SKETCHING: the process (SKETCHBOOK #1)

SEEING (with your eyes)  +  THINKING (with your brain)  +  DOING (with your hands)

This process requires you to use many different muscles that need exercising in order to work as one. Consistently practicing and using these muscles together will strengthen their connection, and therefore improve your ability to draw/paint the things you see and imagine.

BLIND-CONTINUOUS-LINE DRAWINGS: A drawing exercise that works to strengthen the connection between the eyes, brain and hands.

• Requires your full attention to be on the object you're drawing/painting
• NO peaking at the paper you're drawing on
• Your drawing/painting utensil does not leave the paper

Miranda
Self
2010
Sharpie, Watercolor

The goal here is to draw WHAT you see WHEN you see it.

1. Choose an object.
2. Choose a starting point on the object and position your drawing utensil on your paper/surface.
3. SLOWLY begin tracing your eyes along the contours of your object, making sure to see the details as you go - at the same time, draw how your eyes are moving and what they're seeing.
4. IF you loose focus or get overwhelmed, pause, re-position your drawing/painting utensil if necessary, and slowly begin again.

Your expected outcome should not be that you have perfectly drawn your chosen object when you finally look at your paper! What you will have will likely be a disjointed, skewed, abstract version of the object you were drawing/painting.

Amy Berlin
Self-Portrait
2011
Sharpie

Paul Klee
The Mocker Mocked
1930
Oil on Canvas

SKETCHBOOK #1: Blind-Continuous-Line Drawings

In your sketchbook, complete a BCL Drawing of each of the following  

(spend at least 5 minutes on each):

• Crumpled paper
• 1hand
• One OTHER person
• YOURSELF