T&T Thursday

Say What?

By Barbara Weeks

As artists we each have a unique voice that we express in our work. It’s our point of view, our style. We also have another voice, the little voice in our heads that speaks to us when we draw. It may be small but it’s powerful and really influences how we draw.

Do any of these sound familiar?

• “I can’t draw people.” 

• “That hand looks like a claw.”

• “This building is all wrong. I never get the perspective right.”

• “I can’t post this sketch it isn’t good enough.”

How about these?

• “Is that line curved or straight?”

• “What shape is that?”

• “Which roof is higher?”

• “This sketch expresses what I observed.”

The first set is the voice of the critic.

It speaks to us of drawing as a noun, judging what we’ve done. 

The second set is the voice of the coach. 

It speaks to us of drawing as a verb, helping us to observe our subject, get lost in the act of drawing and rendering what we see. 

The first is negative and self-defeating.

The second is positive and constructive.

You’ve heard it many times before – practice, practice, practice.

In this case you really practice what you preach. 

What do you say when you talk to yourself?