Even more birds at the museum & a terrific drawing book

Last week we went to the Australian museum again, not for so long this time. I am very happy with my gang-gang cockatoo. I’ve realised that my drawing from ‘life’ (taxidermed life in this case) is entirely different from my drawing from photographs. My drawing from photographs are rather drawings of photographs.

The gang-gang cockatoo in the museum was blackish, though the ones online are more grey and pink. I’ve never seen one in the wild – endangered I think. The rosellas, yes, all over the place.

I wonder if anyone else has read this book I just bought DRAWING FROM WITHIN: UNLEASHING YOUR CREATIVE POTENTIAL by Nick Meglin. My favourite book shop has a 10th birthday sale & I went in to see what was there & came away with two books. This book has really impressed me. It’s about the philosophy or mindset of drawing. It’s all common sense, and only took me about 2 hours to read. Now I have to read it again & put yellow stickies, or maybe even highlight some places (I NEVER do that).

There is no Artspeak. Pictures of wonderful drawings, but just for eye candy – not for how-to. Only one assignment per chapter, but the intention is to implant the habit of drawing. Nevertheless, although this book is very different to Danny Gregory’s books, the writer has much the same idea, that you learn to draw by doing.  It’s also a breath of fresh air after having had teachers in art school who preferred  anything rather than realistic drawing. This writer says there’s no bad or good. It’s all subjective. There’s no place for judgement – only constructive criticism.

The thing where his ideas perhaps diverge from mine, is that he says you should draw for yourself, not to show others. I like the ‘community ‘ aspect of drawing and communicating with others who draw online.

This author says you should just draw, never ‘make a drawing’. Not worry about how the finished work is going to look. I actually think he’s right. It’s just as ‘good paper’ inhibits many of us, we all want to come up with something that we’re happy to post online. If you’re not worried what the end result will be like, you’re more inclined to stretch yourself – take risks.