Gross Motor Skills...

Paint Dancer (detail)

allow for freedom of expression in a large format.  Using our shoulder muscles rather than our hand/wrists; while standing up; using large brushes and wide markers and pens; and holding the brush loosely at the very tip of the handle  produce marks that are bolder and freer.  We feel a bit out-of-control at first, but practicing simple line-work such as a natural curve can up the confidence level.  OUT OF CONTROL CONTROL.  Small motor mark-making includes:  sitting down; finely sharpened tools; small brushes; choking up on the brush at the ferrule....all of these add up to CONTROL.   In our expressive drawing workshop, we gradually inched our way up to the gross motor mark-making.  Wonderful!


Painters who drop their brushes during my painting class are rewarded with cheering.  This means that the brush is being held lightly and not being over-controlled.

We got skeels.

Express Yourself...

Paintbrush(Labor Series)   watercolor  8.5 x 14

I spent Saturday last doing an expressive drawing workshop at The Trumbull County Art Center in Warren, Ohio.  Enthusiastic artists were there to open up and possibly stretch themselves in a new way as far as drawing goes.  Drawing, like anything else, can be experienced in ways that are quite polar......and everything in between.  Too often we find ourselves sitting down and working with finely sharpened pencils slaving over accuracy.  We tighten up and make small marks that come from the wrist....a bit like handwriting. As we sharpen and resharpen in order to find the reality of the subject, the freshness and enthusiasm give way to overworking and perfection.  Too much control. Using fatter tools, standing up, and moving from the shoulder allow for more expressive mark making, bolder mark making, and more happy accidents.  We began with a series of calligraphic exercises designed to aid in larger movements from the shoulder, and natural curves that begin to find their way into a natural rhythm.  Practice aids in muscle memory and we eventually gain a bit more control.  Out-of-control control.  Cool.  These artists were hard working and sincere...it was a delight sharing these exercises with them.