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Reviewing Our Goals for the Foundation Lessons: Reflection not Perfection |
The aim of the Foundation Lessons is twofold:
1) These exercises are designed to pull you into R-mode, to help you skirt around the domineering presence of L-mode. L-mode has it's place, just not in drawing. So idea #1 here is to give you an experience of L-mode, of direct sensing and direct perception.
2) Secondly, our other goal is to get control of that shift. Once you know what it feels like, and you now how to bring yourself to it, then you have your foot in the door towards making that shift at will.
Ask yourself "How did that feel?".
So take a second. Think back. Try to recall the moment you went from tense, uptight, challenged L-mode into the immersed, relaxed but quite aware R-mode. Like falling asleep it'll be pretty hard to remember the exact moment you did - but in retrospect you'll know that you entered a different cognitive state. Those are pretty big words, "cognitive state" but you'll know it felt different. That experience, re-living it, re-invoking it is important right now. The more experience you have in reaching this state, the better you'll get at finding your way there at will. just springboard you into a whole other world.
Try and make it a point to review this shift, of how you felt before, during, and after each drawing session. Think about it right now - how did it feel as you did one or two of the upside-down drawing? . Did you notice (in retrospect) how much time flew by without you noticing? Did you feel relaxed, non-plussed at the end? See if you can't go right back to that state by re-creating the conditions that got you there the first time. And how do you do that? Go do another upside-down drawing. It's that simple.
Doesn't have to be perfect
Making perfect replicas of the drawing assignments is NOT the goal. Slipping comfortably and easily into the artist's way of seeing is. Spatial reckoning, drawing, moment to moment awareness comes naturally to R-mode - we're literally built for this. We just need to let go, relax and be open.
Nothing mystical here
And it's not some mystical thing we're after here, though for some people it is mystical or at it's least a form of meditation.You do feel different - better, more relaxed, focused, contented, energized when you're through. I think that's part of what makes an artist want to draw/write/paint so much: it feels so good when your session is over.
It's also true that part of what moves them is they have no choice: they must draw/write/paint/make music/construct. I have no doubt that the only difference between artists and "non-artists" is that artists have made it a discipline or have been lucky enough to have it had put on them to make time for their art. The day isn't right if they don't do their practice. Everybody, you dear reader included, has something in them dying to come out. Drawing is only one way, and I think a very direct way of getting into that room.
You'll hear caricaturists, musicians, writers, comedy improvisers, and poets to name a few, talking about getting "in the zone" - all the time. This, what we've been talking about here, is exactly what they're taking about.
Before going on: try to do at least 5 upside-down drawings
Take a break. Try and do at least 5 of the 29 drawings offered before you go to lesson 4.
Back to your drawing assignments.
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