Psalm 51 and Blind Contour Drawings
I know it sounds like an odd combination, but I hope it will make sense.
If you don't remember psalms by the numbers (who does?) this one was written by David about his, ahem, indiscretions with Bathsheba. Let's face it, he committed adultery and then arranged the murder of her husband thinking he could cover up the conception of a child. Yeah, the child was born early. No, really...it happens. Uh huh. His sin was uncovered.
So how does David's song of repentance and restoration relate to blind contour drawing? In doing this kind of drawing you gaze steadfastly at the object and draw it without looking at the paper. I was over on one of the other sites where friends have joined in the fun (see my post on Blind Contour Drawings below) and there was a mention that the trick is to match the speed of your hand with the speed of your eye. Part of the reason these drawings are hard is because your hand and eye don't move at the same rate. Your eye is so much faster and when you aren't looking at the paper (the definition of BLIND contour drawing) you have to match the two. It's hard!
I think David let his eye get out ahead of him, gazing at the object of his lust, and instead of using the lag time while his 'hand' caught up as a chance to think it through and resist the temptation, he just slowed down his eye and lingered there. He went through with it.
Well, we're all sinners, and I can't cast a stone at David for what he did. But I'm so grateful that he wrote Psalm 51.
Temptations come, but I have a choice. I can practice blind contour drawings, learning to see and do simultaneously, allowing my eye and hand to work together. Slowing down helps a lot. It gives me time to draw the picture the way it really is and think things through more clearly!
Deborah
If you don't remember psalms by the numbers (who does?) this one was written by David about his, ahem, indiscretions with Bathsheba. Let's face it, he committed adultery and then arranged the murder of her husband thinking he could cover up the conception of a child. Yeah, the child was born early. No, really...it happens. Uh huh. His sin was uncovered.
So how does David's song of repentance and restoration relate to blind contour drawing? In doing this kind of drawing you gaze steadfastly at the object and draw it without looking at the paper. I was over on one of the other sites where friends have joined in the fun (see my post on Blind Contour Drawings below) and there was a mention that the trick is to match the speed of your hand with the speed of your eye. Part of the reason these drawings are hard is because your hand and eye don't move at the same rate. Your eye is so much faster and when you aren't looking at the paper (the definition of BLIND contour drawing) you have to match the two. It's hard!
I think David let his eye get out ahead of him, gazing at the object of his lust, and instead of using the lag time while his 'hand' caught up as a chance to think it through and resist the temptation, he just slowed down his eye and lingered there. He went through with it.
Well, we're all sinners, and I can't cast a stone at David for what he did. But I'm so grateful that he wrote Psalm 51.
"Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me."
Temptations come, but I have a choice. I can practice blind contour drawings, learning to see and do simultaneously, allowing my eye and hand to work together. Slowing down helps a lot. It gives me time to draw the picture the way it really is and think things through more clearly!
Deborah
Neat post. Psalm 51 is a favorite.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Deb. :)
ReplyDelete