Peter Cusack-
Rama Hughes-
Observation may be about drawing what is seen, but the creative differences come from choosing what to see and which to draw from what is seen. The two artists above, again, both drew human figures. Yet each focused on completely different aspects of their subjects. Peter Cusack, with his colorless black ballpoint pen, renders his figures only with lines and cross-hatching. The distinct light and shade give the figures a slightly serious edge and the viewers an insight into the figures’ minds. As Cusack describes, his artistic voice is based on “people and their inner life.” Through their expression, clothing, and posture in the drawings, we can glimpse into their being. Rama Hughes, on the other hand seems to show the figures explicitly as who they appear to be on the outside. To me, it they seemed to be very honest depiction of people. He uses watercolor and thick outline, unlike Cusack. The colors add to the reality even if it’s less detailed and accurate than Cusack’s portraits.
Both artists, as observers, use their sketchbooks to draw what intrigues them visually, and create a collection of their visual surrounding. In Cusack and Hughes’ cases, people are the focus; for other observing artists, it can be buildings, daily objects, or the nature. Though all sketchbooks have that edge, there is definitely more of the aspect of spontaneity especially in sketchbooks of observation. Rama Hughes said, “If I notice something I want to draw, I just leap up and grab my book.” Because it comes from observation, there is very little that’s premeditated; it’s on the spot, at the moment. Consequently, observation drawings tend to capture a moment or an object as it is.
This is also the category that has a scientific edge to it. Science does involve a lot of careful observing, and as science illustrator Jenny Keller explained, drawing will help one “see the whole thing.” There is nothing better than to draw the subject, in order to fully study and remember its form. A photograph of it may record it most realistically, but what can one really understand of the subject in a split second of photo shooting? Jenny Keller learns in a fun way how long the body of a Filetail Catshark is and what the color of its top is, simply by drawing and not by memorizing from a reading or a photo. Even with such scientific data, she keeps her drawings like a journal in her sketchbook.
Jenny Keller-
What a person observes and records in his sketchbook tells so much about the drawer. It’s an honest display of what the person is interested in and what fascinates that person.
