Mindfulness and the Art of Drawing
See a Problem?
Thanks for telling us about the problem.
Friend Reviews
Reader Q&A
Community Reviews
"Colours become more intense, shadow and light more vivid, the old vase with its cracked glaze that we've been sketching seems ful Wendy Ann Greenhalgh started to draw when she was dealing with a chronic illness, but once she found out how good it made her feel, she never really stopped. She suggests that it can help us to observe the world around us more fully, rather than being stuck inside our heads in the maelstrom of thoughts, feelings, worries and dreams that go through our minds every day.
"Colours become more intense, shadow and light more vivid, the old vase with its cracked glaze that we've been sketching seems full of extraordinary detail, detail that we never really noticed before, and it's been sitting on our kitchen windowsill for five years. Or we take a walk to the corner shop for milk, but get caught up on the way with patterns of frost on iced-over car windows and have to stop to take a look."
She believes that anyone can draw. No exceptions. Anyone can do it. So anyone has access to the benefits that drawing can bring. What most often gets in the way is our self-criticism. Children don't worry about whether their drawing is good enough, whether the colours or perspective are accurate. It's only as we get older than we start to judge ourselves. We would feel better if we allowed ourselves to just draw, without judgement - to simply be a beginner with no expectations.
As an exercise in not worrying what it looks like, she suggests taking paper and pencil and doodling with your eyes shut. Don't peek, just doodle shapes and lines until the page is full. Concentrate on how the pencil feels in your hand, the sound and feel of the pencil on the paper. When you've finished, think about how it feels, did you enjoy it, does your hand ache? Only then open your eyes. Does that change how you feel? Does your inner critic snap to attention?!
She suggests lots more exercises too. Try sketching on a huge piece of paper, so that you have to reach up and crouch down to fill the page, using your whole body in the process. Try drawing really slowly, or very fast, or with your non-dominant hand. Try all straight lines and angles, or all round shapes.
In the next section she talks about seeing instead of looking. Before starting to draw something, spent a few minutes really concentrating on it: the shape, the size, the colours, the way the light falls on it. Perhaps even think about what it smells like and how heavy it is. Perhaps leave it somewhere you can pass it daily and look at it in different light levels at different times of day. Then start to sketch it out, without looking at the paper. Look only at the object. Don't look at the page until the drawing is finished. One way to do this is to keep your pencil on the paper at all times, do not lift it off, and this may mean you have to retrace your steps to reach another part of the shape.
Any book on mindfulness tends to discuss the benefits of silence and nature over electronics and busy-ness. She encourages us to slow down, take time away from the computer and enjoy the outdoors. One interesting memory she recalls is of sketching in Scotland, wiping the rain from the paper as well as her face as she "became absorbed in the low hang of clouds, the bruised, blue look of the mountains, the breath of mist hanging over the water". I enjoyed the way she interwove these anecdotes with the exercises in a way that was not intrusive but served to illustrate the benefits of drawing that she is describing.
There is a section on landscapes, which can be as simple as drawing what is outside your window or a retreat in the wilderness. Her advice includes: take in the feel of the place, listen to the sounds, before starting to draw; try sketching just a leaf if you feel intimidated by the size of the scene; try starting in the middle of the page and working outwards; use very light lines to sketch the main features, then fill in the details in sections; draw the same scene every week for a season, or every hour for a day, to understand how it changes over time; take a small sketchbook with you everywhere you go, so that you can capture something in a spare five minutes waiting for a train. She talks quite movingly of visiting her childhood home for the last time and wanting to capture it somehow, but not knowing where to start. She finally drew just a gate and that drawing brings back memories every time she looks at it.
She refers to wabi-sabi, the Japanese concept of impermanence, and talks of how this applies to the things we are looking at as well as our own drawing ability. The item we are sketching may be decaying or damaged. The drawing may never be finished. It may never be perfect, and that's fine.
The last section is on portraiture and she acknowledges that this is the type of drawing that is most often disliked or feared. She thinks this is partly because any discrepancies between the model and the drawing are very obvious. If a tree is taller in your sketch than the one you were looking at, nobody will notice or care, but if a neck is twice the length it 'should be' then it's clearly a mistake. Or is it? She suggests that the portrait is a success if it represents the person accurately; their personality or their mood that day. One thing I had never thought of is that when we look at people from a distance we may be able to sum them up in just a few lines, a representation of their shape, or the way they walk, and she suggests we try that in a crowded shopping centre or street.
This little book is beautiful in its own right, with thick pages and an attractive red and black cover. It is peppered with quotes, which I enjoyed, such as "I draw from nature, although on completely new terms. For me nature is not a landscape, but the dynamism of visual forces, an event rather than an appearance" (Bridget Riley, British painter).
The author makes it clear that this is not a book of drawing techniques. It is, instead, a book about the experience of drawing. I found it inspiring and will work my way through the exercises. After all, Anyone Can Draw!
...more 
"Come to drawing as if you've never done it before. Come to drawing with a curiosity about the marks you could make and the world you could ex I studied fine arts for several years, and even today, when my job it's not involved with this field, I feel very connected with the creative part of myself. I'm always rediscovering a simple way to express myself through arts. And this book was perfect because I could enjoy the simple act of drawing because I feel to and because it's a sort of necessity.
"Come to drawing as if you've never done it before. Come to drawing with a curiosity about the marks you could make and the world you could explore. Come to drawing as a beginner. Being a beginner is the best thing to be, because as be-ginners we can simply be."
You don't need to be an artist to enjoy drawing, so, let's do it, and embrace your journey. ...more
It seems strange to say that while the book doesn't reall
I kind of have mixed feelings about this book. While it was easy to read and I could see the usefulness of the exercises as mindfulness activities, it wasn't terribly well written and I think for readers who don't know much about mindfulness, the purpose of the exercises might be a bit vague. Having read Ruby Wax's A Mindfulness Guide for the Frazzled I felt gave me enough context to be able to understand how the exercises could be useful.It seems strange to say that while the book doesn't really explain what mindfulness is terribly well, it's more about mindfulness than drawing. The drawing is way of attaining the focus and in-the-momentness of mindfulness - drawing instead of just sitting and focusing, which may be useful, I would imagine, for many people. I'm not at all sure that the exercises will particularly improve anyone's drawing, but then that isn't really the purpose of the book. So it all felt a bit neither-fish-nor-fowl to me. The exercises seem to be useful and I may try some of them, but as a book and an overall mindfulness strategy, it didn't seem terribly compelling to me - maybe more as ideas for alternatives if an existing mindfulness practice is proving challenging to maintain and a more concrete approach is needed?
The book is nicely produced and a nice size in the hand, with clear type. I really liked the cover illustration but was disappointed that there weren't more illustrations throughout the book - it seems a bit half-baked for a book about drawing to not actually really have any drawings in it...
...more
The book provides a range of basic drawing exercises used as a means to be focussed and mindful. It is a useful introduction to mindfulness and to drawing and the exercises are easy to understand and encourage a regular drawing and therefore mindfulness practice.
I am only part way through the book but will continue, and would recommend this to anyone who maybe struggles with the concept of mindfulness and wants to fin
Thank you for providing me with a copy of this e-book in exchange for a review.The book provides a range of basic drawing exercises used as a means to be focussed and mindful. It is a useful introduction to mindfulness and to drawing and the exercises are easy to understand and encourage a regular drawing and therefore mindfulness practice.
I am only part way through the book but will continue, and would recommend this to anyone who maybe struggles with the concept of mindfulness and wants to find practical ways of accessing mindfulness.
...more
I'm going to use it to help shape my mindfulness curriculum for kids.
So far, I have completed the first exercise and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I was surprised to find how well proportioned my shapes and doodles were with eyes closed. My muscle memory is much more developed than I ever expected. I plan to play with each exercise a few times throughout the week before moving on to the next chapter.
...more
This text, whilst basic, is well-written and easy to read. It provides step-by-step exercises in mindfulness and drawing for readers to focus on the subject; with sections focussing on targeting 'Your Inner Critic' and Still Life, it provides interesting perspectives on the place of mindfulness drawing.
Highly engaging but somewhat basic. Would recommend, 7.5/
I received a complementary copy of this book from the publisher and Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.This text, whilst basic, is well-written and easy to read. It provides step-by-step exercises in mindfulness and drawing for readers to focus on the subject; with sections focussing on targeting 'Your Inner Critic' and Still Life, it provides interesting perspectives on the place of mindfulness drawing.
Highly engaging but somewhat basic. Would recommend, 7.5/10
...more
Many thanks to Netgalley for a copy of this ARC for which I have given my voluntary and unbiased review.
This is a book for people who want to include drawing as part of a personal meditation or relaxation programme. However, it's more about the mindfulness side rather than a 'how to'. I personally was looking forward to the opposite! That said, It's still practical, easy to follow and there are some good ideas there but for me, it doesn't quite hit the mark or go deep enough.Many thanks to Netgalley for a copy of this ARC for which I have given my voluntary and unbiased review.
...more
News & Interviews
Welcome back. Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account.
Mindfulness and the Art of Drawing
Source: https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/25579227
0 Response to "Mindfulness and the Art of Drawing"
Postar um comentário