Need to Draw!

By Sherry L. Massey

I’ve been drawing since so little I cannot even remember when I didn’t have a pencil or crayon on my hand. What I do remember is winning my first and only art contest at the age of 6. I am sure that I am the only one who remembers this amazing feat and I still remember the drawing I did that ran away with the award…a beehive hanging from a block hanging from the top edge of the paper, a few bees swarming around the hive opening. The sky took up the top third of the paper, the ground the bottom third. What was in the middle? Maybe the bottom of the hive and a couple of free floating bees. Ok, ok, but I was 6!

I was always the kid that never (and I do mean, NEVER!) went out of the lines with the crayons. Always outlined my coloring book pages, always neat and. Just. So. It is a curse, really.

I graduated from high school with honors. Was an Illinois State Scholar. Started college. Quit. Went back when I was 35, almost 36, graduated at 39 with a BBA in both accounting and finance (double major). Yes. I am your typical left brained artist wannabe. I never did take art in high school but sure loved having art in grade school. This was way back in the day when schools still included art and music as part of the normal curriculum. I also took both drawing classes and watercolor classes at the college level. I’ve taken the art correspondence courses. What I have not been able to do is master drawing. It is what I started out doing, what I’ve played with since very young, what I want to do so badly that it hurts. I have drawing book upon drawing book and can do a reasonable copy. Not perfect, not identical, not by any stretch of the imagination. What I cannot do is draw well from life (3 dimensional subjects), and I am definitely not consistent. Even when I start out well, I end up doing something to screw it up. I’ve tried the drawing from the right side of the brain book and some of those tips help. But for me consistency is what I strive for, what I want. I believe good drawing is foundational to art. I am lacking foundation and I need it so desperately!

I’ve always loved Leonardo DaVinci’s drawings. I’ve attempted one of his pieces and managed a “decent” drawing by using a grid. I completed this drawing in pencil then went over it in red ink in an attempt to more closely imitate his completed work. I stained the paper with coffee. Then I ruined it by that patch on the cheek. This was supposed to be contouring, giving definition to the bone structure in the face. I’m sad to admit that this is still one of my favorite drawings. I wish I could do this without using a grid. I wish I could drip drawings at the first whisper of desire. I NEED to draw with every ounce of my being and this is my last chance. Cannot afford this any other way and time is fast encroaching on this old girl…