Drawing from Nothing

Here is another drawing exercise from Art From Intuition: Overcoming Your Fears and Obstacles to Making Art, by Dean Nimmer, Professor Emeritus, Massachusetts College of Art Boston. He calls this "Drawing from Nothing."

"You look at and draw things that normally escape your notice." This is good for when you're feeling blocked. Draw objects that are boring and make them interesting by what you do with them. Mr. Nimmer suggests things like cracks in the wall or a pattern of stains on the floor.

You can use any technique and medium you choose, but simple is best. He says to tape off a rectangle around the subject to help you focus on what you want to draw. Try to forget what your subject is and draw what you see inside the rectangle, shapes, colors, patterns, textures.

"Make at least 5 to 10 sketches varying from very detailed to complete abstracts. Make each one somewhat different from the one before."

While doing research last year for a presentation on Leonardo da Vinci, I learned that he also urged his young apprentice painters to use this method: "to look at suggestive forms of stains and variegated patterns on stones to stir the creative juices and train the eye to a process of invention...a new device for the imagination, which, although it may seem rather trivial and almost ludicrous, is nevertheless extremely useful in arousing the mind to various inventions."

So, give it a try and see what you come up with. It may lead you to a whole new series of possible drawings.