When you think of drawing, do you think of outlining? 

Deborah shared she had never really thought about drawing except as the act of outlining. It got me thinking:

How many people reflect on the internalized and unspoken definitions they have of art, and in this case, drawing?

Outlining is ONE technique you can use when you draw. Generally, we tend to rely on it too heavily in our art.

Today, I want to focus exclusively on the act of outlining, called contour drawing.

I want to show you how you can

• Create a feeling of weight with simple line work,
• Use line to study perspective,
• And apply these ideas to your paintings.

Contour drawings can absolutely be beautiful, stand alone artworks. The funny thing is when we start to find a task to be easy or fun, it’s almost like we believe it can no longer be a “real” artwork.

Is artwork only legitimate if it comes through labor?

We discuss this and more while talking about the lovely Charmaine Bogg’s artwork.

Be sure to visit Charmaine’s website to explore her varied work and classes. Use the link here to explore more of her art.

Let’s keep the conversation rolling:

How do you define drawing? Have you ever caught useful questioning the validity of your art because it was “too easy?” Tell me more in the comments below.