I recently found an old sketchbook of mine dating back around ten years. It was wonderful to flick through the pages of this hard back A5 size book and see the sketches, ideas, and notes. For me it is the same as a diary for it records not only the designs for possible pictures but also the thoughts and feelings I had then. In it I found the first ideas for my epic painting called Gaia which I did several years ago. I also found an engaging sketch of a little creature looking forlornly upwards (see the image below). I have scribbled the words “The Little Worrier” underneath the drawing. When I turned a page and saw this little drawing, I took a sharp breath. It really touched me. I think now that I will take this sketch and reproduce it in a more detailed and finished drawing.
Sometimes this can happen. An artist can find old work and see something that they are searching for at that moment. The vision was already there and waiting in an old sketchbook, drawn by their younger self.
Keep a sketchbook. In fact, have more than one. You can have various sizes – A5, A4, etc. Carry a small one with you. Makes sketches in it and written notes and observations. Get used to doing this so it becomes a habit. This way you draw more, and very importantly, observe the world more and your feelings about it. By observing more and contemplating more in this way you develop greater knowledge and deeper insights.
Keep a sketchbook and draw your world.
This week I have walked twice on a high fell near my home and had encounters with ravens. I took different paths to this moorland setting with wind blown trees and dancing streams. On both occasions I saw ravens dancing the currents of the wind.
Have you ever watched ravens dance? It’s wonderful!
On the first occasion a raven landed on a lonely tree and called in its deep repetitive song that pulsed in the air. I felt an urge to listen to this call. It was as though it was meant for me. How could this be? The raven called again and I stopped walking and looked over towards it. It called again as though saying “Good, I am glad that you are looking. Now see what I see.” With this I glanced near the Raven and saw a deer looking straight at me.
Sometimes we have to listen with open minds as well as ears. Some knowledge and communication can come to us only if we let it. We often presume a sense of knowledge that is not in touch with our natural environment. How often do we hear the sound of a steam and then just say in our minds “it’s a stream”. Then with this assumed knowledge we ignore the communication that the stream could bring us. We do not look and fully see it. Instead we assume what it looks like and give it a category or a label. So we create a false world for it and so create a false one for ourselves. We walk around in a bubble of assumed reality.
When you are next in nature listen to its voice. See its movement and constant growth. Feel it’s life. Assume nothing. Feel everything. As you walk in nature journey deeply into it. See everything as being alive with a profound purpose. Nature is a library of knowledge. It’s shelves are overflowing with its books of wonder.
Pay attention to the ravens call. It might be for you.
I enjoy running drawing workshops in nature. It is wonderful to be sat by a river listening to its rhythm, or in a woodland full of birdsong. It is a calm and natural environment and is the perfect space for stress free creativity. A few hours spent drawing in nature is akin to deep meditation. Contemplation of nature is also a contemplation of yourself.
I will ask the students to draw a tree. They might start drawing the whole of the tree which might seem too much. So I ask them to zoom more into the tree and find areas that they are attracted to. They do this and start to draw. I watch them. Most of the time whilst drawing they look at their paper. Because of this they are not fully seeing the tree. I ask them to stop, and look more at the tree. I tell them that they should be alternating their view every few seconds from tree to paper and so on. This way they really look at the object and observe it rather than just assuming they know what it looks like.
We often forget to actually look fully at something and so assume we know how it looks. When we spend time looking deeply at something we see how incredible and unique it actually is. So instead of an ash tree in a field we see an individual tree in a field. We pour our eyes over its twisting rough surface and see all its beautiful patterning that is unique to that individual tree. By fully seeing we start to connect with that tree and see it as a personality. This is the same for us too. How often do we really look at each other and see that beautiful and unique person in front of us. When you do this you connect at a deeper level with that person, tree, plant, deer, stone, river, and all of the rest of nature…….
Try it yourself:
Go into nature and find a tree. Spend time just looking at the tree. Touch the tree too. Run your hands over its undulating surface and feel its life force. Make yourself comfortable. Become aware of yourself being there and what insights come to you. “Learn” to see the tree as it really is. If you have more time then draw a small area of the tree you are attracted to. Enjoy, and listen for the deep silence in you, and around you, that carries insight.
Want to know how to start drawing? Let me simplify it to the basics.
First, find or get a pencil. Perhaps a 2B pencil. A HB is fine too. So is a B, 3B etc. Don’t worry about all the makes of pencils and different types. It’s nice to have a range of different pencils but this can often get in the way and actually inhibit you starting to draw. In the end it is the touch that you create upon the paper. It is not the pencil that does this.
So a simple pencil and a piece of paper. Basic paper will do. Whatever you have to hand.
Ok when you have these two items then just dive into drawing. Don’t worry about what you are going to draw……just dive in. Doodle. You have permission to doodle. Doodling is important. I often do it. Through doodling I find forms on the paper and follow my intuition. Try keeping your pencil on the paper to keep the process fluid. If you take it off the paper a lot you may become hesitant and feel stuck. Don’t worry about it seeming a mess or that it might feel aimless. At the moment you are just unconsciously swimming into a lake of creative possibilities.
The hardest part about starting to draw is the start. How do I begin? What shall I draw? Can I do it? So a good way to start is to doodle your way in. This helps to get past the barriers that you and/or someone else placed there.
You can draw. Everyone can. I have never known anyone who cannot.
After a while develop your doodles into more sophisticated doodles as you get used to the practice of doodling. Find shapes and overlap them. Circles and ovals are good. Create faces and imaginative things out of your doodles. Enjoy being creative.
Next step buy a 2B pencil and a nice smooth paper drawing pad. Spend a fiver on yourself. Treat yourself. Then find ten minutes 4 or 5 days a week and draw. Try copying drawings by other artists. Find simple ones to begin with. Cartoons are perfect and fun too. Draw things you love and like. Keep it simple.
Look out for future Blogs where I will continue writing about the process of drawing.
For now, just doodle and enjoy.
You have permission to be creative……especially from yourself.
Hello and welcome to the very first of my weekly blogs.
These brief, but to the point, blogs will delve deep into the creative process and the reasons for being creative. I will share practical ideas and methods, philosophy and psychology, personal stories and inspiring insights. To create is to behave in a natural human way. A plant flowers, a bird feathers, we create.
Blog no.1 – Just do it
I often get asked how to start being creative and how to make a work of art, a piece of music, how to launch a workshop, etc. This is a huge question full of different nuances and needing many, many answers. Having said that, the key to doing anything is just do it. This sounds a very simple answer and almost a cop out but it’s fundamental to creating anything.
The worst thing you can do is say you are going to do something and then not do anything about it. This is called procrastination. “But” I hear you say “surely you have to work out how to do something before you do it?” Yes, there is a degree of planning and dreaming for anything, but if you don’t actually do it then that is all a waste of time. Also the best way to learn to do something is to actually do it. Walk into the wood and find a path. If there isn’t one already there, then make one.
Recently I recorded my first solo guitar album of my compositions. I had no idea how to record. I learnt how to do it as I did it. Through lots of trial and error, and lots of research and asking questions to those in the know I learnt how to do it as I recorded. You can learn lots of theory on how to ride a bike, but until you actually get on one and try it, theory doesn’t turn the wheels. A baby doesn’t read a manual on how to walk before trying. The baby tries to walk and gets lots of help from their parents whilst doing so. You can get lots of help and inspiration whilst you try working on your creative project. People love helping those who ask for help.
So to sum up. Don’t spend hours upon hours learning the theory of something before you do it, like reading lots of books on how to draw. Start drawing and look at the books at the same time as you do it. Dreaming, theorising, planning, studying, and trial and error all go on at the same time as you create. Errors are actually insightful instances of knowledge experienced through the practice of doing. A better name for errors is experience.
Don’t procrastinate.
Instead, create.