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Friday 15 May 2015

Drawing or Painting : repost from Lellie Loop


[Just a quick note. I, Diella, am reposting this from my other Blog Lellie Loop because I thought that this was something that you might find interesting too.]

I posit a question today. Is my art classified as drawing or painting?
I ask this question, to myself mainly, because I submit my art to a few websites and most of them ask for me to classify which it is that I am doing.

Instinctual I think, pencil crayons are not paint so it can't be a painting. Simple. But then I begin to feel troubled again as I look up the words in the dictionary.
The OED says that the definition of draw is
" [to] Produce (a picture or diagram) by making lines and marks on paper with a pencil, pen, etc.he drew a map".   
Now this doesn't suit me much. Yes initially I draw, that is I draw with an HB pencil and then I ink it with some fineliners.... but my use of pencil crayon is not to make lines on paper. In fact I work hard not to produce lines. I work in small little circles to cover an area with colour without having lines!

 So lets see what the OED says about painting.
"1Cover the surface of (something) with paint:[WITH OBJECT AND COMPLEMENT]: the ceiling was painted dark grey"
"Apply (a liquid) to a surface with a brush." 

Alright so the verb is a little tricky here. The first iteration is ambigous because I am covering the surface of the page... but not with what I would call paint. Another iteration of the verb is even worse as it requires paint to be understood as a liquid and that is certainly not my pencil crayons. So I shall look at the noun.
"1[MASS NOUN] A coloured substance which is spread over a surface and dries to leave a thin decorative or protective coating:" 

Again slightly troubling... My pencil crayons do not dry but they are spread over the surface of the pace and they do leave a thin decorative coating.

To be honest at this point I feel that whether one chooses to call my kind of art drawing or painting is totally up to personal preference as neither definition fits perfectly. However I have chosen to define mine as painting as I feel this is the better fit for me.

I hope that you found my little exposition into these terms insightful or at least thought provoking. I mean that purely in the sense that the statements are meant to provoke or stimulate thought. I do not mean that they are supposed to be shocking. Heehee.
Anyway that's enough from me for today.

Diella :)

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