The Art of Mindful Drawing: Create calm and inspiring images

By Barrington Barber

In this groundbreaking book, Barrington Barber teaches two connected skills: drawing techniques and relaxation. He demonstrates, through a series of specially crafted exercises, how drawing is a calm, focused activity that can improve concentration and reduce stress, while teaching people to observe and enjoy their surroundings.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Arcturus Publishing
• Release date: Jul 29, 2016
• ISBN: 9781784285197

Barrington Barber

Born 1934, Barrington was educated at Hampton Grammar School and later Twickenham Art Schoo for which he received a National Diploma of Design. He then practised as an illustrator (Saxon Artist) and Graphic Designer, was Art Director at Ogilvie & Mather and S.H. Bensons, and was a lecturer in Graphic Design at Ealing Art School. Other credits include freelance work, designer, illustrator, animator and painter at Augustine Studios. He was awarded a one man exhibition in 2000 at St. Oswald Studios, and also exhibited in Putney in 2003 and Cork Street in 2004. He was Head of Art at St James's Independent Schools. He now paints, draws, writes about art, and enjoys sports, walking, philosophy and meditation.

Book preview

This edition published in 2016 by Arcturus Publishing Limited

26/27 Bickels Yard, 151–153 Bermondsey Street,

London SE1 3HA

Copyright © Arcturus Holdings Limited

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act 1956 (as amended). Any person or persons who do any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

ISBN: 978-1-78428-519-7

CONTENTS

Introduction

Making Mindful Marks

Inspiration from Nature

Mandalas: a Cosmic View

The Creative Mind

INTRODUCTION

From this book you will discover the basics of mindful drawing, which will give you the means to concentrate your attention on a simple and stress-free activity – evaluating and describing form and design. With other thoughts put aside, the mind is stilled and calm, allowing you to relax in a form of meditation.

We shall start with some straightforward exercises which train your attention towards observing without worrying about identifiable results. This quiet concentration is a way of calming the overactive mind, which continually tries to alert our consciousness towards every possible thing that will grasp our interest. By using a disciplined method of resting our attention on quite easy but definite exercises, it is possible to shut away this agitated distraction and find a more detached way of observing the activity that we are engaged in. This can bring a calmer, more objective view of what we are doing without making it less interesting – in fact it leads to greater skills in drawing. The passion that an artist feels for engaging his or her skills is balanced out by a certain impartiality, so that he or she can evaluate the effectiveness of the work.

The decorative forms of mandalas and other such motifs are useful because they require both a deep interest in how the design will come out and a very detached ability to just form the shapes without mental comment or criticism. The more you practise drawing while calm of mind, the easier it will become to be inventive and original. Turning off the critical voice in your head will not stop you from being able to improve each shape and mark in such a way that the final effect is more artistic; most good art is the result of careful, intense work.

So, give your artistic, emotional brain some rest and enjoyment by trying out these methods of drawing decorative images, based here on the shapes of nature and geometry. There is nothing in this book that is daunting; you need no more than a few drawing tools, some paper, and a little time.

Barrington Barber

MAKING MINDFUL MARKS

In this chapter you will find a variety of fairly simple exercises in drawing which concentrate on the elementary making of lines and shapes. The aim here is to focus intently on the point of the pencil as it traces out the marks on the surface. These first exercises are about giving your full attention to the making of marks on the paper. That is really what