Back to Basics

It's a gamble when you start a drawing.  What you want to be a masterpiece could end up in the bin. The result could lead to endless sobbing in your pillow - or - it could actually turn out okay.  It's a risk. There was no sobbing or gnashing of teeth involved in the making of this drawing.

As in all things, there are ways you can keep from whimpering like a child who's lost his toy.  

Practice the basics.  It might sound trite but I really believe it's true.

This is why. 

Long ago and far away, when I was growing up, my family was very sporty.  I'm pretty sure my parents used sports as a pseudo babysitter. 

Our days were filled with ice hockey, football, baseball, golf, basketball, and I even had a stint as a boxer.  I was okay at most sports. Not great but okay.  I have to admit that as a boxer I got pummeled more times than I care to remember. Come to think of it, that might explain a few things.  

We played lots of sports but our drug of choice was ice hockey.  I could have called it hockey but hockey, to some people, means a game played with an upside down shillelagh on a soft grass pitch. 

I'm talking about ice hockey. The hockey that has pucks, blades, sticks and missing teeth. It's a hostile game of speed, skill, and brute force.  It's gang warfare splayed out on a sheet of ice.

Originally from Quebec, our family has huge gnarly chunks of St. Lawrence River ice cutting through our veins. I'm sure you'll find it in our DNA somewhere.

I can still smell the locker room, feel the ruts in the ice, and see the steam rising off my uniform. I loved the game but I never really liked that nudge at five in the morning, and yes we played at 5 in the morning. 

In every sport, a player knows they have to practice the basics endlessly to get good. Here are just a few:

• Baseball - you keep your eye on the ball and follow through when you throw the ball or swing the bat. 
• Hockey - you keep two hands on your stick, don't look down at the puck, and know where your teammates are always. 
• Golf- you keep your head down, eye on the ball, and follow through on your swing. 

If you want to get better at art, practicing the basics is essential too.  You have to study:

• Composition
• Drawing shapes and forms
• Practicing how colors are combined
• Understand how contrast can make your work more dynamic
• You have to know the truth about the color wheel

This week, I'm getting back to basics - just because.

In this drawing, I was practicing the fundamental elements of drawing: composition, shape, form, and contrast.  The basics of producing an interesting image.  

If one thing is off, the whole thing can look horrible.  Unless, of course, you're Salvador Dali or Pablo Picasso. 

Easy right! 

This bird made it in my sketchbook this week. 

I hope you enjoy it. 

Until next week, I wish you peace. 

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