Draw stuff again.. and again
Cézanne painted the same mountain over and over again. Miró had a thing about birds. Hopper painted more lighthouses than you can shake a stick at. Paula Rego keeps returning to the theme of childhood. So why is it that often, when you or I have drawn something, we never return to the subject again?
Drawing something isn’t like watching a film - you can’t tick it off once you’ve given it a go. On the contrary, while a bad film might become more and more boring the more you watch it, your pictures can only get better and better.
In fact, you’ll find that as you come back to a subject, you’ll have learned, even if you have done so subliminally. Things that didn’t work the first time will be discarded. Things that did work, emphasised.
It’s part of human nature that we want to move on all the time. Going back to a subject might feel like regression, but that’s not so: it’s progress.
The painters I mention above, and every painter worth his salt, has a theme, a recurring motif - an obsession, even. Do you? In a way, it’s not something you can force, but, rather, something you’ll discover. As you draw and paint more often, you might find that some subject matter just keeps insinuating itself back into your work. That’s your theme!
Your task: Look back over your work and find something you’d like to tackle again.
My attempt. Let me assure you that I am not obsessed by myself, but of course I am always a subject that is close to hand! I suppose I should be romantic and start a series of pictures of my husband instead.
Posted: August 9th, 2007 under Subjects.
Comments: 2
2 Comments
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I have a bit of a recurring theme of things botanical and mechanical. I feel comfortable drawing them, the finished picture almost always pleases me, and I get the most compliments on them. But I really want to get good at drawing people! People are much harder for me to draw, and because they take more effort I don’t practice them often enough, so I don’t improve as quickly as I’d like.
But no, I don’t get tired of drawing the same type of thing over and over. The things I repeat are things I’m better at and enjoy drawing… still, there’s a feeling of dissatisfaction that I’m not spending the time drawing more challenging subjects.
I think we share an affinity in subject matter, there. And I also value drawing people above any other subject, despite the challenges.
Here’s a thought, though: drawing things we find hard means that we’re actively working at finding solutions. That can bring more satisfaction when we finally get it right…