I try to start the drawing paying attention to the large shapes, then the secondary shapes within those and finally the tertiary shapes within those secondary shapes. So the focus starts big, them medium, then small. But all the while, I’m also focusing on drawing the truest contours I can, so much that my eyes are fixed on the reference and I only look at my paper to determine where to start and end each contour.

“Work done with the camera may be considered good drawing from a precision standpoint, but not from an artistic viewpoint. The inaccuracy resulting from artistic leeway, aesthetic taste, and judgment is what determines quality and drawing and fine art” -Edgar Payne, “Composition of Outdoor Painting” I think this quote does a good job selling the act of drawing over tracing or projecting. I used to chase precision, but that only got me so far. There is so much that can be done with drawing, even imprecise drawings. The rhythms and connections that can be made regardless of precocious are what bring life to an artwork.

Yesterday, I was on a call with my mentor Joe Paquet. We were figuring out what I’m going to focus on over the next couple months. We determined it was drawing. But I’ve always considered myself to be good t drawing - when I commit the time to it… I could always copy something pretty closely using pencils or charcoal. But during our conversation, I realized that my real issue was that I had forgotten what drawing actually can be. Drawing isn’t just a boring, preliminary thing for a painting, it’s a method of seeing the rhythm and composition of line in your subject. There is so much that can be said with just lines. Now that I’ve relearned what it means to draw, I’ve decided to put my transfer paper in long term storage and start sketching my pet portraits onto the canvas before I paint them. Now, I look forward to the drawing and I see it as an exciting part of the process where I get to discover the rhythm and deeper nature of my subject without the distraction of colors, values or edges. Attached are some of the first drawings I made back in 2019-2020 when I first started learning traditional art techniques.

Sometimes, I like an abstract background with lots of brushstrokes and slightly varying colors that don't take away the focus from the portrait. Other times, I'll find a color that complements the colors in the portrait and make the background just all that color, like in this example where I used a pallet knife to load the paint onto my canvas panel.