Drawn to
Growth
109
In this chapter were going to work with an existing
picture. Found imagery offers a great pathway to
learning about composition, or how things are
arranged in a picture. Its also lovely to begin a
drawing with the sense that part of it has already
been done for you. The found picture offers a clear
subject matter, which serves as a springboard for
our imaginations to expand upon, allowing us to
shape the world created in the image into one that
encompasses our own ideas and interests.
Spend time looking for an image that you really love.
Ideally you’re after something that will spark further
ideas to extend the image into a far larger work of art.
Here are a few ideas for places to search.
O
newspaper or magazine
O
old drawing (by you or another artist)
O
scanned image from a book
O
postcard or greeting card
O
leaflet or catalog
MINE
I used a postcard featuring an old drawing I’d made of a cherry tree. I spent time
deciding where to paste it and then extended the drawing to include more of the tree
and a boy reaching up to pick a cherry. Other ideas I had were to extend the original
drawing by adding a bird’s nest full of hungry chicks, or to depict the cherry branch in a
vase on a table with a big bowl of cherries and ingredients ready to bake a pie.
110 > Fearless Drawing
YOURS
Once you’ve selected your found image, study the scene and brainstorm a context
beyond the edges of your picture. What is happening outside of the frame? What is
going on in the image? What do you think happened before or after the picture was
taken? What does this picture remind you of? Think carefully about where on the page
you want to stick your found image, then sketch out an extension of your image.
Don't worry too much about the final drawing; this exercise focuses on the pleasure of
using your imagination to create your own world. Revisit this exercise later, using the
same or different imagery to measure how far you have come.
TIPS
Feel free to draw on any of the skills we’ve
covered so far. Think about the following:
Pressure, speed, and pencil grip
Incorporating more found imagery as
collage to extend the original work
Creating some individual prints and
frottage
Drawn to Growth > 111
ADVENTURE

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