What to do with drawings of imperfection? I make mistakes drawing all the time, some of these I keep, others I toss. The ones I have problems with are those drawn from models who do not fit the norm of what we think of as perfection. I am not talking about models a bit overweight or those with a nose a bit pronounced.
I posted a drawing of a young man who had, what I call, a sloping eye and scar on the other. His mouth seemed to be frozen on one side. He was posing at a sketch group, so I did not interact with him like I normally do with the ones who pose one-on-one in my studio. Not sure if I would have asked about his eyes or frozen lip had he been in my studio or not. I was lucky enough to capture the great pose he took and do a portrait. I screwed up capturing his lips but I nailed the eyes. I had a few comments about that drawing when I posted it on Facebook…
Then the question came, if I post another such drawing should I explain it? Several times I have drawn a gentleman who has a leg four inches shorter than the other due to curvature of the spine, he also has an eye missing and a finger missing. At a drawing marathon at the famed Palette and Chisel I made several drawings of a married couple. He was 6 ft. 6 in. tall, she was under 5 feet. Several people thought the drawing was of a man posing nude with a child.
Models are not alway perfect, it's what makes drawing the nude from life interesting and challenging. God or nature has their own ideas of perfection. To me drawing such so-called imperfection brings out the beauty in all of us. A good drawing is just that - a good drawing. Fechin created great works of art through his drawings, without using the stereotype beauties selling us cars and cereals loaded with sugar.
Some will be mistakes, others will be perfect drawings of imperfection. You will have to guess which is which.
