I have a lot of “important” things I want to post, but they will hold until January. I simply need more time and thought. I’m still dealing with the lung issue.
In the meantime I thought it would be good to remember the beauty of hair.
Its structure, the volume, the balance. When we see someone with truly exceptional hair, whether it’s on TV, or on the street, we need to celebrate that hair in our journals and sketchbooks.
Why? Because looking at hair and all the trouble someone took to present their hair in a certain way always tells us about the person. And it’s good to learn things about people because it’s how connections with others begin to form.
It’s also important to celebrate hair that catches our eye because drawing that hair allows us to deal with the issues and nuance of value encompassed within a drawing style—it’s how we enlarge our visual vocabulary.
Sketching hair teaches us about how values (here shown with ink wash and brush pen) in a sketch can give us volume. We learn what is the least we can get away with, or if we are pushing in the other direction we learn what is the most. The end result is that we train our eye to look for the gems of our visual life so that we can acknowledge them.
Sketching people, whether we meet them in person on not, allows us to celebrate them. That simple action opens our soul and makes us better people, towards the people we actually meet.
I hope that all the days of 2023 are filled with drawing encounters which help you understand volume, structure, style…and stretch your soul. There is so much to celebrate and enjoy in the world.
I know you are familiar with Earthsworld… so much great hair in his photos! I sketched this guy recently for his great hair: https://www.instagram.com/p/CfmRNEgsRzz/
And here’s a beard you’d like! https://www.instagram.com/p/Ci-PJifhCpR/
Love Earth’s World, I will look up these links you sent. Thanks for thinking of me.