Blind contour portrait. Drawn, then painted. Artist unknown, pinned by Molly Rowe
Happy New Year, and welcome to the first day of our 30 day challenge! For this first project, we’ll have you warm up and introduce yourself with a delightfully odd looking portrait.
Blind contour drawing is an exercise in which an artist draws the contours of a subject without looking at the paper. The technique was introduced by Kimon Nicolaïdes in The Natural Way to Draw (1941), but most people know it from the widely popular Betty Edwards‘ Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain (1979). Both are indispensable resource guides for learning how to draw.
Blind contour drawing is a fabulous technique to cultivate your focus and curiosity, but it’s a horrible strategy for drawing things in the right place. Your coordination does get better with practice, but honestly, the uncontrollable aspect of blind drawings is part of what I love about the technique. I’d be disappointed if all the features ended up exactly where I intended. For one thing, letting go of this control can be incredibly liberating to an artist. For another, these drawings are surprising, delightfully interesting to make and to view.
Don’t peek!
Your goal is to do this without peeking, but if you absolutely cannot stop yourself even when threatened with the punishment of slugs in your nose, if you realize you have glanced down at your drawing, then stop moving the pencil as soon as you do. When you look back at your reflection, then you can continue your drawing.
Feeling your way around the form
Nicolaides suggests that you imagine the pencil tip is the tip of your finger, and as your pencil moves across the paper, you are moving your finger across the model’s form, feeling that you are touching the surface and contours. Times have changed since 1941, and while forming a connection between the tactile sensory input to your flat paper drawing is a lovely idea, when I teach figure drawing classes I am very careful to not say “pretend you are touching the figure” with a nude model on stage. Since you are within the intimate setting of you and your own consensual face, I invite you to give it a try. As you draw, notice the smooth quality of the hair, the firm areas over bone, and the softness of the cheeks. Don’t think about how to include this in your drawing, just notice how it feels to touch, and let the rest happen naturally.
30SAL Challenge: Blind Contour Self Portrait
Ruthie V.
Set the timer for 20 minutes. Materials are artist’s choice.
Position yourself in front of a mirror. Place your paper away from view. Draw the outside and cross contours very slowly in a steady, continuous line without looking at the paper. Notice each individual detail, surface, and angle.
Proceed carefully. Concentrate, focus, and draw the object as if you are tracing or feeling your way around the contours of the form. Move your pencil in a slow and steady pace, much like tracing. You may wish to do a several drawings within the 20 minute goal.
When you’re finished with your session, post your project and tag us: #30SAL
Blind contour drawings from our summer Figure Drawing Teen Camps
A great video showing the process and drawings for blind contours by Allison Kunath
This first image was from the ‘Transience and Eternity’, Angie Dixon’s exhibition at Foster/White in the 1990’s. It was a combination of installation and paintings. It was about creation and the formation of everything before it becomes tangible. The paintings were meant to be of the actual tangible results of the creative formation. The installation …
The Seattle Artist League is excited to announce the prizes for this year’s Portrait Awards. These artworks were chosen out of 151 entries, from 72 artists. Media was mostly paintings and drawings, with a few mixed media and prints. All were completed within 2021 or early 2022. “It was an honour and a delight to see such …
José Guadalupe Posada (1851–1913) was a Mexican printmaker who used calavera illustrations to make political satires and cultural critiques. He was particularly influential in the role of printmaking as a medium of social and political engagement. His popular satire was printed in inexpensive newspapers and periodicals, and was accessible to the lower classes. His prolific …
In a quiet moment, take time to recall some memory that you find interesting or enjoyable. Perhaps this was a story told by your family, or some moment that formed an idea of yourself or someone around you. Maybe a photograph, smell or object will help bring back your recollection. As you sit, pull out …
30SAL Challenge: Blind Contour Self Portrait
Happy New Year, and welcome to the first day of our 30 day challenge! For this first project, we’ll have you warm up and introduce yourself with a delightfully odd looking portrait.
Blind contour drawing is an exercise in which an artist draws the contours of a subject without looking at the paper. The technique was introduced by Kimon Nicolaïdes in The Natural Way to Draw (1941), but most people know it from the widely popular Betty Edwards‘ Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain (1979). Both are indispensable resource guides for learning how to draw.
Blind contour drawing is a fabulous technique to cultivate your focus and curiosity, but it’s a horrible strategy for drawing things in the right place. Your coordination does get better with practice, but honestly, the uncontrollable aspect of blind drawings is part of what I love about the technique. I’d be disappointed if all the features ended up exactly where I intended. For one thing, letting go of this control can be incredibly liberating to an artist. For another, these drawings are surprising, delightfully interesting to make and to view.
Don’t peek!
Your goal is to do this without peeking, but if you absolutely cannot stop yourself even when threatened with the punishment of slugs in your nose, if you realize you have glanced down at your drawing, then stop moving the pencil as soon as you do. When you look back at your reflection, then you can continue your drawing.
Feeling your way around the form
Nicolaides suggests that you imagine the pencil tip is the tip of your finger, and as your pencil moves across the paper, you are moving your finger across the model’s form, feeling that you are touching the surface and contours. Times have changed since 1941, and while forming a connection between the tactile sensory input to your flat paper drawing is a lovely idea, when I teach figure drawing classes I am very careful to not say “pretend you are touching the figure” with a nude model on stage. Since you are within the intimate setting of you and your own consensual face, I invite you to give it a try. As you draw, notice the smooth quality of the hair, the firm areas over bone, and the softness of the cheeks. Don’t think about how to include this in your drawing, just notice how it feels to touch, and let the rest happen naturally.
30SAL Challenge: Blind Contour Self Portrait
Set the timer for 20 minutes. Materials are artist’s choice.
Position yourself in front of a mirror. Place your paper away from view. Draw the outside and cross contours very slowly in a steady, continuous line without looking at the paper. Notice each individual detail, surface, and angle.
Proceed carefully. Concentrate, focus, and draw the object as if you are tracing or feeling your way around the contours of the form. Move your pencil in a slow and steady pace, much like tracing. You may wish to do a several drawings within the 20 minute goal.
When you’re finished with your session, post your project and tag us: #30SAL
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Sumi Installations, by Angie Dixon
This first image was from the ‘Transience and Eternity’, Angie Dixon’s exhibition at Foster/White in the 1990’s. It was a combination of installation and paintings. It was about creation and the formation of everything before it becomes tangible. The paintings were meant to be of the actual tangible results of the creative formation. The installation …
Announcing: The Seattle Artist League Portrait Awards for 2022
The Seattle Artist League is excited to announce the prizes for this year’s Portrait Awards. These artworks were chosen out of 151 entries, from 72 artists. Media was mostly paintings and drawings, with a few mixed media and prints. All were completed within 2021 or early 2022. “It was an honour and a delight to see such …
José Guadalupe Posada
José Guadalupe Posada (1851–1913) was a Mexican printmaker who used calavera illustrations to make political satires and cultural critiques. He was particularly influential in the role of printmaking as a medium of social and political engagement. His popular satire was printed in inexpensive newspapers and periodicals, and was accessible to the lower classes. His prolific …
30SAL Challenge: Memory Narrative
In a quiet moment, take time to recall some memory that you find interesting or enjoyable. Perhaps this was a story told by your family, or some moment that formed an idea of yourself or someone around you. Maybe a photograph, smell or object will help bring back your recollection. As you sit, pull out …