Friday, October 16, 2009

illustration Friday: frozen

why am i so afraid to draw in public?

here i am, sitting in a starbux as i post this, and already feeling the anxiety of getting out my sketchbook to draw here. it's like i'm frozen. what is all that about?

working on becoming more fearless, thanks to all of you for the constant support! :-)

21 comments:

  1. Ah Willie.... working in public is tough, I know. When people start peering over your shoulder, just tell them you charge if they want to watch. And watch them disappear. Have a great weekend!

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  2. Anonymous11:01 AM

    I never draw in public. Drawing is sometimes such a personal experience that it becomes orgasmic. The soul goes nude. This especially happens when I draw my deity characters. Actually, I don't think I know anyone who likes drawing all that much in public.

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  3. I get that way, too, sometimes. It's not fear, it's self consciousness that I look like I'm trying too hard to look like an artist when in reality, it's what I do. I cannot help it. Call it prayer beads for the Bishop of Drawing.

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  4. I know the feeling! Hahaha! Cool drawing!

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  5. Force yourself! These things are brilliant.

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  6. I know this fear, and it's justified! Check out this sketch in public day gone bad: http://tinyurl.com/yjz2xze

    Love your drawing, especially the hand guarding your sketch! :)

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  7. fearlessness is a difficult achievement - i support you! you can do it!

    and so can i. i get the same way when taking photographs in public. ugh. i hate that feeling.

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  8. I expect someone to say you cant draw me/them it's invading my/their personal space. Inhibiting.

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  9. Funny, but I know this feeling. I used to draw in public all the time, but then I quit. Maybe in anticipation of the eventual lawsuit from whoever caught me drawing them??

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  10. hey that is a nice sketch... I hear you. I drawi in public but it depends on my mood. Sometimes I can tune out the world around me, sometimes I feel like a spectacle and I want NO eyeballs on me, so by extension I let that dictate whether I draw or not. Such is life!

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  11. you are like carly simon or barbra streisand... too talented to be afraid!

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  12. Hey Just Keep Doing It, It Will Eventually Become Second Nature. Fun Drawing!

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  13. do you STILL feel that way, willie? or is this from an older journal?

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  14. Next time, before taking your sketchbook out, look around you... They're all vegetables, drinking their lattes and reading their books!!! So, who cares?
    Specially when you are so talented!

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  15. ok. i can actually HELP you here, willy. i actually can. i do the sbux thing every now and then (just to see what the outside world is wearing these days) - so here's whatcha do.

    go to one of the tables that faces a WINDOW - lotsa light. put yourself in that light. i know, it's the opposite from hiding on the plushy velvet couch, but the light will make you feel really warm and safe. then take out your pad and start doodling THEM. the patrons. the coffee cups. the beans. the aprons, the laptops, the berry talkers. think, "hey. this is MY tiny universe. i am molding and shaping and erasing and exaggerating anything i see. i am the CREATOR. ALL BOW BEFORE ME. I CAN TAKE THAT LATTE RIGHT OUTTA YOUR HAND, SMIRKY DUDE, AND GIVE YOU A ROOIBOS TEA. CHATTY CATHY, I'LL DRAW SHORTS ON YOU, THAT DON'T FIT YOU AND ARE PINK AND THEN I'LL GIVE YOU A REALLY BIG BUTT - BEHAVE. COWER TO ME AND I'LL SHALL SPARE YOU PICTORIALLY."

    there! see? you're like, the head cheese now, you've got the wheel and they all know that. they all sense they could be your subject matter and they want to look as good and interesting as possible...for the man in the light with the pencil.")) feel empowered, dude!

    speaking of coffee...i suppose i should go get more...or, less? and as always, AWESOM use of your brain, in your sketch. YOU'VE ALREADY ENSNARED the java heads and you came out on top! :)

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  16. Anonymous8:51 AM

    I thought I was the only one with that problem. Artists think too much perhaps.

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  17. I am exactly the same way. Can't do it! Now with a martini in front of me, no problem! LOL!
    I love what Friday Frog said. . . I shall try that!

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  18. fuhget about it. i always sketch in pencil in public so no one can see what's going on there.

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  19. You know what is scarier than that...PAINTING in public...Gurney has posts where he sets up in the middle of a sidewalk and goes to town...and produces amazing stuff...I do okay as long as nobody is watching over my shoulder...fear of judgement? I worry about that sometimes that my quick sketch might get interpreted as my 'best work'...heck...I'me ven afraid my best work will get interpreted as my best work...Or maybe not wanting to give up some top secret drawing process...pencil on paper...move pencil...

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  20. haha ... so funny. I so know what you're talking about!!!!

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  21. Happy belated birthday....
    email me and we'll go draw in public. Libraries, Starbucks, shopping malls. Abundant in Big D!!

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Thanks for stopping by! :-)

Willie