Dr. Mary McNaughton and Drawing

When attempting to tackle the big world of composition, it is important to not pigeonhole yourself by allowing just one option.  Too many times, when starting out with drawing and painting and someone would ask “Why did you depict your subject this way?”, “I would say well that is because it looked like that”.  I didn’t realize I had the power to change my images.  Instead of taking things at face value and saying only one thing about our subjects, we must challenge ourselves to explore our options.  When looking at a subject move it, walk around it, step in to examine it closely, look at it in different lighting.  Some examples of serial imagery are a zoom in for the first piece, then step back, and step back again.  Try three or four different vantage points.  Add something to the composition or take something away.  Try the subject in different mediums or techniques; one in stippling, one in scribble, one in hatching, and on and on.  By limiting ourselves to spitting out just one portrayal, we never really explore the full storyline a subject has to offer.  I’m including a series of color drawings of the goddess Persephone seen in different seasons, colors, and with varying settings,