Think More, Draw Less

After getting past the initial shock of how challenging it is to draw on dark paper (with focus on the highlights instead of the shadows), I am now having endless fun exploring this mind-twisting exercise!

I’ve also lately taken on the additional challenge of attempting to draw as little as possible while still evoking the whole hand. If I draw too little, the result might become abstract or look like amputated fingers. It’s a fine line to tread. One thing I have learned so far from this minimalism exercise is that the more time I spend thinking before I put down the first mark, the less time I spend drawing. When I was drawing the whole hand, I didn’t do much pre-thinking at all – I just sat down and drew. Now I spend more time examining the form and how the light defines it. I’m sure books and art teachers have given me that advice many times, but I guess it takes a pandemic and 96 drawings to learn the lesson.