polenta

When it comes to WRITING, of course I know planning and organizing beforehand is incredibly important.

Is it as important for DRAWING and PAINTING?

Dragon

I think that depends on your style of drawing or painting. Some artists plan every detail and others just kind of wing it. Just look at Jackson Pollock who's so well known for flinging paint at the canvas and letting the art make itself. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackson_Pollock

Here on TD I think we sort of have to plan where we're going. There are a few artists on here who have a real talent for abstract work but the majority of us try to put something together that is a specific image. In this medium that's hard to do if you don't have a plan to start with.

five

Depends on what one means by planning. I think you have to have a strategy but it can be constantly changing.

I don't plan TD drawings at all. I don't do studies or draw out compositions in real world drawings or paintings. I used to in a lot of detail. That's how one learns and it's an important part of figuring out how to make a picture "work". If you are going to make highly refined representational work, I think it's critical (certainly if you are working with an old master's approach to oils, for example).

When I did studies or fully planned out compositions in too much detail, the intriguing work was done well before the actual drawing/painting -- which for me turned out to be a weak, overly tight copies of the "plans."

However, I think about each mark I put down, and which marks are coming next, and what the marks will do relation to one another -- and whether it's what I want them to do ahead of making them. After I gave up formal studies/fully planned compositions, I used to make simple flow diagrams on a separate sheet of paper or in the corner of my image intermittently as I worked, and went back and forth between these flow diagrams and the drawing/painting; now I do the flow diagrams in my head.

I've found for me it is critical to let of the plan entirely the moment I am making the marks; so, I do. I guess the analogy to writing would be the two parts of writing: the part of writing that is getting out the words -- turning off the inner editor -- and the part that thinks about where the words are going and edits them back. Drawing/painting works the same way I think. Hope that answers your question.

On Jackson Pollack, never underestimate how much one's "intuition" has been schooled. He may not have "planned" every mark -- "accident" and reacting to it is part of his method -- but the pathways within them are not intuitive and he knew what kinds of marks would result from how he moved his body.

five

Polenta, do you know that DaVinci used mirror writing in his journals?

polenta

Yes, five I knew that. In my case, I CAN DO IT at will but I almost never use it in real life.
On the other hand, I use the UPSIDE DOWN writing every day!!!
It's said Da Vinci did it as a kind of semi-secret way of writing, perhaps in order to make it difficult for other people to understand his writings or so I've heard.

polenta

These diagrams flowing in your head are incredible!!! I wouldn't even have thought about it.
Five, if you allow me to say so, (as someone who really doesn't know about art and never studied styles or schools) your art looks abstract and VERY DIFFICULT to imitate. Sometimes you get "shapes" and colors that amaze.... and it's all in your head!!!!!
If you had to describe your work IN YOUR OWN WORDS, what style or kind of painting do you do? Sorry my asking, I'm sure Qsilv , Luna or Matthew or Baldur etc would know that.... but I don't.
I'm so happy everything is so anonymous here so I don't need to have learned anything and feel free to comment or even to draw.
I'm a daring person, aren't I ? LOL

five

Thanks, Polenta. I don't really know what one would call my "style", since it crosses a number of different styles. I sometimes get criticized for not sticking to a style, but I think all my work is connected by process, regardless of closeness to one outward style or another. I am open to thoughts on how to identify it . It's a mix between abstract and representation (in the real world, ideally it sits exactly between both) and plays with drawing/painting conventions. I usually call it contemporary drawing, which isn't saying much, or sculptural drawing, which says a bit more, when I talk about it. It's cubist based, at least my method is, so perhaps I'll borrow "mild cubism" from Cheldyra as a descriptor.

It's great that everyone feels free to draw here. I'm glad you are enjoying yourself.

On the mirror writing, at least according to Wikapedia, it's an hereditary trait; they are not sure why DaVinci used it, but apparently it was for his personal notes; maybe it just came naturally to him like it does you. He used to do a lot of word pictures, too.

polenta

Five, I like the name SCULPTURAL DRAWING.
From now on, your style could be described as something between abstract and sculptural.
Sorry, you should also go to the Forum and write how your user's name FIVE came into existence. I'm sure everybody is as curious as myself. Very kind of you to have answered ,Five.

Normal

I am fascinated by Polenta's upside-down skill. I recall sixty years ago trying to write left-handed on a school blackboard with chalk. (Probably intrigued by the problems faced by my left-handed friend.) Found it nearly impossible to make words proceed forward in the normal manner, but could EASILY write in reverse, quite legibly. (Have since learned about the L brain/R hand connection, of course.) Don't remember - was Leonardo a lefty??

polenta

I think he was left handed. And I'm also glad I've commented my ways of writing here because I see how many people( for different reasons )do things that don't follow the "normal rule".
It's possible our species is only using a tiny little part of its brain potential.
And also there are MANY, MANY KINDS OF PEOPLE.
I see my dentist working with her drill and tools for five or ten minutes and testing the piece for the eighth time, when for me it looks good, it feels good.... it's perfect. I can't stand this thoroughness in myself.... but I thank my dentist for being so careful with details. I'm more of a generalizer. I think both categories help mankind.... and like this..... etc, etc, etc.

Login

There is a drawback to being able to read upside down. In UK, a lot of road information signs are written on the road surface. I always have to think fast when I read the upside down words 'No Entry' ... it registers as an instruction, no matter which way round it is.

Qsilv

True in the States too, and when you switch from driving on one side of the road to driving on the other it gets reeeeally tricky -- do it back again and you wind up muddled beyond belief!!

; D

clorophilla

As this topic is often on top and is useful, I paste and copy here my old messages about "A good way to avoid unintentional misclick when drawing", hoping it'd useful for someone

1. Narrow the wideness of the window until the palette covers the left buttons (Fruits, Avatars, etc) and the recent pictures slip down.
2. scroll up until the menu (Draw, Gallery etc, and the button "flowers") slip up out of the window
3. Reduce, if needed, the height of the window to exclude the links, menu and recent drawing in the bottom of the window.

Now you have just the palette and the menu on the left (submit, undo etc) and your drawing is totally prevented from unintentional click, clack and cluck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Login

How's this for clever use of shading already present in the background. It's by a fairly new member of the community, Lizzi:
http://www.thinkdraw.com/picture.php?pictureId=109019

clorophilla

Just for pushing up this interesting topic!

clorophilla

I paste here the explanation I did for La Casa, so every new TDer could read this interesting topic. I suggest to save this topic in the favourites for reaching it quickly.

TOP 5 and favourites

You can have vore than one TOP5; as you joyned in november, this month you could also achieve a top 5 "new artists" (only one pic in this cathegory). More, every year there is the TOP10, ten best pictures of the year from ten different artists. You could reach top10 at
ttp://www.thinkdraw.com/topTen2012.php (or 2011, 2010 and so on)

the TOP5 scoring is based on votes and favourites of each pic. You can vote all the pics you want but can chose 5 favourite pics/month only for each palette.

Shanley

Just pushing the thread up. Hope to see more interesting thoughts on this.
One of my 'tips' is reading this kind of discussions to fresh up my perspective once in a while.

Shanley

It should go without saying, but one of the obvious *tricks* is having patience. Taking a couple of days or maybe more before submitting a drawing, even if you're absolutely convinced you're done. Take some time to detach and check for minor flaws, things you can do better, details to add. And most importantely....take the time to get a more objective mind. If you still happy with the result 3 days later, that's a good sign.
I, for one, still need to practice with this one...I'm usually a spontaneous person and with little patience for the submit button.