Reading the New Yorker

Last night, or I should say very early this morning, in a bout of sleeplessness I reached for the New Yorker by my bed. The title of a particular article peaked my interest: What I Learned When I Learned How to Draw

In the first paragraph, a scene is set at a dinner party, where the author of the article, Adam Gopnik, is seated across the table from another guest, who after a brief conversation reluctantly agrees to teach Gopnik how to draw; this guest is none other than the man who taught ME how to draw at the Grand Central Academy - Jacob Collins.

There is now just one degree of separation between Adam Gopnik and me;)

Written from the perspective of an art critic (and one who commonly writes on the activities of the contemporary art scene, not on learning how to draw representationally) this article sheds a curious perspective on all things 'Traditional Realism Revival".

Jacob Collins tries to teach Gopnik how to draw, and many of the lessons Jacob teaches him are eerily familiar. I thought back to my own Drawing Intensive class (taken in the summer of '09), and realized just how often I draw (pun intended) on the lessons I took away from that experience. Some of these lessons are practical in application, but most just propel me further into the world of the impractical, impossible, 'old fashioned' and overlooked.

And I am endlessly thankful for these lessons...

Here's a quick video of Jacob Collins in his studio discussing his work:

And this is just a quick snapshot I took of Jacob, during my Drawing class in the summer of 2009 at the Grand Central Academy.

Please feel free to share your thoughts.

Thanks!

A

I'm Listening...and I'm Drawing

Went to New York in June - studied drawing at the Grand Central Academy. Learned that graphite is a magical material.

Intense drawing workshop ran Monday - Friday, 10-5. Mornings were spent on traditional cast drawing, and afternoon sessions were all about life drawing.

After a month, I only have these two drawings to show. One of an ear and one of a model. Those who haven't spent 20 hours perfecting the flatness of a shadow using graphite, cannot understand how one month can result in just two drawings. Well, this traditional French Academic approach is not for the bored of heart. Instant gratification is not the name of this game, and 'perfectionist' should be a pre-requisite for anyone who tries their hand at it. Try at your own risk.