Why draw from film?
 |
| Drawing by Zahra Elhanbaly from High Life. |
Drawing from a movie allows us to capture images we otherwise might not be exposed to. We’ve drawn ballroom/vogue dancers (Paris Is Burning), trains in 1960s Tokyo (High and Low), smokey bars in 50s Mexico (Victims of Sin), and remote views of outer space (High Life) – among others.
There is also a pleasing camaraderie in drawing the same image as others. You share the struggle of the drawing (because no matter how “good” you are, drawing often involves some sense of struggle!). At the end of the program, when everyone (optionally) shares their drawings, there’s an opportunity to admire and learn from the ways that other people tackled the problem of drawing certain visual problems. I always learn a lot from seeing the style and manner that other artists – experienced or new – use to approach their subjects.
 |
| Drawing by Olaniyan Adams from Daughters of the Dust. |
The other hidden value of the program is that drawing an image – really focusing deeply to capture it – is a form of meditation or mindfulness. My brain never feels clearer than after I’ve been focused very hard on a drawing, and I consider it the most pleasurable kind of meditation. When you draw something – I mean become deeply absorbed by it – something inside switches off. You stop projecting your idea of what the world is onto the world and simply see. Robert Irwin described this process when he wrote that “seeing is forgetting the name of the thing one sees.”
And so, even if you don’t draw, I’d encourage you to try Drawing From Film. Basic drawing materials (pencils, paper, erasers, etc.), are provided, so everyone can participate.
 |
| Drawings from top to bottom: Phil Lollar, Kevin Webster, Olaniyan Adams, and Luke H. from Victims of Sin. |
The two hours generally go like this: First, I give a short spiel about the film and its director and offer some brief suggestions about how one might go about drawing a still frame of a movie. Then we watch the first 10-15 minutes of the movie to get a sense of its tone, setting, and characters, which can help late when we skip forward to draw pre-selected stills.
Usually we do about three five-minute warm-up drawings to get everyone in the drawing mode, three 10-minute drawings, and two 15-minute to 20-minute drawings (usually the most challenging frames).
At the end drawing supplies are returned and there is the option to place drawings out on the table so that others can look at them. This isn’t a critique, just an opportunity to have a look at what other people made. As I mentioned before, I find this quite practically useful. It’s also fun to see how each person tackles an image.
You can also try this on your own at home. I’ve included a list of previous and upcoming films we’ve drawn from below. I encourage you to try this on your own – or, even better, come to the Main Library and try it out!
Questions about Drawing From Film? Email ArtMusicRec (at) sfpl.org.
Posts
