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       Recently I've been drawing my cats, who in the winter are always begging me to sit with them on the studio floor and play kitty games anyway. Just looking in their direction counts as attention it seems, so when they take a break I grab my pen and paper. The goal isn't to create great works of art or develop studies to work into a painting, but the way I go about it is not only a lot of fun, but also a huge help in keeping my vision fluent in the language of shapes.

      What I'm actually practicing is putting down the negative shapes and not the cats themselves. Anytime your brain can't get out of it's own way there is always another approach to solving a puzzle and from a strictly artistic point of view, paying attention to the shapes around an object, rather than the object itself is the best workaround I can think of. This concept can be applied to virtually anything but in a lot of cat poses, one of the most distinctive and easy to see shapes is formed by the space behind their ears. The easiest shapes to see will always be the easiest get on the canvas or paper correctly so that's what I head for right away.For an in depth explanation of negative shapes and why they can be so useful, check out my June 2023 blog Foreshortening and Negative Shapes. 

                                                                  

                                             Getting the initial shape down correctly is the first step and then it's a matter of relating 

                                             all of the other shapes to it -- ideally before the model moves. Keep in mind that both of

                                             these cats are 'tripods' so it's not necessarily my fault if they don't look normal -- one is

                                             missing a front leg and the other a hind leg.

 

                                                     .      

                                                On this first image you can see several starts with the shape behind the ears before

                                                Callie settled into a pose. Even though working in this way results in little more than

                                                a simple silhouette, I think these quick doodles capture their moods and gestures

                                                as well or better than I might with a more finished out drawing.

                                               

                                                                     

                                              Focusing on negative shapes can be invaluable for working with any object in any medium.

                                              This telescope provided an excellent array of shapes to relate to one another. While painting

                                              has more elements than just getting the shapes right, the practice and discipline of observing

                                              relationships between notes of colors and values is exactly the same as it is for shapes.

 

Here's a few pointers for any of you who would like to try this at home:

1) To get started, grab a pen or pencil and paper and draw one of the first shapes you see. If the object moves a lot or you find yourself starting to invent things, begin again.

2) Envision a square (box) around the object and make a note of where the farthest points would be touching the sides. (for an illustration of this concept, see the March 2022 archived blog post On Painting Lilies and scroll to the bottom of the page.)

3) Look for areas of contrast that are easy to see and strong geometric shapes like triangles. Anything clear and easy to see will help you get a good foundation to build on. 

4) I can't speak for everyone, but if your brain keeps blathering away about what a dumb thing it is to spend time looking at negative shapes then you are probably on the right track. Just keep going and try not to worry about the results.

 

As someone who loves logic, I will admit that it doesn't make sense to focus on one shape over another when the line between them is exactly the same. Apparently the reason the negative shapes are easier to see accurately is due to the way we store information. Our brains will usually have some sort of picture image attached to any name or verbal description --like 'cat' for example. Often this visual symbol isn't all that sophisticated and maybe more like a cartoon cat you might have drawn in kindergarten, but it's there nonetheless. Your eye and hand want to do one thing and your brain wants to stick with it's archived image. When focusing on an abstract shape without any name attached to it, there is no preconceived idea in your head of what that shape will be, which makes it easier to see as an artist does and put down the visual information that is actually in front of you. 

 

 

"Get your spots in their right place and your lines precisely at their relative angles."  -- John Singer Sargent

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