The week went by quickly and it was already time for our second drawing lesson. After teaching our classes on Thursday, we hailed a cab and made it to the art school without delay. When we arrived, I realized that my imagination is large. The place seemed a lot less creepy now that we knew what to expect. It wasn't nearly as scary as I remembered. :) Although, the dark stairwell, which resembled a haunted house, was still a bit spooky.
I was nervous about drawing for several reasons. The last time we had class, we caused such a spectacle just by being there. A small crowd formed around us everytime we talked. I wasn't looking forward to having a flock of Chinese students standing over my shoulder watching, waiting, gawking in anticipation. Wondering if this foreigner can draw. Also, I noticed that all of the art work hanging around the studios looked exactly the same. I could tell that they had very specific ideas about what makes a good drawing.
Julia and our teacher were expecting us. They escorted us into a studio where two other students were painting. We sat down on tiny, low to the ground stools and put our drawing boards on our easels. We were going to draw a still life with three apples, a plate, and some fabric.
Our teacher instructed us to draw the outlines first. A different teacher was watching our every move and a random student came by every now and then to see what we were up to. I didn't make much progress because I was constantly stopped for holding my pencil wrong. I tried very hard to do as they asked. After the outlines, we were to draw the hard shadows by making diagonal lines. I was still holding my pencil wrong. They corrected me again and I went at it. "No nonono." They suddenly stopped me. I was making my marks from the bottom of the page to the top. They told me to please go from top to bottom. I realized that I wasn't really learning how to draw. I was learning a drawing formula. Text book style. Outlines first, then hard shadows, diagonal lines, and gray shadows, then the darkest dark, then smudge gently. It was hard to go back to the basics and try to relearn how to do things differently. I felt like I was drawing with my left hand.
Our teacher showed us his drawing from the demonstration. He had completed it. The details and shadows were stunning but I admit the composition was stale and unimpressive (maybe even bad). Their mentality really emphasises copying. If you can copy something exactly then you have created a good drawing. If I can master this formula I will be a drawing machine. A human camera. While this classical approach can be a good foundation, it can also be stifling. It creates a very rigid idea of how things should be done while leaving out room for individual style or creativity. While much of the work that I saw was technically amazing, the atmosphere was a lot different than what I'm used to. I think I can gain a lot from doing this. But I admit, when I got back to my apartment, I was eager to break the formula. I lined up some apples and did a few blind contour drawings just to get it out of my system.
I was nervous about drawing for several reasons. The last time we had class, we caused such a spectacle just by being there. A small crowd formed around us everytime we talked. I wasn't looking forward to having a flock of Chinese students standing over my shoulder watching, waiting, gawking in anticipation. Wondering if this foreigner can draw. Also, I noticed that all of the art work hanging around the studios looked exactly the same. I could tell that they had very specific ideas about what makes a good drawing.
Julia and our teacher were expecting us. They escorted us into a studio where two other students were painting. We sat down on tiny, low to the ground stools and put our drawing boards on our easels. We were going to draw a still life with three apples, a plate, and some fabric.
Our teacher instructed us to draw the outlines first. A different teacher was watching our every move and a random student came by every now and then to see what we were up to. I didn't make much progress because I was constantly stopped for holding my pencil wrong. I tried very hard to do as they asked. After the outlines, we were to draw the hard shadows by making diagonal lines. I was still holding my pencil wrong. They corrected me again and I went at it. "No nonono." They suddenly stopped me. I was making my marks from the bottom of the page to the top. They told me to please go from top to bottom. I realized that I wasn't really learning how to draw. I was learning a drawing formula. Text book style. Outlines first, then hard shadows, diagonal lines, and gray shadows, then the darkest dark, then smudge gently. It was hard to go back to the basics and try to relearn how to do things differently. I felt like I was drawing with my left hand.
Our teacher showed us his drawing from the demonstration. He had completed it. The details and shadows were stunning but I admit the composition was stale and unimpressive (maybe even bad). Their mentality really emphasises copying. If you can copy something exactly then you have created a good drawing. If I can master this formula I will be a drawing machine. A human camera. While this classical approach can be a good foundation, it can also be stifling. It creates a very rigid idea of how things should be done while leaving out room for individual style or creativity. While much of the work that I saw was technically amazing, the atmosphere was a lot different than what I'm used to. I think I can gain a lot from doing this. But I admit, when I got back to my apartment, I was eager to break the formula. I lined up some apples and did a few blind contour drawings just to get it out of my system.
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