You’re so talented!

I don’t mean this in a conceited way, but sometimes people say this to me. I always enjoy that. I’m only human. But I know deep down, it’s not true.

Firstly, they don’t mean in relation to Da Vinci. They mean in relation to their own drawing ability. They believe that I sprang from the womb with a natural talent for drawing noticeably better than them.

Perhaps a number of artists will agree with me when I say it is much more like a stubborn determination to draw.

Many people have a bit of a go at it. They look at their drawings and think, ‘gosh, that’s bad. I’ve got no aptitude for drawing’. I was always driven to draw and I always looked at my pictures and thought, ‘gosh, that’s bad. How can I make it better?’ It was always the (sometimes slightly obsessive compulsive) drive to draw for hours and hours and hours that improved my work.

There are a large number of artists both past and contemporary that make me feel that I’ll never meet the standard of their work. There are also those that do appear to spring from the womb with amazing technical ability (probably more to do with amazing visual learning skills). But the stubbornness remains. And instead of saying – I’m just not good enough, I continue to soldier on. Because I know from experience that the more I practice the better I’ll be. (Keeping in mind always that it is possible to practice the wrong things – and if you refuse to learn from people or be critical of your work, you can put in many, many hours with no improvement whatsoever).

What the inspiration to draw actually is, how it comes to us and what it means is a different question. But basic drawing is a skill that can truly be acquired by just about anyone with stubborn determination and some time.

And if you say, ‘I’d love to be able to draw’ expect me to be a little dubious, because true love takes time, determination and never-ending flexibility as well as a kind of joyful commitment.

It’s a little like me saying to a dressage rider ‘I’d love to be able to ride at your level.’ I might love the idea, but the reality of the hours of work put in are a little different! Similarly, I’d love to be able to play the guitar like Billy Corgan, but do recall reading that he practiced 4 hours most days for about four years and that was before becoming professional. Most people that you see with ‘talent’ are actually just extremely driven (some to the point where they become a bit miserable and have to take a step back in order to find balance in their lives). I know this is also true for the amazing visual artists I put on a pedestal.

So don’t say, ‘I’m terrible at drawing’, just say, ‘I haven’t put the time I need in to improve my drawing skills!’

NB: artists love to be told they’re talented, despite what they may know. So feel free to keep saying this to them as often as you like!

hindquarters study - sketchbook

Learning from other artists ... There's nothing like looking closely at the work of 'old masters'. I've learnt so much roaming museums too - places like the Metropolitan in NY, the Louvre and D'Orsay - and so many others! It's always inspiring and deeply humbling.

inspiration - Alan Lee

I've always found the drawings and paintings of Alan Lee so magical and atmospheric. It was really wonderful to find that he and John Howe had been invited to work on the films of the Lord of The Rings. His use of light is particularly good.

And lovely to get the published Alan Lee sketchbook as a present from my husband!

inspiration - toulouse-lautrec

He may be better known for his scenes of seedy Parisian night life, but Toulouse-Lautrec had a remarkable eye for painting horses. It's always worth doing a google image search to find these wonderful pictures. (Or see the real things - even better!)

Rembrandt's lion

One of my favourite painters of animals - Rembrandt! Very inspiring. This lion has so much character.

the red bridle series

Sometimes fiction ideas begin with detailed images. These can either be imagined scenes that I seem to come into in the middle of the action, or images that come about as I draw.

inspiration: Delacroix

This horse was influenced by Delacroix's 'Death of Sardanapalus'


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Delacroix_sardanapalus_1828_950px.jpg

inspiration: the unicorn

Being a child who loved horses and mythology, I was always fascinated by images of the unicorn. My school library had a copy of the Unicorn and the Lake (Marianna Mayer, illustrated by Michael Hague), which I finally found for myself as an adult. It is illustrated with lovely watercolours, seemingly inspired by medieval images of the unicorn (such as the Lady and the Unicorn tapestry).

Later, my best friend and I watched the japanese-animated ‘The Last Unicorn’ (Rankin/Bass) over and over again. This also visually quotes medieval images of the unicorn. Apparently it was animated by artists later to join the amazing Studio Ghibli.

I also loved seeing the ‘real’ unicorns (actually Andalusians!) in Ridley Scott’s ‘Legend’. He later returned to the symbolism of the unicorn in Blade Runner, in a (cut) dream sequence and an origami reference (which doesn’t seem to make much sense without the dream sequence!).

The symbolism of the unicorn? Very complicated! Here are a few starting points from the western tradition. In the Christian context it can symbolise resurrection and immortality. Perhaps it is best known as an image of purity or love (both sacred and profane). In the Lady and the Unicorn tapestry, the unicorn is tamed only by a virginal woman. It lays it’s head upon her lap. There is an obvious sexual element here, which is difficult to interpret!

The drawing above was inspired by Durer’s unicorn – the original engraving is of a woman being abducted on a unicorn’s back. Here the unicorn appears to be an embodiment of danger and masculine lust.

In both 'Legend' and 'The Last Unicorn' (based on a Peter Beagle book), the unicorns are pure, and it is only the desire of others to touch or possess them that leads to the threat of death, animalistic sexual desire and the extinction of those values their captors most want to possess.

In the end, perhaps the wonderful thing about the unicorn is its mysterious symbolism!

When I was 16, I finally had the joy of seeing the Lady and the Unicorn tapestry in Paris at the Musee de Cluny. Really magical!

Here is an image of the Lady and the Unicorn at the Musee de Cluny
The opening sequence of The Last Unicorn
And the Legend trailer

inspiration: Shakespeare

When I bestride him, I soar, I am a hawk: he trots the air; the earth sings when he touches it ...

Shakespeare, Henry V.

imagination

I remember thinking, when I was thirteen, that I wanted to stay the same age forever. I was aware that the ability to dream and imagine seemed to become more elusive the older I got. I was not willing to give up these imaginary worlds that were as rich as the everyday one. As Ursula Le Guin puts it, rather starkly, 'The creative adult is the child who has survived.'

dreaming

Today we're all dreaming of a hopeful future.

inspiration - horses I know

This is an ink (Liquid Spectrum) on Colourfix board. It's inspired by a photo my husband took of me with Helen's mare, Juno. I'm just reaching down to stretch out her front legs before riding. I've emphasised our shadows so the image is almost becoming abstract in the left corner. Some of the intensity of the blue ink has been lost in this reproduction.

under the surface - anatomy

The beautiful horse paintings of George Stubbs - the best encouragement imaginable for equine artists to study anatomy!

inspiration - song and poetry

Words can create beautiful images and be an inspiration for artists. Here are Leonard Cohen's moving words from the Ballad of the Absent Mare:

'Oh the world is sweet the world is wide and she's there where the light and the darkness divide and the steam's coming off her she's huge and she's shy and she steps on the moon when she paws at the sky

And she comes to his hand but she's not really tame She longs to be lost he longs for the same and she'll bolt and she'll plunge through the first open pass to roll and to feed in the sweet mountain grass
...

And he leans on her neck and he whispers low "Whither thou goest I will go" And they turn as one and they head for the plain No need for the whip Ah, no need for the rein'

- Ballad of the Absent Mare, Leonard Cohen

Inspiration from film

A lot of inspiration for my drawing has come from film - especially films seen in childhood. The Black Stallion (MGM) was definitely one of those films and I'm sure many people have wonderful memories of seeing Cass Ole (the black Arabian stallion) galloping across the screen, with Alec apparently hanging on for dear life. As well as sending the Arabian breeding industry into overdrive, and rocketing Walter Farley (the author of the book) to fame, the image of the boy playing on the beach with the Black really entered into many people's dreams. The beach scenes expressed something about the relationship people have with horses that is very hard to put into words. Something that seemed to diminish after Alec and the Black return to civilisation.

I watched this film again recently and was blown away by the absolutely beautiful cinematography of Caleb Deschanel. Although there have been many beautiful images of horses in film since (Seabiscuit, Legend, Hidalgo, LOTR to name some that come to mind), this is really the original horse film for me and will continue to inspire me for many years to come!

Watch the trailer at the MGM site for a trip down memory lane ...

three horses galloping

This pastel drawing is all about movement. I let go of any carefulness in showing the way horses actually move, anatomical correctness etc. My sole inspiration was the feeling of flying!

Wojtek Kwiatkowski

I really recommend you visit the stunning horse photographs of Wojtek Kwiatowski at his home site. As he wishes to protect his photographs from reproduction, I have not reproduced them here. But they are worth the visit. My favourite is Shaman's Dance