Lunar Breeze Meditation

#2 pencil on paper, ~10x8"

Model:  
Reference:  "Meditate"


The paper got scratched somehow (not sure how) pretty early on in the process...  Right on the middle of the figure's forearm!  It's very noticeable right there...  

At that point, I had only the face done, and the drawing could never be unblemished.  So I could either have given up completely and moved on, or embraced the problem.  



Here's how it looked.  I could have cropped it and just made it a small portrait.  It's a nice portrait.

But one thing I've learned over the years:  Mistakes and problems happen.  

Accidents happen, and not always happy accidents.  Especially when you're doing things like drawing or painting.  

The first big "breakthrough" I ever had with my drawing was when an art instructor finally managed to get me to try taking a risk and being willing to risk ruining a drawing that I liked.  It was SO HARD TO DO.  Crazy, crazy hard.  Unrealistically hard.  



Before that, I never used any DARK charcoal in drawings (I never used a full value range, just kept everything light).  The risk I took on that drawing resulted in this drawing piece I showed off for YEARS after.  I was so proud of that drawing, and I learned a lot from doing that.  I see lots of problems with the drawing now, but I drew it 10 years ago, so of course I've improved since then.

So I decided to see if I could work with the scratch.  I finished the drawing, and took an x-acto knife to the drawing periodically, scratching it up just a bit, in the hopes that it would look like a breeze blowing through.  I think it worked pretty well, and I'm happy with the result!


You work on something for hours, and think it looks good, and then there's something you could TRY doing, but you're not sure if it will make the outcome better or worse.  Do you try it?  

It feels so difficult to take something you're proud of, and to destroy it in the hopes that something even better might emerge.  Even harder is destroying something in the hopes that you'll learn something that might make some LATER thing good, knowing that the current drawing or painting will DEFINITELY be terrible after you try it.

This is not something that only happens when you're new to drawing or painting.  You will ALWAYS have this problem if you stick with art.  You see people who have been making art for decades, who take a piece they have worked on for a YEAR and who then reach a point where they say "Hmmmm....  But I don't know what would happen if I threw acid on my painting!  Would it ruin it?  Or would it make a masterpiece?"

But it is worth trying.  And sometimes it works out.  


If you're never willing to risk making mistakes, you can get by.  

Or you can try to make a splash and have some fun while you're at it.


MY CHALLENGE TO YOU:
Take something you've drawn that you kind of like.  Not your favorite piece, not a treasured keepsake, but something you kind of like.  Then try something new with it!

Maybe someone gave you some advice on how to improve it, but you weren't sure you could do it.  Give it a shot!

Or try drawing something OVER it:


Or pick a random art technique and try it.  Or change the drawing in random ways.  Add some lines in places and see how that changes things.  Take a drawing that had no background, and add a background!  Take a drawing with a background and turn the background into a solid color.  Add some random abstract shapes.  Take some crayons and make some marks.  Throw coffee at it.  Wrinkle the paper.  Are the creases interesting?  Rub some charcoal into those creases!  Then spit on it!  Then take a match and light a corner of the paper on fire (careful, now!) and see if that adds some interest to an otherwise blank, boring area of the drawing.  Or just hold your pencil in a different way!  Tilt it a little differently than you normally do!  Use a different BRAND of paint!  Paint with your fingers!  Or your feet.

Pick something that sounds like fun and just give it a shot!  You might learn something from it.   

If you try it, and don't like the effect, then you've learned one thing that you don't like the results of.  More likely, you'll learn how to make a very particular effect.  You learn how to make a certain KIND of weird, blotchy stain.  Maybe in the future you'll think of a use for that kind of stain!

In the meantime, if you don't want criticism, and you're just worried about people seeing something you made that looks bad, just DON'T SHOW PEOPLE.  You can throw out or burn each drawing when you're done, without showing it to anyone. 

 

If you DO like the results, then congrats!  You've improved your drawing.




So, anyway, I hope you make some mistakes, and that you too are happy with them!
Good luck everyone!