Hey,

I read quite a lot, and often, when writers are asked "Why they write?" the old cliche reply is, "Because I have to."

I've never been satisfied with this

Have to is a relative term...have to or what? They will die, be unhappy, lose understanding of life...what?

The question requires a more personal, deeper explanation

Any thoughts?

I think the "Because I have to" translates for artists of the written word, the image that is framed, the sculpture, or indeed the artist of any kind, into the fact that they need to express themselves through their medium in order to make sense of their world and their position in it.

I know I just lose myself in a meaningful piece - i can feel it in the pastel under my fingers. We all do pieces on commission or to practice - but it is those emotive pieces where from the moment we start and put our whole being into it that we live for ( or at least I do).

I've explored this question before and the answers, while many, come back to the same things.

I draw because I like to intimately explore objects and recreate them in detail.

I draw because I have an instinctive need to do so. It becomes as automatic as breathing. There is no pressure externally to make me draw, but there is something internally, unspoken, unseen that urges me to make marks on paper or canvas.

1 draw because it takes me away from the mundane world and lets me escape into the end of my pencil where nothing exists except the scritch scritch sound of graphite going onto paper. I am always surprised when I snap out of that meditative state and realize that time has passed.

I draw because I feel a connection to the past and need to keep the craft alive. From the time man scored marks on cave walls to the digital images of today, there is still that need to continue what our ancestors started.

Jeanette, I applaud you because you just said basically what every artist has a hard time saying when they are asked this question. You hit everything I feel heads on. I just couldn't describe it like that!! I am one of those people that have a hard time expressing what they feel and talking about it outloud unless it is in anger.

I don't draw or any kind of deep, profound reason. I just draw because:
1: It's fun
2: It feels great when someone says "Did you draw that???!!!"
3: Unlike many things, there are infinite steps, but each one makes you better than the last.
4: You can just go at your own pace
5: It makes you forget your troubles and replaces it with just drawing

I know EXACTLY what you mean!

I draw because it's nice to take my imagination and preserve it on paper. I also draw for the reasons other people said.

Thanks Venus. Sometimes it is worthwhile to really look at why you do or feel something and what makes you feel that way. It can be quite enlightening to do so, even if the process is painful sometimes.

See now Jeanette, that is why I read your blog on a regular basis!

Paulettes signature piece is so true : “I have learned that what I have not drawn, I have never really seen.”

I always thought "because I have to" was a little more mundane... Writers are often very strapped for money and their primary money making skill is writing... "because I have to" might be short for: "because I have to pay my rent on time or I'll be homeless".



(how sad is this for a first post? Ha!) New guy here! And normally I'm not this mundane! *sigh*

If you choose the arts as a career path then yes, you 'have' to draw to put bread on the table and a roof over your head. But if it causes pain to 'have to' do it, then I think I'd be reconsidering why I'm doing it. I think the question is more about why you draw, even if it is a career.

I don't believe that it can be the ego boost that Spuddy is feeding off because that would be short lived. Living in the limelight is a mere fraction of life as an artist. Most of your time is hunched over a drawing board or in front of an easel creating work or marketing and selling yourself and your work to the public. There has to be something that drives you to create those drawings or seek the accolades if that's what you get out of it.

Would I invest 30 or 40 hours into a drawing just to hear someone say 'you drew that?'. No.

Maybe not in that way, exactly. But there's ego in art...maybe in all great art.

Salvador Dali was one of the most blatant egoists, jumping and dancing about in his own spotlight center-stage for most of his artistic life.

Surely you're not saying that in all your drawings there isn't a trace of ambition, of the desire for recognition?

In fact, a big trace.

“There are two things people want more than sex and money... recognition and praise.”
Mary Kay Ash

By all means, recognition is craved by all of us in whatever we do, whether polishing the dining table or creating a work of art. And I am no different than the rest of the world. But, it cannot be the sole motivator to create (or polish). I promote myself and my work to earn money. In the process of doing so, I generate attention sometimes. I look at this as a by-product of art, not a need for me to produce.

And to me, exposing myself to the public and generating attention to myself is the hardest thing in the world for me to do. I would prefer to remain in the shadows and just draw the world around me.

Perhaps there are egoists in the world who wish to be in the limelight and garner attention that is lacking in other areas of their life. Art can be one of the factors that generates attention.

The reasons why people draw are complex and individual. Drawing for recognition means 20% drawing, 80% promotion of yourself.

I draw as it's been a personal ambition of mine since I was a teenager to be able to draw well. As the years have gone by, and I've seen and been inspired by the level of other graphite artist's work, the desire to "be able to do that" grew and grew until I just HAD to learn how it's done!!! Now I can't imagine NOT drawing.

What a great thread! I remember drawing as child and into my teen years. I'd get my Walkman (for the younger artists - it's like an Ipod but a LOT bigger!) and sit on my bed and draw. I started by copying out of Disney books I had and that led to drawing from my imagination. There were many times I'd stay up all night to draw and was quite the crabby kid in class the next morning.

Recently, my mom reminded me of an incident that occurred when I was four. My father used to watch a painter named William Alexander on TV - I think he may have been one of the first painters to have his own show. Anyway, he had a German accent, slicked back hair, and quite a personality. One day, I went into the bathroom and used a WHOLE jar of Vasoline to slick back MY hair so I could paint like him. I got a lamp, removed the shade for better lighting, and proceeded to paint. I must have put the paper towel I was using on or near the lamp, and a small fire ensued. I know what you're thinking - Where were my parents?? (They were sleeping) My mother says it took many baths and hair washings to remove all of the Vasoline! I tell this story because he is the person that started my love affair with art.

I stopped drawing around age sixteen because I was not hanging out with the best crowd of kids, and art was something I just lost interest in. Last August I was going through some boxes and I found a folder with some drawings I did when I was about sixteen. (My wife thought it was pretty funny that 90% of them were of women in bikinis!) I was about to quit smoking again and I thought: what better way to keep my hands busy than to start drawing again! So I did, and it worked great for about a month until I injured my left shoulder at work. I have been diagnosed with something called RSD. It feels like your skin is on fire and the slightest breeze or touch is extremely painful!! Luckily I'm righty and it hasn't spread yet so I can still draw. Between doctors appointments and therapy, I don't have too much time to draw, but when I do, it totally makes me forget about everything and relaxes me more than any medications could. I feel like that teenager laying on my bed, listening to my Walkman. Except now, it's an IPOD.

I love philosophical (maybe psychological) questions.

Jeannette has a good handle on her number one reason for drawing - to explore the visual world around you. From babyhood on, I have had the temerity to be very curious. I love to know what makes things tick. My research has led to some strange things over the years - thus earning for myself a family caricature of "black sheep" which you may note does not depict likeable characteristics. Slaps on the wrist (and other places ) were fairly commonplace in the early years. There came a time when a teacher saw a glimmer of talent in some paint smudges of mine and it gave me a moment of goodness - aha! that fleeting aura of family respectability felt kinda nice! Nevertheless, I knew even then it wasn't the reason I liked to draw - it was a nudge to continue drawing though.
'
The most beautiful sights in our world are right in front of us to touch with a pencil and to blush with color life. What can be more endearing than the gentle curve of a baby's cheek or the mixture of rosy tints in a rose garden. Exploring the pathos in a homeless man's face can be life-changing too. I once did a digital painting of a European man in a refugee camp which made me cry at the pain seen in another human being's face. Can it be that we draw to experience emotions laying dormant otherwise - second reason to draw?

My own greatest joy comes from seeing emotion jumping from a drawing I have done myself - the third reason to draw. wow! could it be self-satisfaction?

Drawing switches you to your right brain where it's comfortable and relaxing and timeless - fourth reason to draw. I have medicated myself through many painful life episodes with this knowledge. It's almost like having a friendly teddy bear at your beck and call for emergencies.

People tell me that snowstorms, floods and tornadoes have their own sense of grandeur too - oh well, maybe I'll do that tomorrow? Back to earth , I must depart my secret garden now and clean some dirty clothes, maybe even a few dirty dishes.

Cheers........Maire

I enjoy attention. I have no idea why, and it's probably not a very good trait, but I always feel cheery if someone is giving me attention... as long as it's the good kind.

I agree that this is a good thread. Sometimes just answering a "why" question can really be motivating.

Why do I draw? Hmmm, it's time for some self-analysis. I haven't done any drawing for thirty years and then one day, I see a blog entry about drawing celery and I say to myself, why not? Then I hear about Drawspace so I check it out.

When I was a child, I drew mostly on command. I remember spending many years drawing holiday cards for relatives. The first thing I did when I moved away from home was BUY holiday cards.

I did take a basic drawing and painting course in college but refused to go into the profession as it was too competitive for my taste. Then I was seduced by the dark side and delved into photography and photoshop.

I do enjoy the meditative process and it's fun getting positive feedback. I really like having a digital gallery. Now I can scan my drawing and toss out the original which gives me an enormous sense of freedom.

Jeanette when you said " I would prefer to remain in the shadows and just draw the world around me. "...this is a true statement for me ..I do not need praise because I draw for myself and not for others ..i choose what I want to draw and what I do not want to draw ..if I am asked ...and I have never been asked but if I were asked " why do you draw " I would think it's a silly question ....maybe a more suitable question would be " what do you get from drawing? "

I draw not only because I have a passion for art and love doing it - but its also a type of stress relief for me. Ive always been a nervous/anxious type of person and this is my "xanax" if you well - it calms me down and takes all of the worries and what not that I might have floating around inside of my head.

I do it most of all because I love the magic in it.

If you've read "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain" you know all about the "left-right transition". For me the two different ways of perceiving the world and the transition between them are endlessly fascinating.

How can smudges of graphite or coal or wax become beautiful, living images of people, places, things we cherish? It's just plain magic. And who doesn't want to be a wizard?

Totally agree with you Ernest. That's the reason why drawings fascinate everybody so much, because it's plain magic.

Well, enjoyment is the first of all the reasons I draw.

I like to understand and to learn how to do things. Drawing is one of these things.

When I get the paper I think that the picture is alredy there. All the possible pictures are already in the paper and in the world. When you draw you're just highlighting one of the possible pictures, the one that you intend to see and show to others. This way of seeing drawing makes it plain magic for me. And the pleasure I get from doing magic is what keeps me drawing.

Other reason is that I love things without imediate and pratical utility. Useless things tend to have a lot more meaning to me.

Sorry for any mistakes in the writing.

I draw because it satisfy something inside me during the process.
I guess you could say it's healing in a way. Art overall is. Almost like meditation.

However, my dad was an artist and I pretty much grew up in his studio, so I've done this for a very long time. There's always been a pen and a piece of paper around me, and I've consumed a lot of it

There's a certain satisfaction in copying the world around me that nothing else can replace. I take photos as well, but it's not the same. Most of the time when I do photography I think and see in the same way as when I'm setting up for a painting or a drawing. The same composition applies.

I think that the bottom line is that art is a big part of me because it's always been there.
And I would be very lost without it


Christa

I feel it's in the soul. I feel that natural artists hold the answers to life; and that it has been our job since the dawn of time to relay these truths to others in a way that is instantly, visually understood. I am a deeply spiritual person, and I feel that art is a form of "enlightenment." It is the soul's way of portraying its perspective of truth; no matter the subject.

Through all of the disagreement between religion, theology, and philosophy, in which I believe too many words, egos, and intellects can muttle the translation of meaning, art has way to make them all agree; no words, no interpretation, no misunderstanding. Just one, visual truth that is instantly realized by all who see it. Even though the ego may try to intellectually interpret what it wishes, the soul cannot deny the basis of the individual's revelation. Even if you don't "get it," your soul already has, and is way ahead of you. It is a method of connectivity; a way to show that no matter how different each perspective may be, there is still only one truth that all of us share.

I am a firm believer that everything that happens in the spiritual affects the physical, and vice versa. We are too often caught in the rut of physicality, and forget that there's a whole other world out there that we have forgotten to see, that's constantly working none the less. If you get a great idea or notion, and feel you must portray it, you are answering to your soul and it would be a degradation NOT to express it. In this sense, I completely agree with the comment, "I just have to." To everything there is purpose. An artist being an artist is fulfillment of purpose.

But that's just my perspective....