Drawing with ink forces me to accept my mistakes and move on. I have to draw through and believe the overall story within the image shines through. During one of my online drawing tutorials, the instructor discussed this very concept and said something very interesting. “Nobody remembers an accurate drawing. They remember an interesting one.”

That struck me like a bolt of lightning. He went on to emphasize the embrace of our mistakes helps in two ways. Firstly, it helps us to see where we messed up and allows us to get better. Secondly, it makes for a more dynamic, more interesting image to look at, potentially pulling the viewer in. This little phrase has helped me, just a little, to get over this idea that I’ve failed when my proportions are off. Quite the contrary, to be honest. 

Through this study I’ve come to see how the Renaissance masters were not concerned with accuracy. They were, in fact, concerned with infusing their drawings and paintings with emotions. Staying true to our emotions when creating art will always be interesting.

Even the act of sitting down to draw an object requires the artist to take a moment and ask, “Where am I emotionally right now? Can I convey this to my viewer/reader/audience? I could, in theory, draw the exact same image multiple times while experiencing different emotions and could conceivably draft wildly different images that all make you feel differently. Isn’t that cool to think about? I think so. 

This has all helped me move forward and draw just a little bit more than I have in a long, long time.

I think it’s working.