Drawing

You may have noticed that I haven't updated my blog over the past few months, several reasons for this; of course the dreaded 4 letter word beginning with W, ending in K and having an 'or' in the middle is the main reason that I class the time between breaths as relaxation, but more interesting (or not) is the fact that I have taken up a new hobby - pencil drawing.

Yes I know it doesn't sound very interesting, and of course its not much of a spectator sport, but it keeps me out of trouble, doesn't cost a great deal and helps me explore the creative side of my brain.  It does however take up all of the precious time i have between flying, work and flying, leaving me very little time for writing.

I used to draw cartoons as a teenager, 2000AD, Slaine, Judge Dredd etc. This type of drawing is now called fantasy art, back in my day they were called schoolboy sketches or - cartoons.  This is why my first attempts at drawing all turned out to look like something on the back page of the Beano, rather than something you may wish to hang on your living room wall. 

I haven't drawn since before I hit 20, seeing as it isn’t something 'real' men do - whatever that means.  As I care less now about what 'real' men should do, i am free to tell you about how I enjoy selecting the right composition, and worrying about shading, texture and realism.

On entering this new hobby I did find it interesting that there was that there is a whole world out there of likeminded people, to be honest most of them are 6 years old, but still - there are millions of 'artists' and hobbyists drawing, painting, sculpting, photographing and publishing it all on the internet for everyone to enjoy - or ridicule! One such place where we frequent is a on a web site called DeviantArt - not sure what the title is supposed to refer to, but it’s basically a social network site for those of us who want to show how good/bad our etchings are.  Interestingly there are worlds within this world, with the site being divided into methods of art - pencil drawing, watercolour painting, and so on.  In fact there is an enormous number of genres - most I have never heard of, and many that seem a little perverse (what exactly is 'cosplay'?).

I stick to Traditional art; Pencil art; portraits.  Portraits of famous people to be exact - why? Well I don’t have the brain capacity to draw from memory or use my imagination.  I am more of an architectural artist (used with a very small 'a'), by this I mean that I enjoy the process of creation from a technical point of view rather than from an ethereal or symbolic view.  Where to put a line on a piece of paper for me is a measured process rather than a flowing process, symmetry and accuracy are more important than putting 'my personality' into a picture.  

Still it provides me with an interest other than staring at air-plane / train timetables and wondering where I will wake up tomorrow, and I think I am improving?  I dont expect to update my blog very often, but for the time being will update my drawings web site regularly - so if you get a chance I would appreciate all sane, constructive and clean comments :)