Another step sideways

I know I’ve written before about the circuitous routes in my life whether they are work-related or interest-related. In the past few weeks I’ve been reminded yet again of the value of going sideways.

            During high school I was really interested in art and spent my Saturdays listening to 'Saturday Afternoon at the Opera' on CBC while painting, constructing models or experimenting with various print-making techniques. The one thing I didn’t do much was draw. I didn’t like what I drew, and I wasn’t good at it compared to the other kids in my class. I was either lucky or unlucky, depending on how you look at it. My marks in art were good since representational drawing was a very small part of what we were required to do.

            Because I loved art, the materials, the colours, the shapes and the possibilities it offered for fun, I enrolled in education with a major in art at university. I thought being an art teacher would be the ideal job. Because I wasn’t very good at drawing I thought I’d better take a drawing course. Logical but not helpful as it turned out. Those who could draw well did well. Those who couldn’t, didn’t and I don’t remember receiving any particular instruction other than things like, ‘draw what you see,’ and ‘keep it loose.’ I remember that our instructor used to give us a three-hour drawing project using a live model and then go home. What I needed was someone who could explain to me what to look for so that I could draw what I saw. Needless to say, I didn’t progress much and ended up with a D in the course.  It is the only D on my entire university record. Even more ironic was the fact that I couldn’t take any more courses in art until I had retaken and passed the drawing course which I didn’t technically need to pursue my education route. I was also taking a design course at the time and, while I’d like to report that I got a spectacular mark in it – I didn’t.  I think I got a C, but at least it was a pass.

            I couldn’t see myself taking the drawing course again when I figured the result would be the same.  I didn’t stop to think that I may have had a different instructor from whom I might have been able to learn more and that I might have passed on a second go-through. I saw it as the closing of a door and veered off onto the drama route. Those of you who know me know the rest of that story.

            What I didn’t do was give away any of the art materials I had collected. Despite the frustration of the drawing course, I had enjoyed the quiet focus of sitting and drawing for long periods. In the back of my mind there was fascination and awe that people could take a pencil and a piece of paper and create something that delighted me when I looked at it.

            I like to play imaginary games, you know the sort ‘what would you do if you won a million dollars?’ ‘If you hadn’t had the career you did, what would you have done?’ or ‘If you could instantly be good at one thing what would it be?’ Lately, my answer to the last question has been draw representationally.

            I didn’t completely stop drawing after that university course: I took drawing courses as part of my Theatre Crafts Diploma and again, I wasn’t nearly as good at it as were my classmates but I managed to muddle my way through set and costume design. Once I started teaching there were opportunities to work with art in the classroom and I jumped on every one of those that came along.  One delightful semester I taught a grade 10 English class with a partner who is a dedicated, successful artist and excellent teacher. That inspired me to give drawing another chance and I enrolled in a drawing course at The Alberta College of Art. It was an extension course so no grades. Whew!

            In that course I improved and came to understand that there was no magic to drawing well. It requires time, patience, and practice. I knew about gesture drawing and blind contour and had a rudimentary understanding of perspective but there was still something missing in order for me to be able to draw what I saw.

            Over the forty-seven years since the drawing course I have remained interested and whenever I was in a bookstore and saw an interesting drawing book, I bought it. Since I have cut back on my commitments in music, I find myself drawn (oops, pun, sorry) to photography and woodwork. Whether or not I have my camera I’m always looking for interesting photographic possibilities. On epiphany this year I was looking at the drawing books on my shelves and decided to count them. There are close to forty. Have I used them? No. Have I read them? Yes. Have I enjoyed the possibilities they hold? Absolutely!  Have I loved them? Yes.

            2019 was a year of substantial changes for us and we remind ourselves often to ‘Do it now!’ We travelled extensively this year – do it while you can because you never know. I’ve always said that when I got to the point where I needed to cut back on the woodwork, I would take up drawing. As I looked at the drawing books, I asked myself, ‘Why not start now?’ There was no good answer to that question, so I took out a sketch book that I bought on sale a while back and started searching YouTube for videos on learning to draw. Some were distinctly unhelpful but two sites Art Tutor TV and The Drawing Database turned out to be just what I needed. These two sites are helping me to see in terms of basic shapes which gives me a way to begin drawing what I see. That is the key I needed. I have that information in some of the books I own but, somehow, seeing it in action caused it to click. 

I have been drawing every day since January 6.  I don’t know how long I’ll keep it up but at the moment it suits me. I haven’t taken longer than forty minutes on one drawing.  I have a bunch of scrap paper on my desk and when I don’t know what else to draw, I practice drawing circles, squares, rectangles and ellipses. I’ve found a couple of pencils and pens that I particularly like. My sketch book is small, so I’m not intimidated by a huge expanse of blank paper and I don’t feel the need to take on complex subjects. Because I’m a journal writer by nature, I draw on one page and make notes about the drawing on the facing page. I find the practice meditative and enjoyable and I can see the improvement.

            I’ve gone back to the drawing books and I’m enjoying them all over again. The sideways part is that by drawing every day I’m bound to improve my ability to see proportions and details as well as overall shapes. Getting better at seeing will help me with composition in photography and with accuracy in building ukuleles. My latest venture on the ukulele front is starting to learn inlay techniques but that’s another topic for another time. Stay tuned.