DragonBrush

In the most simplistic terms………………everyone! Many people have looked at the artwork that I produce, and have commented, “I could never do that, I can’t even draw a circle!”

The truth is, neither can I without help from a template or compass! I cannot draw a strait line without a strait edge either! I can draw a line which looks strait, however, to draw a line that is strait needs a tool to accomplish it. The only thing that really sets me apart from the average “joe” who thinks that artist’s are some mystical creature who sips red wine, listens to classical music, and has highly cerebral thoughts while they are creating something, is this. I know that artist’s are not mystical creatures at all! We are human, just like everyone else.

We eat the same type of food. We drink the same drinks. We pull our pants on one leg at a time. We even use the bathroom! Those of us who care about our hygiene at all even take showers, and shave, and get our hair cut! The only thing that really sets us apart from everyone who “can’t” draw, is that we do not settle for the word “can’t.” We love the challenge of taking all these lines, shapes, shadows, and lighting and connecting them together in such a way as to make a sensible drawing or painting. We have spent years in honing our craft in order to do just this.

We all begin the same. When I was a toddler, I would draw little pictures which looked the same as everyone else my age. It was usually a picture of mommy, or daddy. The “portrait” would be a large mis-shapen circle, with round googly-eyes, funny nose shape, and wavy line for a mouth. The arms would sprout out from the area the ears should have been located. The legs would sprout out from the “chin” area. All the extremities would be different lengths and stick-like. The Sun would always be positioned in a corner of the paper, and would always be yellow with different line lengths radiating from it. A house would always be a rectangle in the middle of the paper with a triangle on top of it. Some square shaped windows, and door would be drawn on for good measure. Everything in the drawings would be flat, and have no shading or real volume at all. They were just a series of shapes fit together to make a picture. If you remember backwards, I can assure you that you had drawings of this type also! If you have children, look at their drawings, you will see the evidence there!

We began the same. Equal. With the same tools. At some point however, we split apart. Is a bodybuilder born with more muscles than the average person? Due to the different interest’s that stimulated our young minds, we soon began to excel in different area’s. Some children begin to excel at putting together numbers in proper sequences. Some begin to excel in writing. Some in the physical aspects. We all go in the direction which holds the most interest for us at the time. Just as some may not be able to draw or paint the way that I do. I am unable to make a scoring touchdown, or even throw a bowling ball down an alley and have it actually hit the pins!

At some point, the person who may become an artist begins to look at their drawings in a different way. We become unsatisfied with the “usual” way of drawing. Sometimes such a youth is fortunate enough to have someone in their life who recognizes the interest, and will then encourage it. I do not believe “talent” is an immediate thing. That is to say, that we are not automatically talented. It is through intense observation, and a keen interest that the artistic child begins to learn the language of line, shape, and shadow. What happens at this point is, that while the other children are developing the things which they are interested in, the artistic child is developing his/her interest also.

Children react very well to praise. When a child hits, or catches the baseball in the backyard, and dad becomes excited, the child becomes committed to doing well whenever the ball is thrown to them. When the artistic child draws something, and they receive a good reaction it just cements their own interest in drawing! I believe that this is also a point for artistic passion to begin to grow within the child. This is when the child really becomes interested in drawing, and setting down their thoughts on paper in a more realized way. The child becomes hungry for input! The child also usually always has some implement of creativity in their grasp. Pencil and paper usually to begin with.