My students, young and old, often feel a wave of impatience (the left brain) as they begin, thinking, "This is silly," or "Why go so slow.I can draw the shape of a flower," just before they relax into drawing beautifully (as the right brain takes over). The slowness quiets down the chatter of your mind. In fact, the more slowly you draw, the more accurate your contour drawing will be. Why does this work? It works because contour drawing is done very slowly. I use 24 x 18 inch sheets of newsprint for the drawings, and I transfer the drawing directly to the canvas: I do a life-size contour drawing for each of the paintings in my 100 Flowers series. You can create a lovely contour drawing within an hour of learning the technique, no matter your age or art-school experience.
A contour drawing captures the essence of an object with all of its texture. Contour drawing is an easy entry to the world of sketchbooks. Drawing lets you interpret on the spot, choose colors, and emphasize detail in ways a camera can't.Īnd if you can't draw, haven't drawn in ages, are afraid to draw.what then? Try contour drawing. Photos will work, but drawings will, too, and they're easy to share by taking a photo of your sketch and uploading it. They are quite beautiful.You're traveling this summer and you'd like to keep a record of your trip. These pieces are gallery-worthy, don’t you think? Thank you, Jeanette, for writing such an incredibly inspiring + thoughtful + funny book! It’s one of our faves.Īlso, check out artist Allison Kunath and her blind contour drawings which she calls “seeing without looking” intuitive portraits. I love this look as it raises the artwork up a notch and really makes it stand out. I first taped the edges down to magazines just to frame the final pieces with a white border. We took our drawings one step further and painted in the shapes. But I love his concentration and then pure joy in seeing what he drew! My daughter took them while my son was doing his blind contour drawing of me. I debated whether to post these photos since they are not really blog worthy. We also had a little cockroach problem (another reason not to go south in August) so between the heat and the roaches, I’m glad I brought down Jeanette’s book to keep us distracted! The temp was in the 100s and the ocean felt like a hot bath. Ok, so here we are in Kiawah, South Carolina, last summer for the hottest vacation we have ever had. Some of my favorites are upside down drawings, synchronized drawings, and gravity drawings. There are so many good drawing prompts in this book. If you give this gift, you will forever be known as the best gift-giver ever!! Either way, this is a killer gift for a creative child between the ages of 6-14. Or you can replace the paints with markers (I love these dual tip ones), also a key art supply that is used in this book. With the fluorescent paints it’s a $50 gift (those paints are expensive, but they go on sale often). We took this exact packet on our trip to South Carolina last summer and it kept my kids (ages 10, 14, and 17) laughing and drawing the whole vacation. It’s December right now so I’m thinking about the holidays, but really this gift is perfect for birthdays all year round. This book – plus some key art supplies – would make an awesome gift. Each activity includes ideas for how to “Make it Silly,” and ways to vary the themes so you can play the games over and over. Start with basic drawing games, followed by a section of activities that can be done with friends, then work with some mixed-media activities, and end with awesome tangle art games. Professional artist Jeanette Nyberg brings to life 46 drawing games that offer playful, easy ways to get a pen moving across a page, help keep the mind focused, and provide hours of guided entertainment. It’s not focused on goals, but on enjoying the process. It’s about exploring, experimenting, and getting lost in creativity. Tangle Art and Drawing Games for Kids is perfect for families who want to sneak a little more creativity into their lives and have fun doing it. If you have a child who loves to draw then they will absolutely LOVE this book!!! Here’s what the publisher writes: So I got this idea from my friend Jeanette‘s book called Tangle Art & Drawing Games for Kids. This makes for the most hysterical – and quite honestly the most exquisite – abstract portraits! Have you ever tried them? The rule is that you can’t look down at your paper and you can’t lift your pen.
Blind contour drawings are the most fun you can have drawing with another person.