Sunday, August 12, 2007

Cars



Too short and too high, I know. In my art plan for 2007 I had drawing cars as one of the goals, simply because I find cars incredibly difficult to draw and I thought it would be good practice to give them a try. I can´t really understand why cars should be harder to draw than any other objects though. It should be the same as drawing a flower or a house or whatever - just LOOK, maybe measure, and then draw. But it´s not. Cars are impossible, annoying, tricky subjects that completely seem to evade my efforts to capture them on paper.

Still, I can´t just give up, can I? So I have tried twice this summer to draw our car, with various results. The small drawing was made today, from our balcony. Difficult angle, but then all angles are difficult with cars. I kind of like the big one, though, totally wonky, looks like a caricature of the car itself. Actually, when I look at them, both drawings look like caricatures.

Of course, my feelings will be hurt if you can´t see what make of car it is. ;)

Bigger drawing: 15 x 11 cm, Lamy Safari and Noodler´s black ink. Smaller drawing: 8 x 6.5 cm, Lamy Safari and Noodler´s Lexington Grey ink. Both on Arches satin paper in a sketchbook.

10 comments:

Barbara said...

What nice drawings! The positions you chose require a lot of foreshortening which you did incredibly well! - Barbara

Margaret McCarthy Hunt said...

hmm I think you did it...GREAT cars....must have been very tall to see the top of the second one:>

Felicity Grace said...

I think they are both super! I also think drawings of cars work whether they are 'perfect' or wonky - my DH can't draw but he can do great wonky VW Beetles with loads more character than anything I can do!

juj said...

I like your "wonky" perspective (especially the birds-eye view) which I really don't think is wonky at all, but my favorite part is that your cars name is Betsy. Every car I've ever owned has been a Betsy, after my parents first car, until my last one was killed by a careless driver. Now I drive a "Bean", but my heart still belongs to Betsy.

Gláucia Mir said...

I think you're being way too hard on yourself. The drawings are great. I just recently took some pictures of some cool cars, from cool angles, so that I can draw them as well. But I love your attitude of not just giving up on it either.

Anonymous said...

Great to have you back! Of course, I only distinguish cars by color, not by make so... hmm... don't know what car you have (LOL) Just left a comment for you at the drawing club only to see that the post was from April... Oh well...

Steve Penberthy said...

We all have subjects that are tough for us. When I draw something that I think doesn't look quite right, I've usually drawn it without really seeing it; in other words, I've drawn what my preconceived notion of the subject is, not what lines my eye can see. This is what makes nudes so tough--everyone knows what the human body looks like. Just like cars... :) Keep up the GREAT work. -- Steve

caseytoussaint said...

Well, I think these are really good - but I don't know one make of car from another, so I won't even attempt a guess.

Jesse said...

I also find cars very very difficult to draw. Not to shift the blame from myself entirely, but I do think it has something to do with the way cars are designed. The designers use all sorts of tricks to make cars look faster, sleeker, bouncier, and I think this plays havoc with my sense of perspective!

Anonymous said...

Great little car sketches. They may be wonky, but I thought they were wonderful.