themselves. To just be and experience. Now we take that same spirit into our lives. It all gets curiouser and curiouser.

January 16th, 2007 | Category: Drawing Life | Leave a comment