The art of drawing lies more in being able to see the world as it is than in having any special technical ability with the pen or pencil. This was the idea put forward at an exhibition I went to last week of the New English Art Club.
It runs like the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition: Any artist can submit their own work. They pay a small fee, face a panel of judges, and see if they are lucky. A friend from my home parish was delighted to have one of her collograph prints accepted (see it here) – and so I got an invitation to the private view.
The New English Art Club is committed to figurative art. There is a range of media and styles, and not every work contains the human figure; but they are all realist works that have some recognisable subject.
The reflection on ‘seeing’ came as one of the members did a plug for the classes put on by the New English Drawing School. What he said applies to writing and thinking as much as drawing. I’m paraphrasing from memory:
We teach people to draw what they see, and this involves an education in seeing. We teach people to look, to concentrate. People have to be trained to pay attention and to notice things. When children come to the classes I don’t sit them down on the floor with a sheet of paper and a big stick of charcoal and tell them to express themselves. They are already very good at expressing themselves! Instead, I teach them to observe what is there, to make distinctions within their field of vision, and then to put this down on paper. The rest will follow.
The exhibition is well worth a visit – it runs until 7th December. It’s at the Mall Galleries in London, on the Mall, at the end near to Trafalgar Square.
Matisse suggested that before starting an art work “the essential thing is to put oneself in a frame of mind which is close to that of prayer.” Observation requires becoming mentally and physically still. It is setting aside time, and keeping a focus. Observation requires discipline, determination and perseverance. Michaelangelo wrote “If people knew how hard I worked to get my mastery, it wouldn’t seem so wonderful at all.” Intense concentration can be laborious but the more one notices, more is opened up, becoming increasingly aware of the nuances in everything around oneself. By really looking, one notices subtleties and sees beyond the obvious. Monet so scrutinized the world around him that sometimes after painting he felt his eyes burn! Observation is intense and may be physically uncomfortable but can leave your mind joyful, alert and sensitive. The cloudy sky is no longer grey. Cezanne proclaimed ” The day is coming when a single carrot, freshly observed, will set off a revolution.” Nor is the carrot just orange!
Thanks for these wonderful quotes. There is an exhibition at the Serpentine (I haven’t seen it yet) with beautifully designed objects hungs on the walls as works of art – an old trick, but apparently it is beautifully done.