The language of anatomy

Classic Human Anatomy

The project

Drawing is hard for me. Although I draw a lot, I’m not a very good draftsman or dessineur in traditional terms. For over the past 3 years I have been making a point of reinserting drawing and painting in my daily practice. At the moment, I am mostly making books: dream diaries, self published art books and zines with drawing and watercolor. I have just completed a book in which the exercise was to get use to a new space and a new direction in my practice. After 13 years without a studio. I suddenly had the opportunity to convert a room in my house to a such space. When it was set up I was excited. I went in and sat down. What shall I do? Nothing came. I just sat there. The next day I went in again thinking things would surely go better. I was uneasy and looked out the window for what felt like at least an hour. I decided I would have to give myself a daily art chore to get used to the space and structured studio time. I noticed I had a lot of pictures of smiling girls with dogs in the house (I don't really know the reason for this) so I thought I would start there. Everyday for 28 days I went into the studio picked a google stock picture of a smiling girl with a dog, drew it and then wrote the corresponding URL code on the page next to it. The code is simply to develop my very limited patience and to elongate the daily studio time until I got used to the space. The performative aspect of this daily gesture was my primary concern, the end result of the drawings was inconsequential.

Challenging my skills and patience are important components of my work. I am presently in year two of Song lessons in which I’ve decided to make a music video. Having a penchant for country music, I am reappropriating Waylon Jennings’ ‘Mammas, don’t let your babies grow up to be cowboys’ but have rewritten the lyrics to reflect the concerns of an artist. To my surprise, artists are quite similar to cowboys. 

This drawing project will be a continuation of the art challenge and bettering. I will continue drawing but wish to take drawing lessons and hope to eventually work on much a larger scale. Most of my peers disagree and think lessons could ruin the ludic, awkward quality of my drawings. I however hope that back to basics traditional style drawing classes could perhaps make my drawing practice less frustrating and help bring forth concepts and landscapes in a more efficient way. 

This project is made possible by The Marie-Hélène Allain scholarship from the Sheila Hugh Mackay Foundation.