Draw Something!

One of my enduring memories as a child was drawing, my parents were always artistic and still paint and draw today and have recently started an art class with people in their 60s and 70s who have not drawn or painted since childhood, not only are they coming back every week but some of the work is really very good. I remember my father drawing things for me to colour in, those were the days when judgement on successful 'colouring in' was not on shading, cross-hatching or tones of colours but on one factor - did you keep within the lines!?

One of my hobby-horses is when someone says 'I wish I could draw', I retort 'you can', the reply 'ah I wish I could draw better' my reply (getting boring) 'you can'. I then ask when was the last time they picked up a pencil or squeezed some paint onto a board, invariably it was 10, 20,30+ years ago.

People say the same about playing the guitar or piano 'I wish I could play' I have a similar reply 'you can, just practice for 30 minutes every day for five years', you may not be the next Jools Holland or Jimmy Page but you WILL be able to play. Just how many things do we limit ourselves in because we have not tried, not practised nor not allowed ourselves the energy to have a go.

The Guardian ran an interesting article on Sunday on the latest craze sweeping the planet 'Draw-Something' http://www.guardian.co.uk/draw-something, essentially it is cyber Pictionary, a word appears on your phone/pad and you have to draw it using a limited stock of colours, it is then sent through the ether to a friend who has to guess the drawing and returns one of their own. Great hilarity ensues when you try to draw a cow, Britney Spears or one of the many possibilities the game throws at you. Here is my attempt at trying to convey 'Picasso'.

The amazing thing is is that with varying ability everyone can do it and as you see other drawings you start to learn new ideas and strategies, before you know it you are drawing and getting better at it too.

What is also interesting, from the perspective of my sabbatical, is the blank canvas 'Draw-Something' starts from and the same initial stock of colours everyone gets, despite these basic limitations everyone draws a 'cow' differently yet they are all cows and the vast majority are guessed correctly, we each bring our own (limited) ability, limited palette and media and simply do our best.

The Guardian  suggests that the success of this app is that it draws(!) friends together and gives them a shared experience, a shared narrative and suggests that success in guessing is improved by how well you know the other person and they know us, again this seems to be about practice.

Yesterday I went to the gym for the VERY first time in my life, a new experience trying something brand new, something that I never dreamt I would try, having a go and seeing what it feels like, a fresh page, a blank canvas and I am still reflecting on what I am to make of it. But do you know now that I have made a start I am actually looking forward to the next session, if I am honest I am champing at the bit!

So maybe drawing inside the lines is a good pursuit when you are six or seven, my concern is the lines that guide us then start to constrain us, we want to draw something good, or play the piano brilliantly or run like a proper athlete, the lines are actually in danger of limiting us but actually stopping us before we have even made a start. Better just to have a go and see what it looks like.