the importance of memory drawings..would love to see some sketches from you.

[the_allejo05]

I found this article..

http://www.myamericanartist.com/americanartist/drawing/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000590442

I also know that nicolaides devotes entire exercises on his book..i have not gotten to that chapter yet..im in chapter 3 hehe..
I try my hand at it..trying to remember what i saw the day before..I have this one i did a long time ago..i saw this exotic car while driving...sketch it really quick..and try to recall it later on..i think this is the hardest to master..im not talking drawing from imagination...is different than drawing from memory..

http://www.artwanted.com/images/large/18782_185242.jpg

do you guys have any such drawings?..This is one from WES..obviously he is more advanced :)
http://www.wesleyburt.com/forum/february/pirate.jpg

[Dizon]

I SUCK at it. I should devote some time to practicing it.

[the_allejo05]

haha.....i wanna see you try hehe.

[Dizon]

I think knowledge of the subject is a great help when it comes to memory work. Like for example, the forms and anatomy of a human person, cuz you always want it to look convincing and correct in some way.

There are also some exercises that help improve visual memory. Like, the sight-size method. A method that helps the eye see the most simplest of forms and shapes. This is what I try to do when working from life, and I try my best to remember that simple shape to put it down on paper.

[the_allejo05]

yeap you are right..sight size requires remembering waht you see and really looking.. :$ im gonna see if i can get hold off one of Lecoq de Boisbaudran book. Is funny because that is the way I would study in highschool/college for exams. I would write out the words/paragraphs/graphs in the air or in my mind's eye ... :teeth: ..but now is a different story ..

[mentler]

FROM MEMORY:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v413/mentler/hang062005b.jpg

As many of you know a great deal of what I do is from memory like the drawing above <> and yes when it comes to the figure a knowledge of structure and anatomy is essential.

Figure Drawing from the mind is already a sticky here that deals with this subject.

[the_allejo05]

Mentler I have seen that thread..:)...but that deals mostly with figures and drawing them from imagination...using more of your creativeness..here Im talking about strictly memory.. ..seing something in real life and recalling it..completely how it looked..scenes..objects..figures...faces..in color/black white..I guess most of the masters had a highly developed visual memory..to be able to paint outdoor subjects inside a studio without the aid of the camera....obviously knowing the subjects will help in the aid of this ..
oh here's a painting i did last year: this is from the place i work out..so i kinda did some sketches of people and the boxing ring..then i relly on my imagination and my memory when painting...you can tell i suck..hehe
http://www.artwanted.com/images/large/18782_184743.jpg

[John]

Are you doing the Nicolaides book chapter by chapter? In which case, don't worry. It'll come with time. There's some stuff i did but i don't have it on my computer, it's buried under piles of stuff here :teeth: I'm at chapter 14 and a bit stuck, i do a couple of chapters in a relatively short timespan, then have to take a break from it ... it's taken me a year already to get where i am. You really start making great improvements on chapter 12, from then on it starts getting fun. Bad thing is that for chapter 14 you pretty much need a model to work with the schedule. I'm currently thinking of how i can get around that obstacle.

[the_allejo05]

yes i am..but im reading other books as well..im in the chapter of feeling weight....so i have a lonnnng way to go..

[John]

Yeah, i read some other books as well. The Hale books are outstanding, i recommended them a lot already but they are really that good. If you like Bridgman it pays to get the smaller separate books published by Dover. I really think i learned most from Nicolaides. It's good to see someone else at it seriously as well. I need to get working on that again ... since i'm completely self taught i need to set aside time for that & think of ways to do the exercises without a model. Don't get discouraged, the book is hard at times. The contour studies ... don't get me started on that stuff.
Don't hesitate to send me a pm if you have any questions regarding the book.

[Mike Frank]

This is an attempt I did a few months ago, after seeing this band that had a pretty memorable style.. I went back to the same bar and saw that I messed up so much stuff. I'd say its like 35% vague memories with most of the general ideas being in their place, and 65% invention. I didnt really intend on going for the whole scene when I started thats why the girl on the right is all out of perspective.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v313/some_guy/359-KeysAndSkirts.jpg

[mentler]

Your right of course <> I am drawing without a model here you are talking about looking at a model then having the model get down from the model stand and drawing the pose the model was in <> they both have to do with understanding a great deal about the model or whatever you are drawing as well as retention of the information in the scene.

[Dizon]

This is an attempt I did a few months ago, after seeing this band that had a pretty memorable style.. I went back to the same bar and saw that I messed up so much stuff. I'd say its like 35% vague memories with most of the general ideas being in their place, and 65% invention. I didnt really intend on going for the whole scene when I started thats why the girl on the right is all out of perspective.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v313/some_guy/359-KeysAndSkirts.jpg

But you were still able to make a nice picture of that event. Which is, I think, is the most important. Do you think Wesley's sketch is a 100% accurate ? What you put in in your drawing is the basic idea/s of what you saw, which is, the most memorable for you, the image that struck you the most. Wesley probably remembered that expression on the guy's face and his conspicous clothing. I think that's the importance of memory drawing, is to capture that fleeting moment, the moment that has a strong impact on ourselves.

IMO I think you are already good at memory work!

[the_allejo05]

yeap i agree with patdzon..to be able to recall the important things is the goal..remember that memory distills unnecessary stuff..and keeps the most important..which is the same principle in drawing/painting..go for the whole..
you did a very good job..keep posting :)

[Mike Frank]

Thanks guys. I was trying memory drawings a bit awhile ago.. I was looking for that book by Horace Lecoq de Boisbaudran.. a teacher from the 1840's who taught a whole class on drawing from memory. I had amazon.com looking for it for me but I probably just wasnt offering enough money for it.

the_allejo05 - I think really, at least from my experience, its not really about memorizing or being able to visually recall EVERY thing. For me it is about understanding the way the world appears and why it appears that way. I think that with time, if you draw without reference often, you have to ask yourself these type of questions.. how does light affect this subject, why does it look that way.. how can I emulate that in my drawings? .. and then you really start to remember those ideas and utilize them. So we constantly are looking for general knowledge about how the world works (perspective, form, light, etc.) and then specific knowledge about certain forms (human anatomy, cars, planes, whatever). The more you know of these things, the easier and faster it will be to make the right deductions of how to recreate it. And also the more it will help fill in the gaps of where memory is failing you. Anyways I am sort of replying to your reply to Mentler earlier. You should try stretching your creative side too I think. If you can invent figures without any reference or without utilizing memory a lot, then that will help you to recall how a person you did see looked.

[the_allejo05]

yes agree on what you say..as an artist what you see, know, imagine, feel, invent, recall is a good combo..since i got to this site i started drawing from imagination again..:)..that i did as a kid constantly..but i do lack in the viusal memory department i dont want to be a slave to photos/ nor nature when i dont have a reference in front of me or when i dont know of a specific subject.....I wanna be able to sometimes recall what i see pretty acurate..cause sometimes i dont have a sketchbook/paints at hand..
did you read this:
http://myamericanartist.com/americanartist/online_exclusive/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000604116

joan teaches lecoq methods..and well i email her for a book ..see if i can get it...

[NoSeRider]

http://www.conceptart.org/forums/member.php?userid=14261

All my concept drawings are from memory. I actually just sit down and draw, no reference.

I'm still trying to figure out if that's a big deal or not since other people do that too.

I guess it's really about how much detail you can draw from memory?