Spontaneous Drawing - Fun-filled 10 days for all levels

THE ART OF DOODLING

An Introduction

Today, we kick off this workshop with some doodling to help you warm up and get into a drawing frame of mind.

But, don’t be fooled by the simplicity of the idea of doing a doodle. It is a spontaneous form or expression when your mind is not particularly focussed and comes naturally to most of us. Most doodlers have their favourite patterns too.

Doodle Art has its own history beginning with cave paintings which are considered one of the oldest styles of doodle art. Much before language was invented, as in letters and writings, ancients used doodling as a tool to tell their stories.

· Doodling today, is essentially an unfocused drawing made while your attention is otherwise occupied

· Many of you may be avid doodlers yourself. I know that in the era before mobile phones, I would doodle all the time while waiting for the person I had telephoned to come on line. Even today, the endless delay in to connecting to a real person at call centre service numbers have me reach for pen and I doodle on whatever paper is handy – an envelope, a paper napkin and other scraps.

· Writers and artists have doodled throughout history, not necessarily while waiting on the phone, but musing on ideas. Alexander Pushkin, Leonardo da Vinci, Bill Clinton Samuel Beckett, John Keats, Sylvia Plath and Rabindranath Tagore are some of history’s notable doodlers

· And the greatest doodler of all is said to be the modern master Paul Klee. He didn’t however draw on the margins of his workbooks as the writers mentioned above did, his peers often referred to his DRAWINGS as doodles

· Interestingly, the word doodle first made its appearance in the early 17th century to mean a fool or simpleton

· This idea is intended in the song "Yankee Doodle", when originally sung by British colonial troops during the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783)

· It later evolved into the verb ‘to doodle’, meaning "to swindle or to make a fool of", which the modern inference draws on to imply a politician who does nothing in office. And this in turn led to the more common connotation of doodling to mean doing nothing

· But it not about doing nothing in the sense of a ‘Doodling’ politician

· The doodle as art form is a simple drawing that can have concrete representational meaning or may be a random collection of abstract shapes and lines

· It is an instinctive stress relieving technique, akin to fidgeting or pacing that are also known to alleviate mental stress. It is because of this calming attribute that doodling is often reassuring for its creator. Which is why most of us do it in the first place

· The MORE FEELING YOU PUT INTO THE WORK, the more interesting the resultant outcome

· A doodle often portrays the state of mind of the author, evident from MARKS AND LINES that may SLIP OUT UNNOTICED BY THE THINKING MIND

· Taking the whole concept of doodling beyond being a mere drawing activity, to a visual language that is capable of depth of meaning and style

DRAWING WITH YOUR NON-DOMINANT HAND

This means that IF YOU ARE RIGHT HANDED you will DO THE ASSIGNMENTS for TODAY, with your LEFT HAND. And if you are LEFT-HANDED then you will DO THEM WITH YOUR RIGHT HAND.

DRAWING WITH YOUR NON-DOMINANT HAND

Helps you GET IN TOUCH WITH YOUR INNER CHILD

OPENS UP THE MIND to recognise THE VALUE of imperfect marks and HOW INTERESTING THEY CAN ACTUALLY BE

FREES  YOU FROM THE EXPECTATION that YOUR DRAWING must follow CONVENTIONAL RULES of excellence

STIMULATES THE BRAIN'S COGNITIVE AND CREATIVE FUNCTIONS

These links will help you understand not just the value of childlike drawings and connecting with your inner child, but also learn the kind of complicated road some of these artists took. (The two book titles by Lucia Capacchione are mentioned but these are not required reading/buying).

And in the assignments in this section, you have a shortcut to reach there in less than 5 minutes

Blind Contour Line drawings, strengthen your powers of observation

• DEVELOP HAND-EYE COORDINATION and observation skills

• Drawing is a skill that REQUIRES PRACTICE to improve your drawing skills. Creating CONTINUOUS LINE DRAWINGS are excellent ways to do this.

• Working with a single, unbroken continuous line, ENCOURAGES CURIOUS OBSERVATION as well as THOUGHTFUL and INVENTIVE mark-making.

Gesture drawings INCREASE your DRAWING SPEED, CONFIDENCE and INTUITIVE MARK-MAKING SKILLs

Gesture drawings train the hands TO SKETCH WHAT THE BRAIN HAS ALREADY SEEN

Cultivatessustained concentration

The fast pace HELPS YOU "LOOSEN UP" to avoid a stiff drawing style

FINDING UNUSUAL MATERIALS to draw with helps open up the creative channels and works to loosen up inhibition. Helping you find your own expressive marks