Sunday, November 1, 2009

more...

the feeling of needing to draw and to express is growing. shiok!

xelex is gonna share today.

the word 'drawing' in my context here would refer to creating images bla bla bla...
well, i have a different take on this word now... draw means extract. yea, i simply use its another meaning... but it really help change my approach to drawing.

say, the artist is drawing the garden.
hence, the artist is 'extracting' the garden. i replaced the word to 'extract' so as to let u see how i see this word now...instead of focusing on the artist's illustration piece (the final drawing).... i'm putting attention to the process that comes before the act of drawing the art piece. it is the drawing/extraction of ideas and images from the given source.

we can't jus copy exactly from the source. if not, pls take a camera and take photos of your source. in art, i personally feel that the artist should (naturally) input his or her own take or expression to the subject. Draw/Extract what has make an impact on u, u may expand that feeling throughout the piece or anything else until you've achieve what u intended to put into the work.
(will explain more about the input part later)

'The artist is drawing the garden.'

do u see what i see now? The artist is extracting forms, light and shade, and colours from the garden to his work.

kk let's continue

now, someone is commenting on the artist's garden painting...
"The artist has breathe life into the painting. it's so magical yet so real! oh look at the colours. oh look at those strokes. Amazing..."

what has contributed to such wonderful praise from the viewer?

3 sources. (hahaha, 3 is the magic number)

World. You. Medium.

The World is the inspirations outside of you. And You generates your own inspirations 'inside'.

here's the input part :)

so when you draw something, you are actually drawing/extracting 3 things.

You are drawing the INSPIRATIONS you've got from the world and you are also drawing your personal STYLE into the art piece. Last but not least, the FEEL of the medium is the 3rd thing you are drawing. Pen, pencil, marker, brush, watercolour paper, photocopy paper, oil paint, ink, watercolour...they all provide different feel to your work.

In other words, a finished piece came from the 3 sources that you've extracted and put into it.
The World, You and the Medium.

i would say that the artist has painted the garden so fantastically because he/she has managed to draw/extract the right amount/choice of 'material' from the 3 sources AND he/she has proficient skill and knowledge to express them to the art work.

alrite, i've covered the new interpretation of the word 'draw' in the context of drawing, and the 3 sources that we are drawing when we are drawing. lol!

btw, we are unconciously drawing from these 3 sources when we are drawing, but never much aware of it.
Now i'm gonna single out 1 of the 3 sources that makes the biggest difference in everyone's art.

the medium will not 'misbehave' ....when you are using a pencil, the pencil won't give u ink, but what it has.
the world is always as it is, there is no 300 versions of the earth, but there are countless different interpretations of the earth.
YOU are the only source in the 'holy 3 sources' of art that is a non-constant. everyone is different and unique. every YOU is different and unique.
My observation is that the world will not ruin your work. the medium shouldn't ruin your work (provided they function well)...it is YOU who couldn't deliver what you want. That's where skill and knowledge is so important.
but even when YOU have acquired the professional skills and knowledge to draw, your work can still fail to impress. why? maybe because you didn't draw/extract enough from the yourself Or perhaps, you didn't even draw/extract a single bit intothe work. You probably thought that things that you've created, as long as it is visually pleasing will be great. (not for me) yes, orange and blue looks nice together. so is red and green. it's better to have foreground, mid-ground, and back ground presented to make the composition more interesting and they provide a sense of depth. 3-point-lighting is a good way to light your subject....These are all skills and knowledge. But what you've failed to draw/extract to the drawing could be YOU.
I'm refering to your personalities and interpretations. YOU are not enough in the drawing!!!!
yea, i believe that the value of a work lies in the 'YOU' factor.

let's say i'm right abt the 'YOU' factor...

hence, the secret to create art with life, style, personalities, unique interpretations is to IMPROVE YOURSELF! something that is actually very achievable. the more diverse you are, the more diverse your work can be. Constantly improving yourself would push your limits in art.

so if you are evil...you will be drawing/extracting evil stuff into the art. if you are lame, your art will be lame. if you have no personalities, you will be painting 'photographs'...totally no signs of YOU inside. If you are as fantastic as me or Hayao Miyazaki, you would be able to deliver fantastic stuff. what i'm lacking now is better skill and knowledge and a better ME!

In conclusion, 'YOU' plays the most important part in the Art of Drawing.
Be yourself, draw the right thing.

phew! that's about it. now its time to take a look at my not-so-recent and recent drawings, haha!
in chronological order, starting from the earliest.


draw from photos. trying out my o.o5 marker pen.
Done in june. my first few attempts with the pen.



draw from my creative mind :)



draw from a toy magazine.



drew this after reading H.R Giger's art+autobio book.
He is one of my favourite artist. cos u can 'see' HIM all over the artwork.
yea, he's the Alien designer. A genius.



Wanna 'draw' out the bad feelings in me and put them on the paper.



Wanna hold your hands...dur....
100% brush work for the characters.


draw from a photo on a newspaper. was doing COS duty in camp on sunday. damn...



added some grey in photoshop.


I had a great week as I was on leave. my mum came back on last sunday till friday. we went to Science Center's Body Worlds. It's a fantastic exhibition. It's not a scary thing, or make you wanna puke...in fact, i felt more alive after this exhibition. only $21 per ticket in exchange of this great experience! and i saw actress wong liling and her family. that's a plus!
i've learnt that, mammals on average have 1 billion heartbeats in a lifetime. a shrew lives less than 4 years at 500 heartbeats per minute. human have ard 70 heartbeats per minute, elephant is ard 30 and can live up to 70 years old. (it's related to their body mass). no wonder a shrew dies much earlier, becos it reaches 1 billion heartbeat much faster with its super fast heart beating pace!

anyway, i've tot of a romantic line base on this knowledge.
"A billion heartbeats of loving you."
It's means loving you for a lifetime.
nice lah!

and i've watched Michael Jackson's 'This is it" show at grand cathay. Cinema 1, seat E19 is a great spot to watch the show. next time mus book ard that area to watch other shows. okay, this film is a informal documentary about MJ's last show. Freaking nice!!! he can still dance and sing very well at age 50. truly a legend. he is one of the few guys who's heart for the world is the greatest and we can all feel it. the concert is going to be superb, but its really really sad to see that he has left before he even performed once to the fans. while watching the film, the knowing that he has already passed away, breaks my heart. this film has the most applause and cheers that i've ever come across in the cinema. everytime MJ finished rehearsing one song, the fans in the cinema (mainly girls) would cheer "woow!" "yeah!" and applause loudly. i guess that really enhance the whole experience. "Love lives forever". Indeed.

and i've came up with a new story idea AGAIN. and the Day of Defeat Lan gaming session was mind blowing!

(freaking long post, november special issue, lol!)

after all this goodness, i'm heading to Australia to eat some sand and grass till the end of november.
let the SHIT begin!

wish me well!