Drawing: Blind Contour

Hi everybody, today I'd like to show you where my pursuit of art originated.

I drew this in the first week of my art classes. Now you might be wondering what this chicken scratch has to do with art, but let me explain. These are blind contour drawing, meaning they are line drawings made from observation (of a still life in this case) without ever looking at the paper. They were also done in pen, so there was no erasing and correcting afterward; which wouldn't surprise anyone I'm sure... They might have a slither of artistic appeal visually, but their real purpose is to train the artist to see. You might think that anyone drawing would already know how to see, but that is far from true. If you were to show two people an image of a tree, one artist, and one average schmuck (no offense meant to all the non-artists out there), and ask them what they saw, the average person would probably say it was a tree; but the artist would say that it is actually a group of shapes, lines, tones, and colors all intertwined, making the illusion of a tree. Here is another example:

Translation: This is not a pipe.

It is a painting of a pipe, and if we forget that we may still look, but we won't see.

To get back on topic, the blind contour drawings are a great way to train yourself to see little details. Once you get going you hit a state were you're almost hypnotized, and all your focus is on what's in front of you. If you can resist the urge to peek, the results are much the same as doing a Karate Kata with your eyes closed: you'll be disoriented, and wonder how you finished in a completely different place then where you started. If you think you can recognize any objects in these drawings leave a comment. I'd be glad to hear of what terrifying apparitions lurk within. Maybe some day I'll be as adept and at drawing as Burne Hogarth, and won't need to look at the paper to create a masterpiece, until then I can always try a blind contour exercise to have some “interesting” results. I hope you are all having a great day, and that you strive to accomplish all of your goals.

Sincerely yours, Ian Berget

PS: You may have noticed that Oscar (the 3d mannequin), has changed since you last saw him, and that is likely to continue happening, pretty soon he might look like a character you'd find in one of the latest Pixar films.