Hello,
I have been curious to find out if most artists prefer to be alone most of the time when drawing or do not mind family members hovering around. Are there some days you can block family out and focus and other days not?
As for me, there are some days when I just wait to be alone but they are few and far between. Then there are days when I can totally not even notice who is around me because I am so able to block surrounding atmospheric conditions. I have actually felt guilty when the family would leave me alone trying to be helpful as I draw with sever intent for the reason that I want to enter college this fall and I need a portfolio of 15 pieces in varying media.

I look forward to your poll responses. Thanks everyone.

If I have some serious drawing to do I have to be alone.

However, I sketch in public as well as do demonstrations at art shows and in art classes where there are lots of people around.

I prefer to be alone, though having people breathing me in the neck whilst I'm drawing doesn't really bother me.

I have had ADD all my life; I've learned to use it to my advantage. If I want to, I can become so absorbed in what I'm doing that I completely tune out everyone around me, to the point where I don't even hear it if they're talking to me.

That's great you are preparing your portfolio! I teach High School Art and it is always so difficult getting students to seriously prepare ahead of time. You will have to post your work - we would love to see it!

I can tune anyone out, anytime, so it really doesn't matter one way or the other. Once I get started on something, anything artistic, I am completely out of the time millennium! I totally lose track so I know better than to start something lengthy if my time is really limited.

Best of luck!

sometimes i want to be alone but i have a house full of people so i can tune out everything when im into my drawing.
Lori

I prefer to be alone, but I don't really have a choice in the matter, especially with a younger brother who keeps calling me to look at what he's doing

I can tune anything out unless it's someone asking me a question. Which is very irritating when i'm trying to draw.

BRB

At this point, I'm so new at drawing that I have to concentrate very strongly, and prefer to be alone (my car has turned into a nice hideaway, complete with cupholder!) I am easily distracted by questions from others, especially "whatcha doin? Drawing?"

I have three boys with friends...lot's of them. I've always liked to be surrounded with life. So I have no trouble working with noise and people around me. Anyway, they get bored fast... So then, I get some time by myself. But the main problem is starting, so when I do, it I make sure I have at least an hour or two ahead of me.

I'd rather be alone. I'm still shy when others watch me drawing, even if its my family. I prefer to show the work when its finished or if I want their opinion on it while it's still in progress.

For me I definately like to be alone but I voted for Sometimes-Depends on the day. We have such a small house, there is no room for me to find an alone quiet time. So if it's just me and my youngest during the day I can stand to have her around cause I can easily entertain her with cartoons or her drawing herself, now when the whole family is around if I am in one of my tone everyone out moods I can keep going and ignore the world, if I'm not in one of those moods then I usually wait til everyone is in bed and its nice and peaceful.

I tend to start out my work alone ...due to the fact that I need to be able to think and study the picture ...unless its just a person or two ..but once i egt going pretty much anyone can watch ...when I tattoo now seems like everyone watches lol ....bending over your shoulder each side and in front lol ...it cab get annoying .

I prefer to be alone, but that's not always possible. Only yesterday, when I finally sst down to start my latest drawing, my daughter asked me to trim her hair.....right there and then!!!! Obviously what I'm doing doesn't rate as as important as her hair!!!!

I can work alone with people around me becouse I can become so absorbed in what I am doing that I completely tune out everyone around me, to the point where I do not even hear it if they are talking to me, I do not hearing anything around me.

Rafael

That is great, I hope to one day get to that point on an everyday basis. For me, it seems as if they are just so in need they must poke or stare until I do pay attention.





It seems girls hit 10 and whamo! it is a Huge Drama for everything, what used to be only for pain turned to a cry for everything. I realized that her world seems so big to her and so small to me. I understand that I can control the situation through being calmer than her (not easy) and that they do understand that 5 mins to a woman can mean an hour if she is engrossed in something:P. I can see why they don't take the future seriously because I can now recall how I thought at her age... Seems I got in touch with my "inner child" I was losing to the history of "becoming my mother" one which is not fully bad yet having much undesirable traits... but that is a different topic:P.




I suppose it still is amazing to see a tattoo being done???

***Guilty***







Ahhh yes the sweetness of the nite... I remember it well...

Sometimes I feel like when they do see it I lose interest besides focus. I can now see why many artists never feel a piece is finished and even if they sign it may go back to it. I sometimes rush the piece in order to get it done because they do keep interupting even when they try not to. Some days the tension in the air is thick and can be felt.

If my daughter was 10, although I'd be a bit put out I think I'd understand.....but my daughter is 25!!!

Yes kids do get bored fast... If they are playing I can tune that out knowing that I am not needed and all is safe and well.




hehehe awww hey and you have tunes too!!! I want to go on vacation alone but ehhh won't happen any time soon...




I understand. Do you give a darting look? If yes, Does it help???




hehehe I was the baby... not until I had my own children could I understand this dilemma...




This used to be easy for me, as I had gotten places on my own I seemed to lose my tolerance... glad you still have yours.





Thanks. Seems that college is a choice and people make more effort then. I remember being a teen and doing work closer to the date as opposed to being an adult in college and hitting the project right away.




It is good that you have control over your situation ...I am still wishing for those new Bose headphones...




Cool...




Do you feel as though you ready yourself for the 'teaching times' in an emotional way or is it just natural that when you go out to teach you just switch gears???

with 11 girls, it's daddy this and daddy that and there is a shortage of space as it is, there is very little time or space to accomplish anything, so I actually get up in the middle of the night.


Marc

Amazing, a High School with Art still in the curriculum. Do you have Music too?

John

We have art and design in our high schools too. In fact I finished high school with nigth classes just last year and I had arts, didn't learn much though!!

I like work alone. I don't like noise, persons etc. When I begin work, there must be a pencil or oil etc.

Eleven??? Wow that is alot of girls. Have you received your certificate for Saint Hood yet??? I thought the days of large families were gone. It is refreshing to hear, I myself born into a smaller family, later than the other three found myself very alone at eight. Some say I had it made almost along the lines of being an only child status. I say, would rather have had a sister closer to my age or even a twin! oh well. I am glad you find time for yourself in the twilight.

WOW Marc, 11? And girls no less!! I really feel your pain at times. I do hope you have more than 2 bathrooms!! LOL. I myself have 4 and have been talking with hubby about adding another....BUT....whenever I decided I want to something comes up or the kids I already have remind me that I think I want to be done...so we will see...

Ah well yes , I am very weird on this subject. (When I finally find the urge to draw and can pull myself away from all my other time consuming hobby's and obligations)

Weither I like to draw in my own quiet little dark room with no space on my desk ( it being occupied with a computer screen, the computer itself and a scanner and my keyboard. (now seriously I can barely move my arms around)
or on the wel lighted spacey kitchen table with all the disturbing noises of people walking past me an looking over my shoulder saying things like "Ooooh whats that." " Eeehh. that looks pretty cool.", "gosh you should draw more." (my family says these things, and I always wonder weither I should believe them or not) in the end it's all about the mood I am in.

And then there are the days of doodling on notebooks during class, or drawing the teacher as a cartoon hehehe. at those moments its fun to have a friend laughing with you.

but I did find a way to avoid annoying questions. ( A psychological trick, on could call it)
My trusty MP4 player that gives me endless hours of undisturbed drawing time. You don't even have to have the thing turned on, cause people assume you don't hear them when you have headphones on. I'ts sneaky but it works . People don't like to talk to people who seem pre-occupied in every single way. I mean I 'wouldn't walk up to a person with headphones and say " hey nice weather were having" and the other person going "huh? you say somthin'? " at that point the conversation usually ends.

It depends for me. Most of the time I work at my desk; which sadly doesn't have much space for work, but every now and then I will draw while hanging out with my fiance.

For me it depends on who. . . it doesn't bother me to draw when my daughter and her fiance are here. But I can't draw when my roommate is around as she is too critical and also she's noisy (laughs REALLY loud when watching tv, etc.) and also she talks to me non-stop even if she knows I'm doing something.

So I guess my answer is. . . it depends

We don't just have art - in our HS students can take:
Art Fundamentals
Beginning Drawing
Advanced Drawing
Beginning Painting
Advanced Painting
Beginning Pottery
Advanced Pottery
Commercial Art I: Freehand
Commercial Art II: Computer Graphics
Natural Fibers
Sculpture
Printmaking
Independent Study
and Studio Art

Each class is a Semester class (although we have one full year Art Fundamentals, too) so students can basically take art every semester of their HS years and then some.

Yes, we also have Music - Vocal, several different classes; band, and orchestra.

I draw alone, not because i need peace or something like that. It's just bcause im not very good now, lol. I i prefer to show the things that i think are better.

I wish I had the option! I live on my own now, so there's no one to disturb me, except the dog! That's one of the reasons I'm enjoying drawspace as it means I can show other folk my work. Neighbours and friends don't really appreciate being asked 'what do you think of this' everytime I draw or paint something.

I am just beginning and I enjoy reading your comments from others. Thank you for being here.

You too, eh? Do you become irritated when you're abruptly snapped out of your fog? For me, that's the down-side of being in the "zone".

Tony

Wow! I surely would like to study on such school As for me I prefer to work alone but it`s often hard because my younger brother is always somewhere near..I can usually ignore any noise or questions but after a while of being asked about something I become very irritated..

Yes, indeed.

It really doesn't bother me in the slightest if there are people around me or not. most of the time i listen to my ipod while i draw anyway so noise has no effect on my drawings. im thirteen and i dont paint, use oil or watercolours or anything, i just grab my ipod, pencil, and paper and draw in the living room on the couch

I cannot work when any of my family members are around. I work best in my room, with music, and my door closed.

I can work at school in art class, which usually just means a still life or something, but for some reason it won't be as effective when I have to be creative. All of my brilliant spontaneous creative ideas come from my solitude. I can get the generic idea when I am in public, like when I am just observing, but I can't truly act on it until I am alone.

This is a really intesting poll - and i gotta say that wether I am alone or surrounded by people ( School art classes are a good example of that ) I pretty much zone out on nearly everthing going on. Not that I am dead to the world, I can hear what people are saying =] But sometimes I prefer to be alone...

I'm shy around people who know me, I tend to not show my drawings to them, let alone draw in front of them! But I draw on the bus all the time. Being noticed by strangers is one of the perks of it for me.

I bet your wife doesn't like that. Especially when she has something to say.

I bet you have to get up in the middle of the night sometimes just to breathe. Wow 11 girls. Do you get any bathroom time? All that primping, giggling, squealing, and drama. I know for sure that your household is not a dull one.

I prefer solitude but with two large dogs around and a bird that talks, it can be far from lonely. I tend to work in the wee hours mainly because I know the phone won't ring, hubby is in bed with the dogs. No interruptions. During the day the dogs are always wanting to go outside, be fed, or they are bringing a toy and tossing it in my lap. But I can work either way. And even alone, I have my tv going. It runs 24/7. That is my background noise I can't live without even if not watching. I can't stand the radio or music on. Funny huh?

I can draw out in public. It bothered me at first, but not much now. People tend to sneak a peak but don't really stop and bother me. I find that if I am drawing and there are people sitting around, they don't even realize what I am doing. I had a co worker sit next to me in a tax class and he had no clue. He really likes doing taxes. Yuk.

when i am absorbed..yes..it is irritating when interrupted..

you just think of something and draw it while you picture it in your head

hmmm interesting study. personally there are times when i need to go to my art to escape from family and the stresses of every day life. other times i use my art to entertain them and hear their suggestions and compliments, it's a confidence booster. i'd say like 80% of the time i want to be alone and in peace with my music, a movie, or some hot chocolate to keep me company haha.

i have to say it depends on the day! my GF is also an artist and sometimes we even work together on some pieces and that's nice too!! i found that when people are around i integrate them into what I'm doing, explain or show them a skill that I've learned, either they are game and its fun(sometimes it helps to speak out loud ideas) or they get bored and leave either way i win ! also as a training exercise to tuning out people, is working at a day care! did it for 10 years!! happy drawing

That is true!!! I should have done that more often... in fact I am writing this and someone in my house just walked up to me... I feel like I am being rude but geesh I AM doing something... Thanks for the idea.

Thanks for the info...

Okay, at least I am not the only one... chocolate... oh yeah!!!

I actually gave up... One because I got scammed on my HS diploma online and couldn't use that to get in college. Two, that really dragged me down because I know that I would have enjoyed it. From there it has been down hill and I haven't drawn anything.




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