Seriously, who draws at a rock concert?

So I rocked till my nose bled, threw my bra at the band, and partied like a wild animal at a rock concert today.

Yeah right.

No, I basically was the same as always, art-nerding it up. Can you picture a tiny barely 5'4", 100 pound little girl amidst a sea of screaming drunk concert goers, cradling my sketchbook, trying to get a good drawing in the dark? Yes, that was me. Art nerd. Not that the music wasn't good, it's just that I rarely take time off for myself and if I'm not trying to catch up on laundry, vacuuming and bills, I feel that I should be trying to practice. My friends were very understanding and encouraged it. So without further ado, here's some sloppy sketches done, WITHOUT LIGHT, dammit. Just the soft glow coming from the stage and people's i-phones.

I hope to someday draw on a roller coaster. Now that would be the peakiest peak of art-nerdliness that would be virtually un-toppable. So, readers, where's the weirdest place that you have sketched?

PS. AND BY THE WAY, I'm 34. Bitch got carded. Can I get a what what??

Figure Drawing, plus a rant!!

These are all 10 minutes or less:

This week I stopped thinking about draftsmanship and focused on staying loose. My drawings seem to turn out better that way. It's weird. It's as if something else takes control of the drawing, not ME. I think when I "let go" it's like when a musician plays on feel, rather than thinking about every individual note and where to put their fingers. Soon, you've played the piece and you don't know how it happened. It's muscle memory.

It's very hard to push yourself in that zone, because you always want to control your work. It's how you feel mastery. You want to feel that you control every aspect of your art in look, feel, style and, if you're an animator, how the drawings move through space and time as well. We crave the control over our art, but really, control could be just knowing how to stay loose. Like the musician knowing when to close his eyes and just play. When to let the muscle memory take over.

I have a book called Alla Prima, by Richard Schmid. He says in the book that "Looseness is not a frivolous departure from control.... It arises from the freedom which comes from superb control." It's funny, that looseness looks like the opposite, doesn't it? Sometimes brevity, and the absence of rendering feels like the artist has nothing more to offer than a few carefully placed lines, but in this artist's humble opinion, those very few, select lines are the hardest ones to draw.

Anyway, back to the Schmid quote, *SIGH*, I would definitely never presume that I have superb control, but I do get better results being loose. I can't wait until I feel that the control is superb.

Until next time,
Tiffanny

Figure Drawing

Horrayyyy! I made it to figure drawing this week :) Feel soooo rusty. Must.... practice..... more.... !

I Found Meaning in The Whiteboards

The last time I went to the zoo, I was at the mountain lion's cage, and there was a donation box there, asking for help to do this and that for the mountain lion. I put 5 dollars in the box. Then I turned around and I see a giant sculpture of a chicken. I complained to my husband about how can they justify the cost of this giant sculpture and then ask for a donation for the mountain lion. It sounded like misplaced priorities to me.

Then I wondered why, being an artist myself, I failed to realize the value in the art. As if it's just some thing you spend on if you have superfluous amounts of money. I have been eternally pondering this inner dilemma: what is the value in what I do? I do know that art is rewarded in all cultures, past and present. That still doesn't tell me what the value is other than the fact that people just sorta like it. They don't need it, just like it. Take it or leave it.

Somehow I feel that maybe I draw for selfish pleasure. Something I like to do, but really has no value outside of the fact that it entertains me. Passes the time. Puts food on the table.

Today I think I found the a clue to the answer from the whiteboards at work. Everyday, I do a little bit of drawing on the whiteboards, usually something incredibly silly and goofy, and not even well-drawn. (Try a pole-dancing rabbit, or a kitty gorging himself on cookies). It took me a while to notice it, but my coworkers never erase them, rather they try to work around the drawings. Huh. Well, I kind of felt bad because they're running out of room to write down their notes and tasks, so I asked Jeremy (our programmer), if I can erase the drawings, and he goes, "Yeah, I already took a picture of it." I can't believe he took a picture of it!

So I finally got my own whiteboard in my office yesterday. And today as I work, here comes the CEO and takes a picture of a recent silly drawing on my board. And he tells me, that he has taken pictures of all my whiteboard drawings!

Incidentally, now that I think about it, the last last time I was at my husband's workplace, (in December), I drew on their whiteboard. When I went to pick him up the other day, those drawings are STILL THERE, and even HIS coworkers just work around them.

Obviously, my coworkers and even my husband's coworkers feel something when they see the drawings. They feel something maybe strongly or subtly, but definitely enough to want to keep around or capture the essence of the thing that made them feel something. Maybe they are experiencing some small amount of the joy I felt when I drew them?  Maybe I think I'm just doing it for my own pleasure, but somehow the pleasure is leaked out to whoever comes across it. To my friends, my coworkers, my husband's coworkers, my family, to anyone reading my blog? Can it be possible that the real value of art is in imparting joy, or whatever the artist is feeling, though pictures? This definitely shapes up to be some sort of answer to my dilemma.

With that said, imparting joy is then my ultimate goal in life, and I will strive towards that in my art. I will work hard to make you smile. I want everyone to be happy when they look at my pictures. Unfortunately, I can't show you the whiteboard drawings because I feel that everything I draw while I'm at work is company-confidential and can possibly be used for a future game. I drew this at home though:

I think she's kinda pretty, do you?

Until next time,
Tiffanny

ps. Speaking of value in art, this quote I came across sort of gave me a lump in my throat, I shortened the quote: "Let him who has tamed [drawing] know that he possesses a great treasure" -Michelangelo
To all artists out there, be proud of your treasure.

When I Was A Stupid Kid - Sleeping Stupid

When I was a stupid kid, I tried sleeping with my arms straight up on several occasions. I don't know why. Strange kid, I was. Strange kid.