Idle Minutes

For those who don’t know what the heck this post is about, and perhaps think I’ve had a stroke…

The first friday of each month, Niff and Sutter over at inkFINGER challenge us artist types to do a “blind contour drawing” of whatever subject they dictate.

Here’s how you do a blind contour drawing:

• Pick a thing. (Make it easy if you’re smart…though in my case it didn’t matter.)
• Look ONLY at the thing, never at the paper. (That’s the “blind” part.)
• Put the pen down and draw the thing without lifting the pen. (That’s the contour part)
• Stop and lift the pen when you think you’ve finished creating your masterpiece.
• Behold your mess. 
• Realize that “contour” is the politically correct word for crude. 
• Do something to make it remotely resemble what you were looking at.  (Usually this means adding some color or shading.)
• Then hide it for good.  (Unless of course you’re willing to participate in the Blind Contour First Friday exercise.)

This is the first blind contour drawing I’ve done in a long, long time.  One of probably three I’ve ever done.  From the looks of it, I should quit while I’m ahead perhaps. 

I added the color blobs to give some remote idea of what the dang thing actually is.  It’s a little watercolor palette I made.

Over at inkFINGER there is a whole list of artists that participate in the exercise each month.  You can join the list too and be a part of the fun.