The Unseen Ear

Soon after I moved into my studio I realized that I needed an efficient way to organize all my stuff. So I went to the store and found a put-it-together-yourself wooden shelf system. Once that was up, it dawned on me that I now had a space and a reason to begin building an art library. 

As a self-taught artist I like to have reference resources at hand, things to work on, things to look at. Continuing the learn is the key to any trade. So I dropped some money on a number of books. A few of which were books by Andrew Loomis. The one I am currently reading is called "Drawing the Head and Hands". I have always struggled with capturing a likeness, and even the first few pages of this book have exposed a lot of the reasons why, and not only that, but also exposed me as an artist. 

Someone at work asked me today if I ever see art becoming a source of income. I laughed and told her that somebody has to want to buy my stuff, but more seriously, I told her that I'm just now learning how much I have to learn. That just as in anything, I feel like I've turned a corner, achieved a next level, and that level is realizing that you have a long way to go, sonny. 

I'm ok with that, I'm ok with having a long way to go, because I can see the path. And I know that if I work hard I can improve dramatically. 

But the thing that made me realize I have a long way to go was a single quote in the first few pages of my book. Loomis was describing how you have to look at everything in 3D, how it is our job as an artist to translate 3D into 2D, while keeping the 3D feel.  He said "An old instructor of mine once said 'Be able to draw the unseen ear,' ...a head is not drawn until you can feel the unseen side. "

I've been drawing a 2D world on 2D paper. So simple, but it's a totally different mindset. With this in mind, everything will change. It has to.