Drawing

What if…

…the most important measurement of whether or not you are a good artist is the quality of your stick figures. If you can make good stick figures, you are an Artist. If you “can’t even draw stick figures,” then you must never touch art materials again.

If this sounds ridiculous to you, then we agree! Yet, drawing (especially, bafflingly, stick figures) holds this power over us: the ability to discern who is an Artist and who is Not.

Drawing can be a very powerful tool. Even stick figures can communicate deep meaning! Every medium has its qualities, for better or worse, that affect the art that is produced. And there are so many positive influences that drawing has over our art!

First, the materials are familiar. Most of us have been drawing since we first held a mark-making device in our hands. Maybe it was chalk on a sidewalk, or a crayon; we discovered we had power over the world and made our mark in it.

These also tend to be the cleanest and most portable of the art materials. Most drawings are easily contained to the intended surface, pencils and crayons don’t dry out, and paper doesn’t get brittle in the air. You can pack supplies in a bag to take anywhere, and the drawings themselves can be stored or even folded and sent in the mail.

Drawing materials are easy to control. They leave a mark where you want a mark and don’t where you don’t. When you draw a line with a pencil, it stays exactly where you put it. Because of this, you can use drawings to illustrate a point or to create diagrams. It’s easier to make details or write letters and numbers because the lines stay exactly where you want them; you don’t have to worry about the materials misbehaving and so your focus can be on what you want to communicate.

But of course, there are drawbacks to such precise, controlled media. The first being the echoes of classrooms and homework that come along with using a pencil and paper. The memories of the stress of years past whisper in our ears. We want to do it “right.” We want to be “good” at it. We want others to understand what we are trying to communicate. We want that check mark on the top that says, “Good job!”

The pressure to do a good job sometimes makes it hard to feel free to experiment. Drawing can feel like a skill to be developed before it can be used to express ideas and feelings. Unfortunately, many people stop developing this skill sometime in adolescence, which can leave adults feeling like what they want to express is too big or mature to be put into the drawings they are able to make. The desire to make illustrations and diagrams can be too intrusive for sharing difficult or traumatic experiences. And many teens and adults shy away from certain media (crayons, I’m looking at you!) because of the strong association with childhood.

This doesn’t make drawing a “good” or “bad” method of expression. Every technique and material has its own benefits and drawbacks, so it is important to choose the right one for the job - or at least to have reasonable expectations of yourself while using it.

Resources for this post:

Orbach, N.; & Galkin, L. (2016). The spirit of matter: A database handbook for therapists, artists, and educators. Kiryat-Tivon, Israel: Ach Books.

Seiden, D. (2001). Mind over matter: The uses of materials in art, education, and therapy. Chicago, IL: Magnolia Street Publishers.