Wednesday, December 12, 2007

REMINDER TO MYSELF ABOUT DRAWING






















When I was in high school in the mid 1960s, I read the following quote by Cennino Cennini and began to draw something every day for a long time after that:

"Do not fail to draw something every day, for no matter how
little it is, it will be well worth while, and it will do you a
world of good." (Cennino Cennini, 1370-1440)

This morning, while stopping by Whiskey River, I discovered Resonant Enigma whose heading reads:

"We talk far too much. We should talk less and draw more. I personally should like to renounce speech altogether and, like organic Nature, communicate everything I have to say in sketches." (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe)

I would like to have a daily practice of drawing as well as writing. In the past, I did all my writing by hand. Now I do most of my writing on an electronic keyboard. When I was writing by hand, it occurred to me that making marks on a piece of paper in the form of letters satisfied something of my need to be drawing. I am wondering if typing on an electronic keyboard somehow fulfills part of my need to draw. There is something I enjoy immensely about making meaningful marks on electronic "paper," but it is not the same as holding a pencil and drawing on paper.

Recently I've been stopping by Bird By Bird who regularly posts her wonderful drawings of birds. Looking at her drawings, as well as those of Resonant Enigma, inspires me to want to draw on paper again.

The above image, "Family Traveling At Night," was drawn by Old Girl Of The North Country in 2005, using my index finger as a "pencil" on my iBookG4 track pad and the Appleworks6 "Painting" function.

It's time for me to draw something every day again, either on my computer or on paper. Why do I have so much resistance to doing something I love to do?

6 comments:

robin andrea said...

Yes, draw something everyday! I should write something everyday, but I don't. I love your art, am.

am said...

Thanks so much for your encouragement, robin andrea.

I think of you as a writer and artist. Your writing and photographs are a major source of inspiration for me and, I am certain, all who read the ever-evolving "We Who Were Once Dharma Bums."

Anonymous said...

It helps to read this. Something obvious but too often lost in the hectic lives some of us live. I recently started to work longhand in a notebook after only taking notes in the moleskine, something about the touch of pen to page is different. The idea of drawing daily, I like this too, a new idea for me. Thanks for words and of course the images.
kjm

am said...

Hi kjm. Always good to hear from you.

Dawn said...

Hi am, very good post, and I love your blog. I also try to draw, paint and photograph. Great quotes!

Anonymous said...

am, I am terribly flattered, honored that you cite my blog as inspiration, and appreciate the link. I hope you do show us more drawings, and keep 'em coming. From what I've seen, having just found your site, I think daily drawings from you will be great.
Thank you.