Why Create Art?

How many times have we passed a familiar scene, something that we may see every day as we go about our busy lives, but for some reason on this day it looks different. You become aware of things you never noticed before. The way the light is. The way the colors make you feel. Even the sounds are different than you remember. Your senses are heightened and you may become overwhelmed with emotion that needs to be expressed. You may feel the need to share this experience with others, to show them something beautiful and thought provoking. Art can be a vehicle for communication on a level that transcends a mere descriptive narrative and conveys your feelings at a much deeper level.

 Art can help you see. I have been teaching a landscape drawing class at a local guest ranch near my home in Colorado for many years. Most of the students have never drawn before, outside of a few art classes in elementary or middle school. They are usually here because their lives back home are hectic with the neccesities of making a living and taking care of their families. It takes them a while to slow down to the speed of the natural world. Many of them confess that they don’t know if they can sit still for the 2 hours or so that the class encompasses. And that is, in my opinion, the true value of making art. It gets you to slow down and notice the details that you may never take the time to see otherwise. It makes you analyize why you find your subject worthy of your attention, why it makes you feel something, and how to best express those feelings to others.

 After a half hour or so of introducing them to the basic techniques, most of my time teaching is spent pointing out things that they may not have noticed. How the light falls across the landscape. How the different textures reflect light. How the light from the ground bounces into the shadows of a tree trunk. That the edges in the scene vary, and how those can be used to direct the viewers eye and create a sense of depth and space in their drawing. They get caught up in the combination of really becoming familiar with the subject, and the challenge of learning the techniques that will allow them to put their reaction to the subject down on paper. By the end of the class, most of them comment that the time flew by, and they wish they had more time to spend on their drawings and just taking in the landscape. I always encourage them to get a sketchbook when they get home and whenever time allows, draw something that interests them. It’s one of the best ways to really see the world around you.

 I always draw a demonstration during the class, so I can explain what I am doing and why I’m doing it. I think that handing someone with no experience a sketchbook, pencil and eraser and expecting them to draw with no instruction is an invitation to frustration. They need some basic tools to get started, to help them decide on composition, value structure, edges, how to use masses instead of outlines. I always tell them that they are not a camera. That they should interpret the scene before them, decide what is of interest to them and how to best show that in their drawing. I show them how to edit, how to rearrange the scene to their liking and create a strong design. There is much more that goes into creating a piece of art than merely recording what you see. Studies are a worthwhile endeavor and can help you to understand the details of a subject, but in making a piece of art we must go beyond the surface appearance of our subject. I show them how the balance of lights and darks in the composition can be manipulated to create a mood. How the hardness or softness of edges can create a feeling and focus the viewers eyes on what you want them to notice. How to create dominate and supportive areas of the drawing so you’re not being overwhelmed with meaningless and confusing detail.

 Of course, there a challenges when working from life outdoors, and I help them with those, too. How to deal with changing light and shadow patterns. How to handle your sketchpad when the wind kicks up. Sometimes the weather is changing so rapidly that the scene looks completely different in a matter of minutes.

 Despite all of these challenges, most of the students are amazed at what they have done by the end of the class. And because we are not merely creating studies, everyone’s drawing looks different. Some are wonderfully bold and very strong in design, while others are more subtle and soft. And all of them show the personality of the artist. That is my goal as a teacher, to give you the tools that will help you express your own vision as an artist.