My Thoughts on Drawing -- Ryan Bloom

Ryan Bloom - My Thoughts on Drawing

There are many things about drawing that I like as well as a few that I could definitely do without.  I feel that the toughest part of every drawing is getting started.  I often find myself struggling to determine where and how to start each of my pieces.  However, once I get going, I love getting lost in the process.  Often times, I’ll be working on a drawing for hours and not realize how much time has past.  Once I get in a groove, I find drawing to be very relaxing.  Also, before taking this class, I used to struggle with the scale and relative sizes of the objects that I would draw.  However, this part of the drawing process has become much easier for me due to the new techniques that I’ve learned in this class, such as using my pencil and my thumb as a sliding scale to measure objects’ sizes.  

I enjoyed drawing the still life works that we drew at the beginning of this semester more than I enjoyed the landscapes, and I believe that this is because of all of the minute details that are present in the landscapes.  I’m very detail oriented and like everything to appear just as it is in real life, and it was difficult for me to try to move away from this way of thinking when drawing the objects in the backgrounds of the landscapes, which as discussed in class, should have less detail than the foreground in order to demonstrate that the objects are further away.  Additionally, the vastness of the landscapes were slightly overwhelming as I started each project.   

            

Furthermore, my favorite part of the actual drawing process is shading.  I believe that this is my favorite part because the shading is what really brings the work to life.  It always amazes me how a little shading can make such a drastic difference and have such an impact on a drawing.

           

Finally, my favorite types of works of art are hyper realistic works.  Although, often times, hyper realistic drawings don’t allow for as much creativity or the ability to tell a story or narrative, I believe that hyper realistic artists are among the most talented artists out there.  Throughout my work, I always try to depict whatever I am drawing in a realistic manner, and I believe that hyper-realists have taken this goal to a new level.  I admire the time, effort, and attention to the most minuscule details that must come along with being able to produce such realistic drawings.  I have included a few of my favorite hyper realistic works below.  It never fails to amaze me that these are actually drawings and not real object.  I have been drawing for a long time and am glad that I got the opportunity to draw in college.  I hope to be able to continue to draw in the future as well.