Drawing from pictures is fun and mostly because it makes life a little easier for the art student. A lot of decisions have already been taken. Drawing from life requires more concentration...more keeping up with what is going on and why.

This concept of images and movement being made easier for us to follow in today's world came to me when I was once watching a ballet in the theater. It was at the Berlin Opera House where the stage is just enormous. I had a hard time keeping up with all that was going on in the various sections of the stage. The thought hit home - television, where all the decisions are taken for us and where the points of focus have been preselected makes us mentally lazy. We see what the director wants us to see.

I think the analogy applies also to drawing from photos and drawing from life. When we draw from life we have to make the decisions, light the subject, examine it, measure it in our minds eye, see how all the parts relate to each other. Also, to keep with the entertainment analogy, drawing from life is trapeze without a safety net.

Above is a little life drawing of something that comes from my kitchen.