So, I had this idea, right? Or rather, a title popped into my head: “Woman Going Down.” Sounded kinda evocative, maybe a bit mysterious. I thought, “Yeah, I can do something with that.” My plan was to, you know, get some practice in, maybe a sketch series or a few quick paintings. Simple enough, or so I figured.
I started by grabbing my sketchbook. First, I tried to picture it literally. A woman, walking down some stairs. Easy, right? Well, not so much. Every time I drew it, it just looked… flat. Like, “Woman on Stairs 101.” There was no oomph, no story. It just felt like I was stating the obvious. Frustrating, to say the least.
Then I thought, okay, maybe it’s not literal. Maybe it’s more about a mood. “Going down” as in, feeling a bit low, or thoughtful. So, I shifted gears. I tried focusing on posture, expression. I spent a good afternoon just sketching faces, trying to capture that sense of descent, but like, an emotional one. It was tough. How do you draw “going down” in spirit without it looking like just “sad woman”? I wrestled with that for a while, believe me.
Honestly, at one point, I almost gave up. I stared at a blank page for what felt like an hour. The thing is, words are tricky. “Woman going down” – it can mean so many things, and not all of them are what you intend to portray, especially if you’re trying to keep it, you know, on the level. I didn’t want it to be misconstrued. That was a big hurdle I kept bumping into.
So, what I ended up doing, for now at least, is stepping back from the “woman” part a bit. I started playing with abstract shapes, lines that curve downwards, colors that feel heavy. Sort of deconstructing the whole idea. Trying to get the feeling of “going down” first, before attaching it to a figure. It’s still a work in progress. I’ve got a few canvases with just these downward strokes and muted palettes.
- Initial idea: A straightforward depiction.
- Challenge: Lack of depth, potential for misinterpretation.
- Process: Shifted from literal to emotional, then to abstract.
- Current status: Exploring abstract representations of “descent.”
It’s funny, sometimes the simplest phrases are the hardest to really nail down in practice. This whole exercise became less about a finished piece and more about the process of figuring out what I even mean. Who knew “going down” could be so complicated, eh? Still chipping away at it. Maybe one day I’ll circle back to the figure, but for now, the lines and colors are where my practice is.
