This is another drawing done on the train in San Francisco. I added a couple washes of watercolor to this one.
I went for a 2 hour ride on the train today just to draw and get out the studio. I did several nice drawings and this is one of them. I had a large audience tonight as there were many fans commuting from the San Francisco Giants game.
I must admit it was a task to ignore the on-lookers and concentrate on my studies.
On another note:
I consider all of my drawings to be finished works. Leonardo Da Vinci rarely finished his works as written by art historians, I wonder if he felt that many of his works "were" finished that are now deemed to be unfinished sketches. To me it is all a question of confidence, if you have it then everything you do can be a final product, even quick rough schematic drawings done for preparation and planning.
I bend the boundaries and destroy the line between a throw away sketch and a polished work.
- Dawood 2012
I have been teaching drawing for about 6 years, I teach at a number of places Oakland and San Francisco currently. I would like to travel the U.S teaching and sharing my knowledge and inspiration as I have received request, so if you would like me to come to your city to hold drawing workshops contact me and lets work it out.
Figure Studies done at Sharon Art Studio
This is a different style than what I usually show on the internet though I've done it before at a figure drawing session at UC Berkeley.
Ballpoint Pen on Paper
I took my drawing to the Emergency Room and had an X-Ray done... the results came back positive.
This is a good drawing buddy of mine. I drew her as she drew me, we've been doing this for the past couple weeks. I caught her "On the down stroke" (when she looks down at her drawing). This is the first portrait drawing I've done this year with color (I think- if you find another dated this year let me know:). I broke out my tubes of gouache for this one and used them like watercolors, hardly any opaque layers.
Drawing Buddy
12x9
Ballpoint on paper
On the train under water somewhere between San Francisco and Oakland I saw this woman working on her smart phone. My drawing book was already out and I had just finished warming up drawing a few other people. I liked the shape of her hair and saw it as a challenge, so I took it on.
One of the greatest thrills with drawing on the train or bus is not only the challenge of recording what I see amongst the bumps of the ride, for me it's the meditative state in which I go when trapped between knowing I may only have a few seconds more before my subject moves drastically and staying calm enough in rhythm to sensually rub the paper with an imitate delicacy like that of touches exchanged by lovers. This produces countless subtle nuances of energy (SNE) in every single line, creating life in the line. These subtle nuances of energy (SNE) work together with each other forming an aesthetic network similar to the neuro pathways of our brain.
So, it's not enough to simply aim to draw what I see, I try to invest my
essentia into every measurement of every mark birthed on the paper.
Lady deep into her smartphone
Done in about 10 - 15 mins
Done in about 10 - 15 mins
9x12
Ballpoint pen on paper
Dawood 2012
Drawing Tips:
Figure Drawing is a great way to enhance your drawing ability. I am currently holding figure drawing workshops in San Francisco where we study the human form and practice communicating it's facets through drawing. One thing I always tell my students from teen - adult is, "Loosen up and ENJOY the process, embrace your so-called mistakes and realize that Mistakes only add LIFE and CHARACTER to your work." To me a so-called flawed drawing, in many cases is more entertaining and honest than a photorealistic one.
By dealing with the contour line, I am able to internalize the form more rather than constantly correcting errors as I go. This builds confidence "over time" because I learn to get it "aesthetically" right the first time. "Aesthetically Right" means different things to me at different times and when "YOU" are your only judge as to what is good and what is not, your art experience becomes MUCH MUch more relaxing, fulfilling and enjoyable. If you are constantly erasing and drawing over what you feel is a bad line, then you are deleting your reference for what you need to work on for later.
As you see here I have taken a PLAYFUL approach to drawing the body. This allows me to experiment. Experimentation is a scientists playground... as the body is scientific.
I think I'm going to start writing a book on drawing :) (Why not)
This was a quick 8-10 min drawing I did on the bus today. Hadn't road the bus in a while which is why I haven't been posting my infamous ballpoint pen drawings of people on public transit.
Anyhow, this lady was sitting across from me and was so deep into her book, I didn't feel like it at the time but I still pulled my book and began to wiggle the pen to see what would happen. This was the first drawing of this level of detail I've done in over a month, it was fun.
By the way, "reading" on the bus and train has been taking the place of my drawing. Recently a strong love for reading has gotten hold of me and now my sketchbook and reading material are at war. The problem is when I am reading, my curiosity of who is getting on the train or bus disturbs my reading. I can't help but to look to see if it's someone with an interesting look that I may want to draw. So I end up re-reading sentences and paragraphs over Ha ha. It's really funny how when I leave my sketchbook at home, the train is full of interesting characters and when I leave my reading material at home, I don't see anyone I want to draw.
Lady Reading On Public Transit
9x12
Ballpoint on paper
Dawood 2012
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