Today was one of those days in class where I didn't feel like i was on my A game. Ha! I never feel that way but I typically do like my work more than i dislike it.
Today's class was disappointment after disappointment as we went through our 1 min, 5 min, and 10 min sketch. I was irritated because i decided to sit in a different area for class to see what area i like the best and this one was so uncomfortable and the room was packed so I was stuck there. Also, i decided to focus on the actual facial features of my model since that is my weak area instead of movement (in the beginning of the class my teacher wanted me to sketch in terms of movement and then go back and rework and today's class i decided as much as movement helps I also want to get into the mechanics of drawing features too). As I worked with a couple charcoal mediums: charcoal pencil and thick charcoal and switching back and forth. I became even more frustrated and wanted my teacher to come by and give her encouraging constructive criticism. She briefly came by and said a few things on my absolute worst sketch (first 1 min sketch). I wondered, "Where is she...ugh....?"
After being frustrated majority of the class. I said i am turning off my brain, chucking the thick charcoal and working with my most freeing medium next to soft pastels which is vine charcoal ..its so soft and you can easily work with (thanks to my art therapist for having me work with this because i would have never tried it. i even introduced someone to it last week:) Anyway, as soon as i change mediums my drawings became better ...you can distinctively tell the difference. I think someone just produced some freeing art...yes I did.
Well like an answered prayer on our last pose of the night (most people had left)which is a 20 min sketch she came by and said next time i want you to sit here as she pointed to a particular space. She explained she doesn't get to the side of the room where i was sitting because she doesn't like to get in the way. Then she sat down and looked at my drawing and said , "the face is perfect now i want you to work on the rest of the body and focus on the center." She went to talk to another student and came back and said , "I love how it came together..if only you had more time." I am so proud of you. The improvement you've done since this class started is amazing" and she gave me a hug. I could have cried.
After such a crappy drawing session look what came in the end. I learned two things: 1. sometimes you need to turn your brain off and explore. Just focus on being in tune to your work and 2. sometimes you have to work through crappy work to get through the good work.
