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| A recent painting where I made use of a Grid System |
Today I’m going to address a topic
that will only be relevant to visual artists. This isn’t to say
that a non-artist can’t read this blog entry and find it
informative; it is instead to say that the topic at hand is field
specific. And, while I haven’t done much writing on the topic of
art lately it is ‘technically’ my area of expertise, as my
academic training is in Philosophical Aesthetics, and I am a
practitioner of the visual arts, as well.
From my experience I have noticed that
there is, at times, controversy surrounding the use and
implementation of certain artistic techniques, particularly the use
of tools such as grid systems or even projectors to achieve more
concise layouts and designs.
Eventually someone always asks, “Isn’t
taking advantage of such techniques simply a crutch, or a form of
“cheating?”
Well, there is no short answer to this
question, but most artist I’ve encounter don’t view such methods
as ‘cheating,’ per se. Although, in certain situations it may
definitely cause one to question the integrity of an artist. So,
let’s look at these methods a little closer and judge for ourselves
when the use of such methods may be deemed admissible.
Simply put, art is about creativity and
expression. Therefore, there are no set rules on how one chooses to
use their creativity or how they express themselves. Yet, I’ve
never known a visual artist who doesn’t take pride in their (or
others’) ability to draw or paint freehand or with the use of
limited tools.
In regards to the use of grids or
projectors, a simple question one might ask is: “could you produce
the art piece without these methods.” If one answers yes, then
they are likely only using either of these techniques as a tool to
enhance of expedite the production of their art. If their answer is
no, then it is likely that these methods are in fact a crutch and the
artist is more dependent on tools and tricks of the trade than on
talent. Yet, this isn’t to say that there isn’t a time or place
for the use of either of these methods.
In short, an artist should not depend
on these methods in order to achieve success; instead, they should
use these methods to enhance success. In the same way a talented
athlete will take advantage of the most sophisticated and up-to-date
training, equipment, and sports medicine to achieve the greatest
outcome, professional artists should not hesitate to use the most
sophisticated techniques for drawing or painting.
I have found that in most cases, even
the most talented of artists will make use of both grid systems
and/or projectors in certain situations. For simplicity’s sake
I’ve narrowed it down to three main areas of usage. The areas are:
time, size, and style.
Time: Many artists will make use of
certain tools like projectors, and in some cases grids (depending on
how involved and time consuming the grid system itself is), to speed
along a process. Simply put it is a matter of pragmatics. The more
art an artist can produce, the more art they can sell, and
subsequently the more money they can make. Many artists are crunched
for time and have to produce a wide body of work in a certain amount
of time for a show. It is much easier to use a projector to speed
things along, rather than layout each piece by hand. Accordingly,
I’ve known many artists who are very talented and gifted using
loose free hand skills, yet they will still take advantage of a
projector for simplicity’s sake.
Size: The relative size of a piece is
a key factor to consider whenever planning your layout. Inevitably,
as a piece gets larger it becomes more difficult to maintain
proportions, especially if the piece itself extends beyond one’s
normal field of vision. Therefore, many artists won’t bother with
a projector or grid for smaller pieces. But, if he or she begins
working on a piece several feet in length and width (or larger), many
will grid their canvass or even use a projector. From a historical
perspective, the grid system is a classical tool that artists have
been taking advantage of since antiquity. Long before photographs
artists would use live models. If they were painting a “smaller”
piece they would paint by sight on location. But, if the painting
was to end up as a large mural on a wall or even on the ceiling of a
chapel they would often sketch the piece from sight, grid the sketch,
and then transpose the grid to a larger off site location. In this
respect, the grid system has a more historical and relevant place
within classical art history than does the use of photographs. Yet, I
don’t know anyone who’d argue that drawing or painting from a
photograph rather than using a live model is “cheating.” A
projector is, however, a different story. Yet, I imagine that if
digital projection was an option in the classical age some would take
advantage of it too.
Style: The style of the desired art
piece is perhaps the greatest determining factor as to which tools an
artist uses. This is most certainly true when using grids or
projectors as well. Simply put, many artists want their work to be
interpretive, in which case they will intentionally avoid gridding
their canvasses or using a projector so as to allow for more freedom
of expression. Yet, at times artists will want to achieve ‘photo
realism.’ In such cases proportions and exactitude will be of the
utmost importance. In these instances the closer a drawing or
painting is to the original, the better. Therefore a grid will help
and a digital projector is optimal. Most photo realistic painters
are now using digital projectors routinely. Therefore, their
artistic skill is displayed less in the initial layouts and rather in
the actual painting process, where they are blending and shading
objects, etc.
Personally, more often than not, I
choose to free hand most of my works. This is because I like them to
have a looser interpretive quality. If however I am working on a
large scale piece where I want to achieve ‘photo realism’ then I
will use a grid system. I in no way feel that this is “cheating.”
If anything I view this as taking a page right out of antiquity,
since they too often made use of grids. As far as the use of
projectors goes, I personally don’t own one. If I did I might at
times use it. I have tried using a projector on a few occasions in
the past, and from those minimal experiences I came to two
conclusions. Firstly, I realized how much enjoyment I get from the
preliminary layout work. Even with a grid there is still a lot of
measurements and mathematical formulas one has to figure out before
creating a grid, and I personally enjoy the process and challenge.
Secondly, I was surprised at the amount of skill still required even
when using projection. This is especially true when painting (verses
drawing) because once one begins to apply paint to canvass they will
inevitably cover over their initial layout, in which case they will
still be dependent on their eye and hand for detail work. The
projected layout simply gets one started on the right track.
Like all matters of art, there is no
one definitive method or answer. Each person will have to make their
own choices. All forms of artistic expression begin by an individual
artist and their personal journey. Where the journey begins and end
is entirely up to them.
