Take a careful look at every view
Next time you find yourself waiting somewhere uninspiring - in a carpark, say, or at your office window, looking at a view you’ve seen a million times before, ask yourself what you would draw from it if you had to.
It’s easy to dismiss a concrete landscape or an over-familiar vista, but there is always something worth your attention. It might be a small architectural detail; it might be the clouds in the sky; a sign with unusual lettering - anything that resonates with you. If you really cannot find anything specific, start looking for shapes and patterns in the buildings or parked cars. Or just go ahead and draw - you’ll be surprised how even the most mundane objects can become interesting when seen through the artist’s eye.
Another method is to imagine you are visiting from another country. When I’m abroad I find very mundane things interesting simply because they are different and new to me. Think, too, how still lives from another era, showing everyday tools and equipment, become fascinating to us when we view centuries later - what would you draw to show someone in years to come?
If you carry a small sketchbook in your bag, it is a good habit to get into and an excellent way of filling otherwise dead time. It is also a real challenge: if you can take something dull and make it worth looking at, that is a real achievement.
Posted: September 19th, 2007 under Inspiration, Subjects, No time to draw.
Comments: 3
3 Comments
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All these days I’ve been meaning to comment to this post because it’s SO TRUE what you’re saying here… Nothing so fun and interesting as visiting the places you’re used to as if you were seeing them from a tourist/foreigner/alien point of view… and really looking at what you’re seeing… (and a cheap way to ‘travel’ if you ask me :)).
And I *love* this post’s drawing.
(I was going to post this comment in the ‘Pick a theme’ but I think it fits better this one)
On a recent work trip to Copenhagen I got to have two hours to spare (yay!) and shoot photos like mad to get some documentation when I got back home. The photos have not been very useful (I should have thought of what I wanted first!), but I used them to get to know the structures of their houses.
It may sound obvious, but drawing them made me thought about the differences between ‘their’ facades and ‘mine’… It’s a city with not much hours of light so they fit as many windows as they can in their facades; also they have not much balconies (although I could glance one or two) because it makes not much sense in this mostly cold land. I live in Barcelona, a Mediterranean city which doesn’t need so many windows (we need to hide in our long hot & humid summer), but instead our facades are usually plenty of balconies, to enjoy the sunny and warm weather- and pollution, of course).
And the thing I love best is their colourful buildings (although I also love the brick ones)- I don’t think we could have so many happy coloured houses here, it might hurt our eyes with all this brightness in the sun…
I have yet to enter one of this houses. I really want to because their distribution may have a lot to say about the differences in our habits too.
Those pictures are wonderful - and aren’t you lucky to live in such a wonderful city with so many opportunities for drawing - not to mention visiting another.