Doodles in the Dark
We went to see Argonautika the other night at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre. It was quite good, especially the staging and costumes, and I particularly liked the helmets and crowns. All of their (otherwise) triumphant spikes and spires were frayed or bent and curled as if they’d been deflated – very funny.
I was inspired to draw in the dark which I have done before. I kept running off the paper though and had no idea when my sketches were overlapping. At one point I had my fountain pen upside down and got only faint scratches for my effort. I did add the watercolor paint later though, which helped to pull out the sketches I could recognize.
Not being able to see the paper is unnerving but it’s a great way to practice seeing: an important and often overlooked aspect of drawing. By contour drawing, following the outlines with your eyes as you draw lines on the unseen page, you can train your eye and get some surprising results. Who knew that overlapping sketches could look interesting? It’s a great exercise: try sketching at the next dark performance you go to!
Related Topics: Figures, How to Sketch
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June 12th, 2008 at 5:46 pm
martha i am lisa’s neice and i love art and i love a great artistis
you may know her work and her name is MARTHA! just today i was told by lisa your doodles in the dark was AMAZING and she was right!!! you are an amazing artist keep it up!!!
November 29th, 2007 at 7:41 am
These are great Martha. I always take a sketchbook to the theater and draw before the performance and during intermission but I get to involved in the performance to sketch during. Maybe I’ll have to try it next time.
November 23rd, 2007 at 1:14 am
It’s a great way to do blind contour drawing with no ability to cheat! These are really fun and interesting drawings.
November 18th, 2007 at 3:48 pm
Sketching in the dark….sure beats dancing in the dark in my opinion!
November 18th, 2007 at 1:25 pm
I’m so glad you posted these, both for their intrinsic value (they’re fun to look at) and as reminders that good sketching happens in all kinds of less-than-perfect situations for the sketcher. I shall try doodling in the dark myself.
November 18th, 2007 at 1:23 pm
Do you realize that your explanations are so clear that I learn something from each post?
November 16th, 2007 at 11:23 am
Donn & Kay: Thanks for stopping by, and for your encouragement!
November 16th, 2007 at 11:22 am
Joanie: Thank you for your very generous compliment – I’m blushing 🙂
November 16th, 2007 at 8:42 am
Love these…very full and spontaneous. Keep it up.
November 16th, 2007 at 8:16 am
Very interesting. Looks like you knew what you were doing!
November 15th, 2007 at 10:54 pm
These are FABULOUS drawings…..they look to me as though they should be in the New Yorker magazine, on theatre reviews page. So lively, and animated, and just plain fun!