Drawing Class

Today my students brought in mirrors and had a first attempt at drawing themselves. Self portraits are always difficult for people new to drawing. They have a hard time "seeing" beyond what they imagine they look like. Even when their first marks seem odd to them, they have a hard time believing that there is "that amount of space between their eyes", etc. until you show them by having them measure. It's such a pleasure to bring their eyes into focus and see them wrestle with the right side of their brains, as the lips get wider and the nose goes higher in their drawings. I explained that they should try to treat the image of themselves like a drawing of a bunch of lines and shapes, and to look at the negative shapes that the planes of their faces make. Always interesting results! Some take a long time getting the shape of the face correct while others seem to speed through, only to grab the eraser at the end. I love teaching. The students are doing awesome! This image is from my hero of the self-portrait, Kathe Kollwitz, 1924

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