Part 3 - Project 1 - Drawing Blind

This was a great exercise to do after a tiring day at work. I started with a pair of needlework scissors.

The first drawings were done slowly as I traced the lines with my free hand as I drew them. I found that my accuracy improved when I worked faster. Did the drawings get better because I was practicing drawing with my eyes shut or because I gained a better understanding of my subject each time I drew it? I changed to coloured pencils and changed colour each time I looked at the drawing.

I also cut the shapes out of brown paper with scissors without looking (or cutting my fingers) I did however cut one of the blades off my paper cutouts. The middle, single lined red drawing is the best because it has energy, the scissors being open and part drawn. This could make a symbol or logo.
A bit bored with scissors I drew an old small pewter(?) pig pin cushion.

Again I used coloured pencils. They all had some porcine elements and I was surprised how I managed to get the snout each time. They look like cartoon pigs though the ones from the front could be cats. Fun to do but not as lively drawings as the scissors.

This is the pig, drawn from observation after I had finished the exercise.

Reflection: How far were you recording the sensation and the act of touching, and how far were you trying to use touch as a replacement for sight?  
I had to read the above sentence several times to make sense of it. If I understand it correctly then I was very much using touch to ground my memories of the objects I was drawing. The exercise became about controlling my pencil without looking at the page which is a useful skill for reportage drawing. It was also about remembering the shape of the object which improved with repeated examination. The exercise called for an object you know well. There is potential for an interesting different exercise drawing an unfamiliar object so I hunted round my house and rediscovered a box of chess pieces which haven't been out for ages so I couldn't remember exactly what they looked like. I put them in an opaque bag without looking at them and drew first looking at the pencil (on the left) on the paper then on the right, completely blind.

It's impossible to find something that I can't recognise by touch in my house and of course I know generally what chess pieces look like although I had forgotten the exact details of the design of these. The drawings are very simple and although I considered different viewpoints they only really lend themselves to blind drawing in a conventional plane. In an unconventional plane there is a similarity to the shapes of Angela Eames Making it up drawings but she has clearly spent time getting the perspectives correct.