Drawing Lessons

Drawing Lessons

While on a blueberry picking expedition a while back, I met a young woman running. I’m always interested in talking with runners and during conversation she mentioned she was a painter. I’m always sceptical when people say they are painters or musicians or writers. Perhaps it’s an unkind tendency, but I must admit my first reaction is doubt. The runner suggested I look online to see her paintings.

When I Googled Nicole Sleeth (that’s her name), I was amazed at the quality and artistry of her work. I would recommend that anyone reading this should search out her paintings.

When Nicole offered a beginner’s course in drawing at a local art studio, I was quick to sign up. After years of dabbling, it was time to learn how to draw properly.

At the first class there were two ideas that especially struck me. Nicole suggested the first step was to look at the object you were drawing, decide how it made you feel and then quickly sketch in an outline. She said it wasn’t important how accurate this first representation was, later work with pencil and eraser could make the drawing better.

Her second suggestion was that it was important that none of us in the class offer any constructive criticism to other students. If we wanted to say anything to our classmates, it had to be positive. Only the teacher was allowed to suggest a drawing could be changed.

These may sound like simple instructions, but they struck me as profound. Part of me knew both ideas were correct but another part of me rebelled against each of them. There is something inside me that wants to get things right the first time and there is also a part of me that thinks I can help people by pointing out mistakes in their work.

As I thought about Nicole’s instructions, it struck me that these same directions are important in writing.

I’m a big fan of Anne Lamott’s idea of the “shitty first draft”. When we write, it is important to write. Get something down on paper (or on your screen) and don’t worry about whether it is any good. Editing is a big part of writing. That’s when your ideas can be polished until they shine. Worrying about being perfect when you first sit down to write is counterproductive.

I also think the idea of avoiding criticism of other people’s writing (or art) is a good one. As much as I may not admit it, I know how much it hurts when others suggest my writing is somehow deficient. It’s a goal of mine to not care what anyone thinks about my work. The ideal is to write uninhibited by other’s opinions. But we are human and all of us are affected by others saying there is something wrong with our work.

The more we invest in our art, the dearer it becomes to us and the more difficult it is to take criticism no matter how well it is intended.

I list all the books I read on Goodreads. I’ve made it my policy there to only rate those rare works I consider outstanding. These get five stars, and I don’t rate anything else. It’s enough to say I have read them. It does no good for me to say to an author that I don’t like his or her writing. Criticism I have of other writers’ works may be more a reflection of myself than the book itself. Perhaps I just didn’t get it.

Who could have imagined that drawing lessons would offer instruction for writing?