1 hour 2 minutes

Enjoy this introduction to the theme of Catching the Wave: the Parallels between Surfing and Drawing from my January 23, 2021, Online Figure Drawing Class.

Catching the Wave: The Parallels Between Surfing and Drawing

Our model for this class, Leslie, is a surfer and inspired the theme for this class, Catching the Wave: The Parallels Between Surfing and Drawing. We look at the balance of tensions within a drawing – the balance between line versus blocks, fast versus slow, simple versus complex, bold versus subtle etc. We discuss other parallels such as the commitment to your marks and process; treating mistakes as opportunities; knowing your tools and media and letting them guide you; and the transition from intense observation to dynamic expressive mark-making action — the moment of “catching the wave”. As our model explains: “I guess for me the relationship I have to surfing and making art is ; if you screw up just try again, and again, there’s always another wave, and there is always another canvas, paper, project, another take and to do it over again, and each try is totally different and unique. What I do on a wave is also dependent on the wave and the kind of  board I am using, as with media. The more I understand the limits of the medium and what it is used for, the less I have to think about what I am doing and can let the board/wave/brush/pencil/paper do the work and create the art.  I can let the instruments guide me and the work/ride/performance makes itself. I simply try to get better at being used by the tools I have.”

The recording shared here includes the first 30 minutes introduction, when Leslie and I discussed the theme, and the last 30 minutes when we looked at each others drawings. You can see some of the drawings created during this class at this Padlet Online Gallery.