I’m in the middle of a teaching adventure, first in New Zealand and now in Australia and one of the ways I start my workshops is to have students do a blind contour drawing. There are many reasons why I do this and it suddenly occurred to me to share this idea with you.

First off, let’s define what I mean by a blind contour drawing. It’s a way of drawing the contour of an object, very slowly, and without looking at the drawing as it is made (hence you draw “blind”). There’s no shading involved. Rather it’s about drawing the edge of the object. I also like to include everything you seen within, responding only with line.

Have your paper on the table, pen in hand (and I think using a pen is better as it creates a bolder result than a pencil), and then turn away from the paper, only seeing the object you’re about to draw (not the paper). 

Another method that was introduced to me by one of my New Zealand workshop students is to place the paper under the table where you can’t see it. This was a better option for her because she wasn’t able to twist her body. Another idea is to add a visual barrier between you and the paper like Sue did.

Back in the workshops, I set the timer for 15 minutes. There’s always a lot of moaning and groaning at the thought of drawing something for that long without being able to see it, but I encourage them onward!

I warn them that they will feel an intense pull to look at the drawing, especially if they lifted the pen off the paper, as they’d want to return the tip of the pen back to the correct place. I beg them to resist the urge to look!

The point of doing a blind contour drawing, for me anyway, is to warm up your hand and mind, to create a connection between them. As you look at the object, you simultaneously respond with your hand, making a mark. You create lines on paper without judgment – you cannot judge what you cannot see! And when you finally do see it, your inner critic cannot judge it, because it knows you couldn’t see it as you drew it.

Another reason to do a blind contour drawing is to take time, to slow down (especially important in these days of everything high speed), to go beyond looking to really seeing. It’s an opportunity to go into a kind of meditative zone of deep looking.

If you struggle to get into the studio, I encourage you to go in, sit down, and draw something without being able to see it – make a blind contour drawing. There’s a satisfaction of putting pen to paper and there’s a satisfaction in seeing the result. It may not look exactly like the object you’ve drawn, how could it? But it will have the essence of it, and it will be a recording of your close observation. And, doing this blind contour may have stirred your creative juices enough to motivate you to pick up a pastel or do a thumbnail or find a solution to that painting that’s giving you trouble.

You can make a blind contour drawing anything. Draw your hand, your foot, your face, your tools, the view out your window, the lamp, your phone, the weird chaos in the corner of your studio. You don’t need to get overwhelmed or anxious because you won’t be able to see what you’re drawing!

So the next time you find yourself avoiding the studio, pick up a pen and do a blind contour drawing! Look. See. Do. And you’ll feel good for having done it.

And my students? When we gather together to look at what they’ve done, I’m always always in awe of the results.

The more a person didn’t look at the drawing, the more the result doesn’t look accurate. And, the more interesting the drawing is! The drawings are replete with amazing lines and circles and spaces made by a hand responding to what was seen by the eye. They are pages of mark-making as a response to looking deeply, to slowing down and looking and seeing. To draw without pressure to get it “right” is freeing, ending with an outcome that is wonderful and that cannot be judged by its representation.

Once you’ve finished reading this post, put on your timer for five minutes (and I encourage you to put it on for at least 10!), pick up a pen, any old pen, find some paper, any old paper, and do a blind contour drawing, then let me know in the comments how that went for you.

Until next time, 

~ Gail