Drawing as Research: A Primer on Potential
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Drawing has universal appeal. Its immediacy and minimal requirements make this timeless discipline ideal for exploring ideas, igniting the imagination, and documenting places, objects, and events. Drawing is indispensable to many disciplines, and there are hundreds of well-crafted, beautifully illustrated books dedicated to teaching the skills, materials, and techniques (the craft) of drawing. Craft, however, is relatively easy to master, despite how it may initially feel.
A skill-driven approach may lead to months, years, even decades of acquiring skills that may not even be relevant to the work we are destined to create. We might even begin viewing this chase as our true creative path, at least until our muse arrives to reveal our intended work. Skills are important, but they are the vehicle for exploring curiosities and articulating ideas, not the function of the creative process. Locating a meaningful purpose for your work in conjunction with skill development is key to shaping a personal, sustainable, inquiry-based practice.
A well-turned phrase in a poem or an emotive gesture in a drawing means little without authenticity, intention, and purpose. Drawing as Research is a companion resource focusing on the introspective, often overlooked aspects of creative development. Prioritizing content organically reveals the skills necessary to explore your ideas passionately while relieving much of the unnecessary pressure we place on skills throughout the process. Each creation then poses new questions that inspire subsequent works, forging a self-perpetuating, enriching lifelong journey.
Precautionary Preface – Purposeful Ponderings Prior to Putting Pencil to Paper
1. Introduction: of soaring birds and burrowing rabbits
Antici . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pation
Down the rabbit’s hole
What not to expect
The heart of the matter
form follows function
Aesthetic Authenticity: form is function
Increasing Function
2. Who draws? Creativity, the myth, and the power of desire
The Creativity Myth
Words Matter
Words Entrance and mystify
Language Creates Beliefs (real and imagined)
Words can render us powerless
The Talent fallacy
Dispelling Talent
The Aha Moments (no Muse Required)
Regain Creative Control
Childhood Scars
Metrics
An “A” Drawing
Case in Point
3. Why Draw? inspiration and function
Drawing as a Verb
The Arts Indelible Impact
Social and Political drivers
Shifting Roles: Trojan Horses
Drawing as Language
Fictional Lines
Drawing Reveals Function
Why Draw? Creative Calasthetics
Drawing Transforms and Transports
Drawing to Escape
Drawing to Investigate
Drawing as Research
So, Why Draw?
4. Blinded by Aesthetics
Distractions
Shiny Bobbles
Dulling the Shine
Visual Impairment
Hollow Aesthetics
Logical Fallacies
Locating the Magic
The Artist’s Paradox
The Expulsion From Hollow Aesthetics and Shiny Bobbles
Turning the Tables
A well Primed Well
Copious and Consistent
Parsing Out: Thumbs up/Thumbs down
Conquering Shiny Bobbles and Aesthetic Blindness
Conditional Disclaimer
5. the rude awakening
the Hero’s Path
The Rude Awakening
Function: Finding Purpose
Narrowing the Scope
An Empowering Path
It’s Not Forever
Boldly and Bravely
Unrecognizable You
Leave Expectations at the Door
Inner Conflict
We like Predictability
Conclusion; awakening
6. The Big Un-Easy: Ambiguity and Potential
Ambiguity
The Carrot and the Stick
Repeated Exposure
Potential : What if?
Carving out Space for Potential
Potential in Drawing (the Verb)
Potential in Drawing (the Noun)
Vacillating Between the Verb and Noun
A Reflection of You: mirror, mirror
The Immigrants Point of Entry
Prodding Potential: a Conscious Shift
7. Turbulence and Tenacity; mistakes and style
Style
A One hour Tutorial in Style
Mistakes
8. Sometimes, it really is all about you
It’s about you now, not then
The Power of Presence
A fresh perspective
Intuition
Inquiring Minds: Central Q’s
not the RIGHT, not THE, but A path
Now, focusing in
The Imposter Syndrome
Putting in the Work
Conduit of Presence
Mind-Numbing Mediocrity
9. Authenticity: Our Creative Impulse
The Essence of Creative Work
Aesthetic Conformity
Unhiding
Exposed
Authentic Obligations
You owe it to yourself; putting yourself out there
To Boldly Unhide; one perspective
10.Drawing on the Polymath
11.Carving out Space (physical, emotional and intuitive)
Granting Permission
Expansion and Contraction
Creative Entanglement/ Dominating Voices
The Cultivation Process Inner Sanctuary
Walled Garden
Granting Yourself Permission
Breaking Tradition
Trust
12.Nutless bolts
Habit and Ritual
Intention and Momentum
Simply Draw
Skill Building (basic considerations)
Materials
Making Progress, the Long Haul
Am I Done Yet?
Honeymoon Phase
The Phoenix
It’s Just a Drawing
Perfection isn’t the Goal (or a reality); or-- paralyzing perfection
Blockages
Where the predictability Lies
13.Tracking, mapping, the Critique and Grace
Intro
The critic and the Critique
Be Careful Why You Ask
Be Careful Who You Ask
Be Careful What You Ask
To Assimilate or Not
Unpacking
Internal and External Critique
Self-Guidance
Writing
Artist Statement
Once Seen/Once Shared
Grace
14.To Boldly Go
Gary Carpenter is an artist whose lifelong curiosity and passion for research across multiple fields forged an interdisciplinary education through several schools culminating in his BFA and MFA from the University of Washington. The breadth of his experiences revealed the creative confidence necessary to support a diverse career through multiple disciplines. Since 2011, he has designed and taught courses on drawing, creativity, and the socially engaged arts, many focusing on community engagement with currently and formerly unhoused and incarcerated populations.
Drawing has universal appeal. Its immediacy and minimal requirements make this timeless discipline ideal for exploring ideas, igniting the imagination, and documenting places, objects, and events. Drawing is indispensable to many disciplines, and there are hundreds of well-crafted, beautifully illustrated books dedicated to teaching the skills, materials, and techniques (the craft) of drawing. Craft, however, is relatively easy to master, despite how it may initially feel.
A skill-driven approach may lead to months, years, even decades of acquiring skills that may not even be relevant to the work we are destined to create. We might even begin viewing this chase as our true creative path, at least until our muse arrives to reveal our intended work. Skills are important, but they are the vehicle for exploring curiosities and articulating ideas, not the function of the creative process. Locating a meaningful purpose for your work in conjunction with skill development is key to shaping a personal, sustainable, inquiry-based practice.
A well-turned phrase in a poem or an emotive gesture in a drawing means little without authenticity, intention, and purpose. Drawing as Research is a companion resource focusing on the introspective, often overlooked aspects of creative development. Prioritizing content organically reveals the skills necessary to explore your ideas passionately while relieving much of the unnecessary pressure we place on skills throughout the process. Each creation then poses new questions that inspire subsequent works, forging a self-perpetuating, enriching lifelong journey.
Precautionary Preface – Purposeful Ponderings Prior to Putting Pencil to Paper
1. Introduction: of soaring birds and burrowing rabbits
Antici . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pation
Down the rabbit’s hole
What not to expect
The heart of the matter
form follows function
Aesthetic Authenticity: form is function
Increasing Function
2. Who draws? Creativity, the myth, and the power of desire
The Creativity Myth
Words Matter
Words Entrance and mystify
Language Creates Beliefs (real and imagined)
Words can render us powerless
The Talent fallacy
Dispelling Talent
The Aha Moments (no Muse Required)
Regain Creative Control
Childhood Scars
Metrics
An “A” Drawing
Case in Point
3. Why Draw? inspiration and function
Drawing as a Verb
The Arts Indelible Impact
Social and Political drivers
Shifting Roles: Trojan Horses
Drawing as Language
Fictional Lines
Drawing Reveals Function
Why Draw? Creative Calasthetics
Drawing Transforms and Transports
Drawing to Escape
Drawing to Investigate
Drawing as Research
So, Why Draw?
4. Blinded by Aesthetics
Distractions
Shiny Bobbles
Dulling the Shine
Visual Impairment
Hollow Aesthetics
Logical Fallacies
Locating the Magic
The Artist’s Paradox
The Expulsion From Hollow Aesthetics and Shiny Bobbles
Turning the Tables
A well Primed Well
Copious and Consistent
Parsing Out: Thumbs up/Thumbs down
Conquering Shiny Bobbles and Aesthetic Blindness
Conditional Disclaimer
5. the rude awakening
the Hero’s Path
The Rude Awakening
Function: Finding Purpose
Narrowing the Scope
An Empowering Path
It’s Not Forever
Boldly and Bravely
Unrecognizable You
Leave Expectations at the Door
Inner Conflict
We like Predictability
Conclusion; awakening
6. The Big Un-Easy: Ambiguity and Potential
Ambiguity
The Carrot and the Stick
Repeated Exposure
Potential : What if?
Carving out Space for Potential
Potential in Drawing (the Verb)
Potential in Drawing (the Noun)
Vacillating Between the Verb and Noun
A Reflection of You: mirror, mirror
The Immigrants Point of Entry
Prodding Potential: a Conscious Shift
7. Turbulence and Tenacity; mistakes and style
Style
A One hour Tutorial in Style
Mistakes
8. Sometimes, it really is all about you
It’s about you now, not then
The Power of Presence
A fresh perspective
Intuition
Inquiring Minds: Central Q’s
not the RIGHT, not THE, but A path
Now, focusing in
The Imposter Syndrome
Putting in the Work
Conduit of Presence
Mind-Numbing Mediocrity
9. Authenticity: Our Creative Impulse
The Essence of Creative Work
Aesthetic Conformity
Unhiding
Exposed
Authentic Obligations
You owe it to yourself; putting yourself out there
To Boldly Unhide; one perspective
10.Drawing on the Polymath
11.Carving out Space (physical, emotional and intuitive)
Granting Permission
Expansion and Contraction
Creative Entanglement/ Dominating Voices
The Cultivation Process Inner Sanctuary
Walled Garden
Granting Yourself Permission
Breaking Tradition
Trust
12.Nutless bolts
Habit and Ritual
Intention and Momentum
Simply Draw
Skill Building (basic considerations)
Materials
Making Progress, the Long Haul
Am I Done Yet?
Honeymoon Phase
The Phoenix
It’s Just a Drawing
Perfection isn’t the Goal (or a reality); or-- paralyzing perfection
Blockages
Where the predictability Lies
13.Tracking, mapping, the Critique and Grace
Intro
The critic and the Critique
Be Careful Why You Ask
Be Careful Who You Ask
Be Careful What You Ask
To Assimilate or Not
Unpacking
Internal and External Critique
Self-Guidance
Writing
Artist Statement
Once Seen/Once Shared
Grace
14.To Boldly Go
Gary Carpenter is an artist whose lifelong curiosity and passion for research across multiple fields forged an interdisciplinary education through several schools culminating in his BFA and MFA from the University of Washington. The breadth of his experiences revealed the creative confidence necessary to support a diverse career through multiple disciplines. Since 2011, he has designed and taught courses on drawing, creativity, and the socially engaged arts, many focusing on community engagement with currently and formerly unhoused and incarcerated populations.