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