Drawing and Painting as Language

Apr 20, 20232 min read

I think that the group drawing process was important because it gives us the chance to look back at how the painting continued to form into a proper piece we were happy with. I think it also opened up how we use layers and decided on the properties we want to include in the painting. It gives us the opportunity to go back and look at what we put on the paper first and how we decided on adding more to it. Giving us a step by step look back will enhance our understanding of why we decided on the painting we did. As we drew our painting out, we used lines/strokes to create scenery scenes of our choice. This created a flow to our painting and created effects that later on can be seen as something that brought our painting to another level. The contrast between dark and light was used to show depth and shadowing, or in some cases, the highlights that create a more realistic piece. The different shades of colours came together which also work together with spacing. The way we all used the space to create statements in the piece was a great way in expressing ourselves and the individual skills we hold.

Drawing and painting is a language because it allows the person to freely express themselves in these forms. Expression is communication. Through the creative process, we used the colours and drew what we felt best fit what we wanted and how we wanted to convey ourselves.

Regarding colour mixing, it is important to break things down into stages as colour mixing requires a good understanding of colour theory. When we break it down into stages, we are better able to focus on specific techniques at each stage like the primary and secondary colours and adjusting the colours to achieve specific shades and hues.

The importance of drawing specifically for children's differences and how educators may support this skill in children who believe they “cannot draw,” is experimenting with art. This is because art leads to the development of many other possibilities, which then gives more new ideas to explore. Which can encourage critical thinking and creativity. Such as, how Kathy's landscape painting at first was supposed to be just a bright ocean view but as she continued to mix the colours together making more complimentary colours, she then created more details like the birds and mountains. She even turned some of her mistakes into other details within her artwork. When educators believe that children “cannot draw” it restricts them from learning and making mistakes which leads to more difficulties in creating a drawing with uniqueness. Children can experience different levels of creativity as they engage in both drawing and painting art activities.

Loren Vasquez's Drawings and Painting