Blind Contour Drawings

Artist Statement

For this project we experimented with blind contour drawings of our hands and face. The task was to draw without looking at the paper or lifting the tip of the marker. We had to focus on each line, crease, or hair, as well as the curves on our hands. I also drew a blind contour of my face, however we were allowed to look in mirrors for that. Once we had drawn the first blind contours, I decided I wanted to add hands, all of which point at the womans face. The idea just kind of came to mind, and I really wanted to try and create a story or meaning behind the art. Next I decided to add color to parts of my drawing. Apart from the sharpies used for the blind contours I used watercolors. I like any sort of muted colors or earthy shades, so I chose a range of blues and pinks and reds. Using the blue watercolor I painted all of the fingertips and part of the other person's face. Around the woman's cheeks and nose I added muted shades of pink and red. I really liked this color combination as well as that it made the womans face stand out. My project evolved from three, very spaced-out blind contours, none of which really fit well together. In the end I think my drawing evolved to a much more colorful and meaningful piece.

To create this drawing I thought much more about my color scheme, spacing, and meaning. Apart from using line to create the contours, I also used color and space. I tried adding value by using darker shades of red and blue in specific areas, however I think I could have improved on that. Overall, I think my piece shows unity, emphasis, contrast, and balance. I created unity by coloring all of the hands with the same shades of blue. By adding red watercolor to the faces I created emphasis and contrast. The viewer should be drawn to the face first, which is why I used a brighter shade instead of the blue. As my first blind contours were very spread out, I had to fill some space. I added several more hands, some of which go off the page, to add more balance. Overall I think my drawing shows balance as it is not super busy with blind contours and leaves some blank space.

At first I didn't really have a story, however when I began adding more to my piece I saw a meaning behind it. The womans face looks fearful, which I did not intend while drawing it. I used red watercolors on her face to draw the viewer's attention to it, however also to show that she is flushed with humiliation. There are many hands pointing at her, all of which are colored blue. I used the blue shade to create a feeling of ice, which is supposed to portray that they have no feelings. In the bottom right corner is another person's face, the one half which is looking at the woman is blue, however the other side is red. It was unintentional that the second eye of the person is looking the opposite direction, however it adds well to the meaning. The story I want to bring forth with my art is that a woman or girl is all alone and there are people (which are portrayed with the hands) pointing at her and making fun her. The person in the bottom right corner portrays a bystander. By adding the blue to part of its face I showed that they were a part of the "finger pointing group." However the bit of red under the other eye shows that they may feel actually have some affection for that person. This project doesn't directly relate to my life because I haven't been singled out or bullied, however it is a problem that has been going on forever and will continue. I am very proud of how well my first blind contour of my face came out. It was unexpected, however it fits well with the meaning behind the art. I struggled by finding a meaning behind the second person. I wasn't sure if I wanted to paint him blue or red. I actually originally had red where the blue is now, which I moments later decided to cover up with the blue. I wanted to come up with a title for this piece, and initially decided on "Isolated."