You Can't Paint Or Draw.

I can draw well because I had some training and took to it like a duck to water. I have no idea if I can paint or not.

I have not noticed anything. What is going on?

Dave

Drawing may be like riding a horse. Some get the feel of themselves with it while others remain in fear so it never goes anywhere.

David Smith only rough sketched with crayons and pencils but actually drew with steel and an arc welder.

I could draw from an early age. then I learned by observation and reading books on watercolor how to do that - although my self taught results were a bit unconventional as seen here http://pixels.com/profiles/rdavid-erickson.html?tab=artwork . I had some success with my watercolors, I used to do a lot of flowers and landscapes - no - I don't have any good photo's of my old work - but I won awards that stroked my ego and have sold very many - all over the US, a couple to Europe and a couple went to Australia. I've been in a couple of galleries and had a few 'one man shows' as well as doing art festivals/fairs and joining art groups.

that's why i'm a photographer.


---Mike Savad
http://www.MikeSavad.com

When I hear people that claim that they can SEE,yet still say that they can't Draw, I say to myself, "What A Cop Out!"

Either they are lazy or they actually Can't SEE.

Drawing is simply putting down on paper (or any other surface) what one sees..

Painting, as with Sculpture, Photography and the Digital Arts,is a different story... You have to become familiar with the properties and potential those disciplines provide .

I can draw, but I can't paint. I attended Massachusetts College of Art, where I was exposed to everything. You quickly find out where your strengths are. Some people do both very well. I know for me it's that I have more control with pencils, pens, etc. than with brushes. I could never paint as realistically as I wanted to.

I can draw quite well, photorealistically. In fact, it's what got me into one of the top art schools. While there, I discovered photography, which allowed me to get similar-looking results a whole lot more quickly. Go figure. I can also paint passably.

I am from the old school, I can paint, draw, sculpt and other art skills so do my friends from art school day otherwise we would not even graduated

Roger, I have to differ with you regarding seeing and drawing. I can appreciate the creativity, beauty, power and nuance of music, but simply lack the skills to play an instrument, although I was a drummer for a time.

I can sing but have tried and tried to play instruments....no go. I can draw far, far better than I paint.

Interesting....I wanna do it allllllll

Roger, absolutely disagree with you. Same as some cannot read, some cannot draw what they see. And, don't forget, we all see differently.

The OP makes no sense to me. How can you paint well if you don't have at least some level of drawing skill? Painting is the same thing as drawing just with a brush instead of a pencil, you still need to be able to make the mark where you intend it to be, whether it's a brushstroke or a pencil stroke it's the same skill. There are different levels of drawing skill required for difference genres of course. If you are an abstract expressionist you don't have to have very good drawing skills but you still need to be able to make the brushstroke where you intend, that requires some drawing skill. If you paint realistically you need to have very good drawing skills.

I think that it all comes down to talent. If you have a natural talent you must practice at it, polish it. If you do, you could master any medium.

I can't draw unless I do it in reverse which is why I like scratchboard.

I always drew as a kid. Cartoons mostly. Even in high school. It helps with composition even now with photography and other design projects.

"If you paint realistically you need to have very good drawing skills." - my guess is they don't paint realistically.

Edward, good guess. Many who draw realistically are poor painters just to toss in the reverse.

A few things to say,

Regarding "Reading" :

It seems to me that a stigma is placed on anyone with a difficulty in reading.....Whereas, with "Drawing" it's perfectly OK to claim inability.

Regarding "Music"

I've observed that composers of music, even with terrible voices still can Sing


And Murray,

I played the drums also... Often blamed for screwing up reviews, when playing the base drum for the Air Force ROTC Marching Band, during my college days

David King, I respectfully disagree with your statement. Yes, I can draw, but not nearly as well as many, it seems I have my own "style." I have never taken to pastels but give me some drawn lines and acrylic and canvas and my talents improve dramatically. I have attended art college(s) and had beyond school drawing classes, but I still draw essentially the same as I did 40 years ago. As with many people, I have a facility with some mediums and not so much with others.

But we do agree Kevin, you just said you can draw. I don't draw as well as many either, we are not all at the same skill level, that doesn't mean some of us have no skill at all. Placing any mark where you intend on a surface is drawing, some are just better at it than others.

Phyllis, I disagree with the natural talent thing. If I actually bought into the idea that you have to be born with it I would have never learned to draw, and I couldn't draw worth crap until I had studied it and practiced it profusely for several years, in fact the light didn't really go on until I read "Your Artist Brain" by Carl Purcell. I'm still mediocre at it but far ahead of where I was just a couple years ago.

all I ever wanted to do is draw,I had thousands of drawing torn up by my teachers in high school. I am self taught and have never had a real art lesson in my life and I'm to old to take them now but I do believe that art is like everything else, the more you do something the better you get. Yes there are some that will always be great but most can get better if they just try more.

I like to draw and especially use pastels...Problem is I am restless and need to be outdoors moving around hence I became a photographer....

Take your sketchbook outdoors Robert, in fact that's how I practiced drawing at first (and often do still really), just walking around with a sketchbook and sketching what I saw. I've done that plenty with pastels as well.

bought a stylus 10 years ago
it was cheap and terrible
and im too lazy to draw and scan
eventually ill draw something
the surface pro pen commercial looked promising

I do not think that any good painting starts with a bad sketch. I do not care how well you have learned to mix color, blend, apply the paint , etc., If the layout and sketching is poor and wonky, so will the final outcome of the painting be. Just my opinion.

There are professional athletes who excel at a particular sport and that's the game they make money at. There are exceptions, just as there are in Art. The Actor Chuck Connors for instance...

Kevin Joseph "Chuck" Connors (April 10, 1921 – November 10, 1992) was an American actor, writer and professional basketball and baseball player. He is one of only 12 athletes in the history of American professional sports to have played both Major League Baseball and in the National Basketball Association. With a 40-year film and television career, he is best known for his five-year role as Lucas McCain in the highly rated ABC series The Rifleman (1958–63) He was even drafted by the NFL's Chicago Bears, but never suited up for the team.
-- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Connors

You really answered your own question. There are different skill sets and aptitude.

I was always curious why I showed talent in drawing, but my handwriting is atrocious! I have to draw my signature for it to look nice but then it looks like it was drawn and not the natural flow of a signature, not to mention, it takes a lot longer.

I consider myself at the high end of average intelligence, but my spelling is terrible! If we were excellent at everything (even what we consider related skills), we would probably not only be arrogant, and cocky, but also frustrated, disappointed and bored with people who were not.

Some people who can't draw squat try to get by on technique. And sometimes, they succeed. And sometimes, even technique doesn't matter (remember those squiggles on a chalkboard that sold for 70 million?)

One of my art teachers was adamant that the only real art being made anymore is done by illustrators. Fine art has been ruined by people with too much money and too little taste.

I think it's a mental block. If you can draw well you should be able to paint equally well. All through the ages this has been true of real talent.

Once you will start painting then it will be like a game you will play with colours .. And hence more you will do the more you will learn ... Learning never ends .. Just want a start up

It's a mental block.

Art is of its time. The greats from the past were actually modernists of their time. New advances in perspective drawing - yeah, use that! New pigments and binders - gotta get me some!

All life-like drawing is patience and perseverance. Some get early encouragement (or give it to themselves), others don't, and so it never takes hold as an obsession or part of their daily meditation.

The doing something different regardless of subject, style, or outcome attitude is itself a modern phenomenon. And one that took hold because there were/are willing eyes and buyers.

I believe anyone can draw realistically with practice, perhaps tutoring and encouragement, but there needs to be a result, either personal satisfaction, acknowledgement, an award, or a bit of coin - or the desire to be remembered posthumously etc.

I've lately let cameras and computers take over, but I'll draw again in future when it feels right

I can draw ok, letter signs good enough to sell, but my forte' is painting which challenges me to make the next painting better than the last one. I believe God has given us all gifts to develop and enjoy.

all drawing is, is proportion. Everything you see can be broken down into smaller abstract shapes of proportional sizes. Starting off with the big shapes and then breaking those big shapes up into littler ones. Nothing more complicated than that. Doesn't have to be photo realistc. But if that's what you want to do the same process applies.

Raffi, I noticed you are living fairly close to my old stomping grounds. I grew up in Oxnard and Ventura. I studied quite a lot with the artist Gerd Koch and am friends with him to this day.

I agree they are different skills or abilities.

Sometimes it's all about the materials and sometimes it's about the process.

The act of drawing (or painting) is more that translating an objective image, that's why we call it creative.

Early on I had to see that an artist could really draw before I could appreciate his or her abstract or expressive work, especially art since 1950. I still like to see an artist has choices.

I am a terrible drawer and painter, just no talent for it, and possibly no will to push for improvement. I still think I am creative in other mesns such as music, photogoraphy and digital art.

In fact the camera is my brush, and I am content with that for now. It is a skill that i work on everyday and have a passion for.

Whilst i can't paint I am good at coloring comic book art usinf a wacom tablet so go figure that one out.

This could turn into a lengthy discussion.

There are so many levels of drawing and painting both. Being able to draw accurately or photo real is one level to me. Once you conquer that challenge, what next? Chuck Close is an example of one who I believe has moved into something more than just an accurate rendition. Painting or drawing can be accurate but dry, uninteresting even boring. Gestural drawings for me have more power, more emotional connection than photo accurate renditions and for that may be much more difficult to produce consistently. Sometimes a five minute sketch has more power than a lengthy accurate study which though taking more time may become overworked, stilted and stiff. Is a photograph accurate? In one sense unquestionably, yes. In another sense and for some there is more to a good painting than any photograph. Some photographers may obviously feel differently.

The true masters can keep life in a drawing with gestural license taken as well as in paintings. For many painters the drawing is just the starting point and color becomes more important than the drawing. Paint may be made to define space and form better than drawing alone can achieve. Colors have the capacity to move our emotions with or without drawing. Most painting, not all, has elements of drawing incorporated within it I believe.

All of it is very personal and subjective of course. Many artists achieve the ability to draw and or paint accurately. Not as many achieve more than that. The most exciting paintings and drawings are for me the ones that convey and interpret the emotion and excitement effectively.

Pastel can be more akin in a way to drawing although I think it's in which techniques one prefers more than the medium itself.

david commented..."I think it's in which techniques one prefers more than the medium itself. "

OK but the marks I can get with charcoal or ink on paper are different than paint on canvas. I might say different mediums have their own "native" character.
And the medium itself has a technique to be mastered.

I almost never do any preliminary sketching, preferring to start painting right away. But I can draw. I just don't very often. Drawing and painting are two different things. The first is about line and the second is about shapes and colors. At least that's the way it seems to me.

I can draw a little, I never focused on it in school. I enjoy painting much more. It's just a better fit for how my mind works. If I practiced either more often, I'd probably be better. At this point, I'd have practice for a while just to be a beginner again. :)

To me, drawing is having absolute control over the image, while painting seems to be more of a dance.
I'm still learning to let the paint have some say, or even take the lead.

You mention your friend Koch. Is he a painter and teacher or an anthropoligist?

Retired art professor and active artist, currently 87 I think.

For the masters of the renaissance, the underpainting was more like drawing but with paint.

Some time ago I attended a school within the art school that taught these technical skills. On a linen canvas with a traditional chaulk ground, I copied a Vermeer. (woman pouring milk by a window) I used a grid system taken from the original print to transfer visually. It was a painstaking process with all of the picture space laid out, all the values and forms determined monochromatically, just like a drawing. Most of the final steps were the glazing of color.

To me,

"Drawing" is the Act of actualizing an image.

"Painting" (whether it's with a brush or a pen) is the method to accomplish that Act

"A few of my friends who have issues with painting can handle color well in a pastel form but not using paint. Have you noticed this and if so why do you think that is?"

Paint requires the skill of mixing color. Perhaps they didn't put in the hours learning to mix.

Just recently this type of thing was brought to light with a comment from another artist. I have discovered if I do a painting of a person, they are very recognizable. Total strangers have recognized old friends by looking at my work. Okay, nice compliment. BUT when I draw someone I get "Is that so and so? It kinda looks like him/her. Now, give me an object to render in graphite and I can almost always do a yeoman's job.

I can be much better at technical drawing than free-hand drawing.

I, therefore, cannot draw, I would say, ... at least in the way that I consider artistically competent.

I CAN painstakingly PRODUCE a drawing of fair quality, if I absolutely find myself driven to do so, but drawing, as I have seen truly talented drawers do, is not in me.

Neither is painting, really. ... I have to work at it. ...

I think that I could have been a decent drawing person, if I had practiced very intensely, but I never did, and I do not plan to.... I think that I could learn, but I do not want to.

I just somehow manage to make art. ... No real, natural talent, ... just obsessions that drive me to reach resolutions. ... I seem to have the sensibility for it, just not the outstanding talent.

Judging by my recent sales history, I can neither draw nor paint.

Marketing your work is different than artistic ability. Just like mixing color or drawing, It can be learned.

I think I'm good at drawing because I won awards in college for my drawings. I think I may be good at painting or I should be after twenty or thirty years of it. It's a little embarrassing but there are moments when I wonder. I guess I'm not arrogant. I also think I understand how to put colors together in primary, secondary, tertiary, warm/cool intensity, neutral, harmonious, analogous, complimentary, monochromatic, triad, tetrad...are you bored yet? I am of blowing my own horn.

Maybe I should just say I hope I'm good, and if not, one day after much persistence I will be.

I first started drawing and painting when I was about two years old, as soon as I was able to hold a pencil or crayon. I think I'm better at drawing than painting, unless using pastels, because it's hard to know how to layer the paint and guess drying time and if you screw up, it's harder to fix, which is why I do everything on the computer now. :)

I sketch with a pencil - & draw with a paint brush.
Can't remember the color wheel or what to do with it - for the life of me.
Never quite sure if I am a tad bit colorblind - or see a few more shades that others don't.

Being able to see the lines on the white paper gives me confidence even if I don't necessarily abide by them. I'd feel so lost trying to create an abstract.

Ron,
People have to be taught how to write their names.
All this eye-hand coordination stuff with different art supplies is learned, you get good with practice.

Pastels would work for people who have not learned to draw/paint because some of the techniques for applying color are the same as crayons... All we ever needed to know we learned in Kindergarten...

I know people - quite a few, actually - who can't draw, paint, and aren't that interested in color, who excel at pottery. I think it's the norm, for potters, to not bother to learn to paint or draw, most of them learn enough brushwork to do the glazing, and they stop there. Almost nobody starts off good at pottery, especially wheel-thrown pottery. There is a substantial learning curve. These people were interested in climbing the learning curve to do the pottery, and not that interested in painting / drawing.

It's all about what interests you enough to make you climb the learning curve until you can control the medium.

I taught technology to about 500 kids per year for 12 year with a large part of the programs being devoted to drawing and rendering (coloring). Almost everyone can draw realism with reasonable accuracy and color and paint with techniques learned but the gifted and talented are the ones that can draw what they can visualize. I consider myself one who can be taught techniques that allow me to draw and paint.

@

Andy PYRAH

Same for me. Guess I just can't paint, or draw, huh? Who cares.! I love expressing myself, my way.........and am happy enough.

Yeah, did all the learning curves imaginable. That info resides now in my intuition. It is good to be educated, and then forget all you learned ! !

Vivian, I think you know how to draw and paint beautifully regardless of sales!



And the rest of your art is very interesting.

Thank you kindly, Lisa........and for posting my painting.....that's really generous of you, and much appreciated. And I agree with you about sales though , sigh, they used to flow...but have stopped, although I have lovely, lots of visitors from faa and the 'outside world'.........am sure there's an outside world, lollllllllllllllll.

edit to add..............I don't use my time promoting myself......and pay the price. I think these days, promotion is the key to success, along with
talent, of course..............and a 'following', even locally, helps so much.

I spent my working career as a draftsman,....piping, mechanical, electrical, highway, civil, R&D, structural, architecture, industrial, disciplines.

I was totally emerged in each,...considered each as a form of creativity....began on a drafting board using pencil & ink w/ T-Square, triangles and template tools....thru computer aided drawing CAD using Autocad software,....'Loved it all from a technical aspect primarly......

Resulting in a very interesting career spanning over 40 years.

I've always loved anything ..."Art"

Can I draw,.....no,....not artistically.

My real artistic interest has always been in photography begining in 1961,...such as,...industrial, weddings for over 32 years,..., portraiture, nature, land and seascape, nature.
That fulfilled and satisfied my true "creative" juices.

Not till my retirement years have I been able to accomplish a level of creative work that truly brings me much satisfaction and feeling of accomplishment.

Thanks to FAA,......I now have a quality website to proudly display my creative photographic efforts,.... as I continue to grow and share this site with all talented artists here.