Monday, June 11, 2012

GUITAR PLAYER: CONTOUR LINE DRAWINGS




I haven't been happy with my work lately, whether it is the chaos surrounding me, or the fact that the work hasn't felt fresh and new.  Whatever the problem, I always go back to the basics when I am not happy, and for me, that is contour line drawing.  It goes back to the essence of the subject.  You are drawing on impressions and emotion rather than drawing what you 'see'.  I drew these two blind contour line pieces last night, and looking at them today, I feel a bit more excitement to be an artist.  They are filled with movement and interest.  I saw a contour line drawing at the Rockabilly Festival this week in Selmer, TN.  It left an image in my head that excited my imagination.  The artist did a large contour image...16x20, of a man's face whose beard was twisted and turned into a bunch of grapes.  The image was drawn in black ink, and then the grape beard was colored like stained glass in purples.  Altogether a fun piece, and worth exploring.  What do you, as artists or craftsmen, do when you are feeling stale and unfullfilled?  The creative process is a tricky one.  It always needs to be worked on and re-invented!

6 comments:

Leah Elizabeth said...

I haven't been all together happy with my art for quite a while. I feel like I'm creating all this soul less art. The thing I always go back to is drawing people. I always feel comfortable with pencil. I make so many mistakes. I'm too much of a perfectionist most of the time. It bugs me. I can't just draw something freeing, like your line art you drew. When other people draw it, I like it, but if I were to, I'd hate it.

Rose Altom said...

I understand completely! I sometimes get so bogged down in detail, and being perfect, that I feel like I have lost myself and become a copy machine!!! That is why I stop everything and revert to contour drawings for a few days. I don't like that they aren't perfect, but I need that time to be IMperfect and start over. Thank you SO MUCH for communicating with me! I sometimes feel all alone in the struggle.

James Pender said...

Hi Rose -

I REALLY love the guitar player. I was wondering whether I could possible talk to you about you drawing me something similar.

Is there someway I can contact you.

Thanks,

James

James Pender said...

Hi Rose,

I really love your contour drawing of the guitar player. I was wondering whether I could possibly talk to you about doing a similar style drawing for me?

Is there somewhere I can contact you?

James

James Pender said...

Sorry Rose - forgot to leave my contact details.

Japender82@hotmail.com

Rose Altom said...

Hi, James. Thank you so much for your comments! So appreciated! I will email you with my contact information ASAP. So glad you like my contour work...it is some of my favorite pieces!