Keys to Drawing
Todd was my third-grade arch nemesis. For some unaccountable reason, all the girls in my class seemed to like him, including Jamie Conway, that dark-haired vixen with the black-magic voice that haunted me for years. Todd was taller, better looking, and probably smarter than I was, and he could draw. While I was overjoyed to learn to draw realistic cubes, he could draw believable dinosaurs, an infinitely sexier subject. He drew her attention away from me, and I cursed him for it.
For years I’ve wished that I could draw realistic pictures—perhaps to prove that Todd wasn’t that special after all. I’ve doodled. Sometimes I’m surprised by how well my doodles turn out. Most of the time, I hide them from critical eyes. I hate doing things that I’m not good at, being vulnerable in that way. When I realized how driven by fear I had become, I started to intentionally put myself in situations where I would probably make a fool of myself.
Today is a continuation of that quest to face up to my silly fears. My wife gave me Keys to Drawing for Christmas. I plan to post my drawings here to 1) allow myself to look foolish, 2) use your peer pressure to keep me going, and 3) chronicle my progress (I hope).
The first exercise was to draw my crossed feet using a simple line drawing with no erasing and redrawing lines where necessary. The key was to spend more time observing my feet than being critical of my drawing. I think the author expected me to be wearing shoes, but I spend most of my time at home barefoot, so you get a 2-for-1 embarrassment deal: my amateur drawing and my feet in all their long-toed, short-footed, hairy, knobby glory:
Tags: drawing, fear, Keys to Drawing, pride
![[Earth Flag]](wp-content/images/earth-flag.png){kind=small}
![[Gadsden Flag]](wp-content/images/gadsden.png){kind=small}
![[Old Glory]](wp-content/images/old-glory.png){kind=small}
Lacey said,
December 28, 2007 @ 2:05 pm
Jon has always impressed me with some of his random drawings. Once in an institute class he drew a violin, or viola since he played that in high school.
I was surprised at how well it came out and we might still have it around somewhere.
I think your feet turned out wonderful.
I will say you need more hair on your toes though.
Nice niece said,
December 29, 2007 @ 7:07 am
Love it! (meaning the drawing…because I actually hate feet. Actually I don’t like my feet, but I love baby feet, and I don’t mind other people’s feet as long as I don’t have to touch them and they don’t touch me. Is that enough of a disclaimer?)
Anyway, I think your drawing is awesome. Since I grew up barefoot along side you, I can say with some authority that your sketch is an acurate portrayl of your feet. Of course, no one can argue the opinion of Lacey, so next time draw more hair on your toes!
Anonymous said,
December 29, 2007 @ 7:29 am
You definitely have inherent talent. I once had a wise art teacher say he did a thousand drawings (paintings) before he was comfortable with them. My take away is that you just have to keep drawing to polish your raw talent. I have noticed too that I have days where I can do no (drawing) wrong and others where I couldn’t draw to save my life. You have inspired me to start purposefully drawing more. Thanks Leonardo.
notpotable said,
December 30, 2007 @ 5:27 pm
You shouldn’t feel foolish about this drawing – I think your feet came out very well.
In fact, I think I could say you nailed them. And I really feel like this drawing has hidden sole.
December 31, 2007 @ 11:57 am
Don’t make me have to shave my toe hair!
Thank you for your encouraging words everyone. You’re—ahem—paws-itively awesome.
January 2, 2008 @ 6:11 pm
That’s a very graceful and attractive line drawing. I agree with Leonardo — you have talent.
January 3, 2008 @ 3:14 pm
The more I stare at it, the less objectionable it seems.
Thanks for the encouragement.