Representation and Abstraction

They both constantly feed into each other don't they?  All 'representation' is an abstraction of the reality (whatever that is!) that it depicts. For example all the paintings you see are '2 dimensional', but their subject was 3 dimensional. They usually present a single sensory representation- ie they are there to be seen, but the landscape they might depict also had noise, and cold wind, and a scale that can only be hinted at in a relatively small two dimensional painting.  Similarly, all 'abstraction' is fuelled by the artist's knowledge of 'objective'  reality. If I paint a large expanse of lemon yellow that I consider to be abstract- it could be that I know about that particular yellow, and have developed a taste for it- by having seen Rapeseed fields in May. So even if it isn't representational, it is certainly informed, consciously or not, by the world it does not represent, if you get my drift!

They have always seemed like two parts of the same whole to me.

Yellow field scene, Leicestershire countryside scene

Abstract yellow

Everyone should draw!

So many people have told me they 'cannot draw', when what they really mean is that they cannot draw the way they want to! I find it very sad that this puts people off drawing at all. I cannot draw like Rembrandt, which annoys the hell out of me, but does not stop me drawing. Why? Because irrespective of how my drawing might turn out, I know that drawing helps me to look at my world, which enriches my life. If I was so unhappy with my drawings that I destroyed them as soon as I'd finished them, I think I would still want to draw, just for the process, just because it makes me look properly.

St Michaels Mount notebook sketch on site

Ultimately you have to embrace the fact that you draw like you- and your drawings are as unique to you as your fingerprints. Keep looking (really looking!) and keep drawing, and immerse yourself in the process. When you've finished, evaluate them (we can all develop and improve), but keep in mind that they are your interpretation and expression of your world, and have a unique value.

Borderlands

The point where two or more elements, or areas meet is always a fluid, dynamic and fascinating place to be. There is, quite literally friction where the sea kisses the land with a rather benign sounding hiss. That sound is very deceptive, the sea has worn and shaped  our coastal landscape over millennia, and in areas of the UK like Cornwall, created the most beautiful coastline imaginable. A beauty caused by a physical antipathy and a billion collisions between two different elements.

Godrevy Lighthouse, Cornwall

Our world, externally and internally is mapped with borders, the sea borders the land and at least appears to border the sky. And the external objective reality (the one we can never see!) is butted up against our internal interpretation of it. When ten students draw exactly the same subject, and yet each drawing turns out (often radically) different to the rest, this is not just down to the students' knowledge, skill, powers of observation etc. It is because they all interpret the world differently- effectively meaning that they all 'live' in different worlds.

This is why art is fascinating, you get to see a strong detail of someone else's vision of the place we live.