Learning to draw is about learning to see

I didn’t think I’d be able to write a blog tonight. But, I seem to be getting into a habit and it somehow feels wrong, a little incomplete if I don’t produce something. I wonder if it’s something to do with ‘muscle memory’ which my Tai Chi master says will kick in sometime, and, when it does I’ll actually be able to remember the series of movements which makes up the Chen style form.

Anyway, I’ve learnt that there are tools called ‘spazzles.‘ Available from Toolstation outlets throughout the UK probably. I’d seen the exact same thing being used the previous day by chaps working alongside tarmac spewing machinery laying new road surfaces around Oldham. I love the word but it’s not what I’d call onomatopoeic.

This led to a brief discussion about the Pluto fly-by and how it’d be great to see a photograph with a sign saying: ‘ This planet has been purchased to make way for a hyperspace bypass.’ You need to be a bit of a Douglas Adams fan to get this one as it’s from Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

I’m finishing off this evening with a quote from gem of a book I spied in a local charity shop. I was attracted to its form initially. It’s an unusual size, with a black rubbery cover which has a central cut out and white and black raised wording. As a book it has a really interesting feel, look and style; its use of black and white, reminding me of the concept of chiaroscuro I explored a little in a previous blog.  Anyway, beyond the beauty of the book itself it holds lovely treasures within. It’s ‘101 Things to Learn in Art School’, and I’d just like to share the fantastic No. 2 thing:

“Learn to draw. Drawing is more than a tool for rendering and capturing likenesses. It is a language, with its own syntax, grammar and urgency. Learning to draw is about learning to see. In this way, it is a metaphor for all art activity. Whatever its form, drawing transforms perception and thought into image and teaches us how to think with our eyes.’

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