…or, “What I Learned From 60 Sensory Awareness Meditation Drawing Experiments…”
Experiment #60: It can be helpful to gather the work you have done so far and see it as a whole… You can return to this sense of connection through the simplest actions. Whether through a sense of breathing or spontaneous movement, the touch of your hands on paper, the weight of a rock, or the sense of empty space, it takes only a moment of awareness to come back home.
Wow! I finished another amazing project, and it feels great! Some thoughts…
Firstly – materials. I continued to not be a fan of conté crayon. But I discovered soft vine charcoal, which I sort of love now. It’s messy but feels primal and soft and not too coarse feeling. I still prefer graphite over most charcoal though.
The oil pastels seem like they hold a lot of potential. Maybe if I splurged for the more expensive brands someday I could implement them into my practice.
I tried out Faber-Castell colored pencils instead of my usual Primscolors, and – Woah!!! Definitely grabbing a 120 pack of those as soon as I can! They’re softer, less waxy, and erase, what?! Awesome.
As for the Experiments themselves – You can see all together, here. My favorites —
#51 Seeing Cézanne
#50 Negative Space
#29 Abstract Notan Study
#29 Exploring a Natural Place (with touching)
#36 and #28 Drawing a Self-Portrait (with eyes closed)
#27 Drawing a Fragment
#19 Finding Your Subject
#18 Moving and Drawing
#17 Sensing Drawing with Eyes Closed
#15 A Healing Series
#11 Eyes Closed Drawing
#10 Elements
#7 Loving Touch, and
#3 Birth of Technique
I like the aesthetic of most of these more because they including MOVEMENT, SENSING (often with eyes closed), and TOUCH. Moving with the subject, during the piece, and in response to the piece, really opened me up to a looser touch, which I felt was more genuine.
In looking at the ones I hated, they usually just were drawn more in haste and less contemplatively. Or I didn’t take the time to find the right subject. So it goes.
Now what? Well… I’m ready to feel a paintbrush in my hand again! I’ll be working on a series of abstract paintings next, which I’m so excited for! I’ll be using the lessons learned in Sensory Awareness about Movement, Breathing, Sensing, and Touch. Stay tuned!
♥ ~ Meghan Oona
P.s. Read about my goals, hopes, and inspiration in undertaking this project, here…
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