Drawing Impulses

Regarding nature and abstraction, we’ve now explored a few ways of doing this, of getting into a more abstract form. In this impulse I would like to suggest one, which we’ve already mentioned briefly: enlargement. You can enlarge something from nature, a very realistic thing from nature, in a way that the viewer can no longer make the connection of what it's about, even though the contours are drawn from nature. To get there, the easiest way is to go out into nature with a camera and capture certain impressions. Whether that's the landscape, a group of trees, one tree, parts of plants, flowers. Whatever it is, you approach it with a sensitive eye and photograph it. Take several pictures. When you get home, you go to your computer or tablet and look at the photos. With this technology you have the possibility to enlarge the thing by zooming in. You can select a section, which the computer automatically enlarges. The best way to do this is to use the "Crop" function under "Edit" on the computer. So, you can crop exactly what you want to enlarge, what details are interesting. This is very simple.

In the last impulse we discussed the egg, and if we deal with eggs, then of course the nest is not too far away. If the egg is laid by birds, it needs protection. And this protection is precisely the nest. The word nest comes from the pre-Germanic word "Nizdo", which means "settlement". It’s also related to the Latin term "nidus" – the nest. “Nest” is the name given to various constructions made by different species of animals; they are used either for sleeping, living, or breeding. Most birds build clutch nests, which are designed to be suitable for taking care of the hatchlings.

Every day we hold a symbol of life in our hands or enjoy it on our plates. The egg. The egg is a symbol of fertility, in which we have the potential of life before us, because the egg carries within itself the potential for new life. For us as artists, the egg is especially interesting in its form because it has a fascinating shape when we look at it closely. An egg is something unique, there’s no geometric description except to say it is egg-shaped. An egg has a more pointed end on one side and a softer, rounded end on the other. Of course, the top is also round, but it’s more converging. Also, no two eggs are alike and there are quite different sizes depending on which bird an egg comes from. 

Again and again, when we’re drawing, we might have the feeling that the picture is not exciting enough. How can we change that? We can do it through proportions. They’re a good way to make a drawing exciting. To do this, we need to exaggerate the proportions – way larger and way smaller – to achieve this tension. What does that do in the picture? It creates a three-dimensionality. A very large element and a tiny element enter a relationship with each other and create a space in our imagination. That's important to understand, and that's why in this impulse I want to go deeper into the question of proportions. I would like to do so with a thing that we no longer encounter on a daily basis, but that everyone knows: the matchstick.

When laymen talk about drawing, most of them think that "drawing" means tracing the proportions and outlines of an object. Even in art schools, every drawing is first defined as a proportion of lines, and only then light and shadow are added. So, we have to study proportions on their own. What is the proportion of the shapes? Are they small or large? What is the relationship between them? If we think through exactly what this exercise is about, we realize it needs close observation because contrast plays the biggest role. We need to study how the proportions work in relation to each other. We need to develop a sensitivity to this. 

Parallel lines observed in the nature, realism and abstraction.

In this impulse I would like to think with you about a tree, namely the beech tree. Not so much in its great expanse, but to take a closer look at the trunk, to study the bark in detail. The beech is a tree that grows mainly in North America, Europe, and parts of Asia. Wherever winters are not too cold and summers not too hot and, above all, not too dry. Beech trees like to grow in mixed forests. They are certainly one of our most common trees. The beech is a very old plant with a long history, that can be traced thanks to fossil findings. Its history goes back to the Cretaceous period, about 84 to 72 million years ago. That was about the time when the dinosaurs were alive and beech trees are at least as old. They are eyewitnesses from these ancient times. They have something in their consciousness that is much older than what we as humans bear in our hidden consciousness.

Bringing your own view into a new perspective.

Today I would like to explore another field for drawing: your own point of view. This own point of view, which every human being carries within him or herself, is a habit, something unconscious. When we draw, we look at objects and things and then try to represent them accordingly in the drawing. And so, it’s very, very good to change our point of view. To change our perspective. To look at things from a different angle.

Geometrical and vital shapes in relation to each other.

Sometimes we spend a lot of time indoors. Maybe the days are grey; sometimes the blue shimmers through the fog a little and it makes us hopeful to see a little more light for once. With this experience in mind, I thought of an exercise that has to do with something we do every day without thinking about it. It’s one of the normal things we do without being aware of their aesthetic possibilities: The view out of the window. I encourage you to look out of one of your windows. The window can be empty, with nothing at all on the windowsill, so it’s just the window and the view outside. Or there may be some objects on the windowsill; flowerpots, ornaments, vases, candles, cards, small sculptures, stones, snail shells, whatever it is. 

Light and mystery in a drawing, flowing transitions, structural identity.

We started with doodling. This has loosened us up and ensured that we understand the basic concepts of lines. With geometry, we’ve added already a concept. A contour, a kind of limitedness we searched for quite knowingly. This time, we’re adding the idea of drawing from dark to light.

Scribbling, the quality of the line and the composition of two surfaces.

With the first exercise of DRAWING IMPULSES, you got into drawing. You’ve succeeded in letting go of any intention, and instead relying completely on your intuition. I would like to build on this previous exercise and dive even more into the unintentional. But this time with a little concept. On a sheet of paper, place two rectangles or squares parallel next to each other. They should be of the same size and not too small. Then scribble in the respective field.