Navigating Your Visual Haerenga: The 'How' and the 'Why' of Drawing

Where We Start: The Departure Point

Every great journey (Haerenga) needs a starting point. In Week 1, you won't need a deep, philosophical concept yet. You just need a visual hook—a subject matter that interests you enough to look at it closely for several weeks.

It could be an object, a place, a person, or a collection of photographs you've taken.

Once you have your subject, we will begin exploring it through drawing. We start with traditional approaches to get to know the structure of your subject—observational studies in line and tone. We then quickly move into experimental drawing workshops, investigating how our artist models (like Maria Gonzalez Eme or Sylvain Coulombe) use materials to interpret their subjects.

This initial exploration is where you begin generating evidence for your two internal standards.

Week 1 Strategy: Launchpad & Liftoff

We are moving fast. By the end of this week, you won't just have an idea; you will have begun the physical work of your Level 3 inquiry.

Task 1: The Departure Lounge (Rapid Subject Selection)

DUE: End of Next Lesson.

We don't have time for a month of contemplation. You need a visual hook NOW—a subject matter with enough texture, form, or atmosphere to sustain intense investigation. [Yes it can and should change/morph]

The In-Class Sprint (Next Lesson):

Bring your phone and your old Visual Diary to the next class. You will have 40 minutes to conduct a rapid audit of your visual interests based on the prompts below. By the final bell, you must hand in a sticky note with your proposed subject written on it.

Preparation Prompts (Think about these tonight):

The Phone Scroll: Look at your last 100 photos. What are you subconsciously documenting? (e.g., weird shadows, industrial sites, messy organic forms, specific types of people).
The Comfort Zone: What do you know you enjoy drawing physically? (e.g., highly detailed metallic surfaces, soft organic fabrics, architectural lines).
The Litmus Test: Does this subject have enough guts for Level 3? A single smooth apple is boring. A box of rotting, bruised apples has texture, colour shifts, and decay—that works.

The Output (Due next lesson): A defined starting point. (e.g., “My subject is the human form in motion.” or "my subject is the built environment)

Task 2: Visual Data Collection (Starting the Haerenga)

DUE: End of this Week (Friday check-in).

Once your subject is selected, you must immediately start gathering "visual data." Before we apply complex artist model techniques in Week 2, you need to understand the basic structure of your subject through observation.

This is not about making "art." This is about looking closely and recording information.

The Requirement:

By next week, you must have 4–6 pages in your Visual Diary filled with observational studies of your subject matter.

The Constraint: Traditional Media Only.

For this first week, strip it back. Use pencil, charcoal, ink pen, or stick-and-ink. No colour yet. Focus on line, tone, shape, and shadow.

Suggested Approaches for your pages:

The 10-Minute Thrash: Set a timer. Draw your subject rapidly, without lifting your pen. Capture the energy, ignore the detail.
The Microscope: Zoom in incredibly close on one tiny detail of your subject (e.g., the rust on one bolt, the veins on one leaf). Fill a whole page with it.
Tonal Mapping: Don't use line. Use charcoal or soft pencil to block in only the deepest shadows and the brightest highlights.
Negative Space: Don't draw the object; draw the shapes of the air around the object.

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