Peter Clarke notes pt. 1

The last workshop I attended was instructed by Karl Gnass, on the subject of two-figure composition.

Tonight, because I'd like to think I choose good teachers, I attended the first in a series of advanced lifedrawing classes by Seattle's own Peter Clarke.  I barely had a moment to draw between scratching down all the pearls he was dropping.

"Speed isn't everything."  / "The more you have up here [in reference to what you observe with your eyes] the freer you are there [on the page]." / "Commit to the lines you're making.  Believe in them from the start."

"[Construction] is a crutch.  A ramping up.  You shouldn't need that."

"Take a chance; it's just one drawing."

[in reference to going over a previously established area of the drawing] "Are you retreading or retreating?"

"Draw somewhere you don't normally draw.  Put a mark there!" / "Find new places to draw." / "Let go of patterns." / "Don't hang in any one place too long."

"You have to get out of your own way."

"That was enough time." [to capture the pose]

"You're always searching.  The drawing is really never done."

[before you draw] "Take a good look at him."

"Try to draw the whole guy."

"Every line you make is a thought or a feeling.  Draw with empathy; it'll matter more."

"The art will come out of the observation and the honesty."

"Make definite choices."

"Find the information."

"[As soon as] you see something definite, get it.  Then you won't have to go back to it." / "What's most important?  Go for that right away; don't build up to it." / "That observation wins.  Give into it."

"How else are you going to add onto what you know until you experience what you don't?"

"You are awake."

"You are pulling out and pushing away." / "You're moving forward and backward in space." / [quoting Rodin] "My only obligation is to draw the space." / "Be sensitive to the space." / "Create movement." / "Make change." / "Draw the difference."

[in reference to Gustav Klimt] "He showed sensitivity to the organic nature of the figure."

[in reference to studying others' language / mark making] "Use these guys!  Come up with your own version of that!" / "Books are important."

"If it's not exciting, and you don't like it, don't do it."  / "Get involved with it emotionally." / "Have an experience."

[in reference to the model's "Clark Kent" hair curl] "It's important to him.  It's important to his character."

[of gravity] "Think of the weight.  He's melting."

"Favor that shoulder." / "Pick on that shoulder blade."

"Just try to go there."

"Make a picture."

---

Medicine.

At one point, Peter handed me a chopstick with a piece of charcoal rubber-banded to the tip, and had me grip the opposite end, just to feel a different tool.  "Don't try to use it like the [China] marker."  With my hand out and away from the drawing, I was able to skip around much more freely.

But my biggest "take" from the evening was that [to quote The Dude from 'The Big Lebowski'] "My thinking about this case has become very uptight!"  I have been *willfully* depriving myself of enjoying the ride...of the experience of drawing another human, all of whom are different.  In my search for simplicity and efficiency, I've been cutting off pathways to deeper understanding.  Throttling my own growth.  My "mature" prioritization of "Oh, I'll save that bit for later." negligently skirts the importance of that which *initially* drew my eye.  Trusting that eye -- slowing down to pay attention to where it leads -- will bring me into uncharted territories where more enjoyment may be derived.  I will give myself permission to do this.

Another memorable quote from the evening [in reference to not delaying one's artistic gratification] :

"Eat nothing but dessert."
-Matt Barrett