Studio Session w/ Featured Artist JD!
August 19th 6 PM PST | 9 PM EST on Instagram Live
Topic: Perfectionism
Writer: Natasha Navarra
Group Think: Think of one word you feel when you’re immersed in nature?
• Rawan: “Refreshed”
• Nadin : “Resilient”
• JD: “Serene”, “Serenity” (Reset from life into nature.)
Drawing Tool: Standard Ballpoint Pen
Paper: 6” by 9” Textured Paper
Stroke Techniques:
1. Darkest values and shadow colors
2. Simple Strokes: How you would write your name
3. Lightest values
Focus: Landscape
To read about an artist is to gain a deeper appreciation of their work, it allows us to absorb and understand the mystery behind their creativity. During our IG Live Studio Session, we get a glimpse into the mind of NYC Artist and Muralist, JD who started using art as an outlet to unleash the intensity of his imagination, a cathartic release to transform the intrusive ruminations of thought into a tangible aesthetic medium thereby making the invisible visible, a therapeutic approach in creating a welcoming reflection of his inner mind. 
JD’s greatest influences are artists who remain humble, skilled, and willing to share. He notes Dina Brodsky as an influential figure as well as like-minded artists in his social circle and feels gratitude for having a supportive network of creatives who are open to exploring creativity together. Some of his favorite art styles are Abstract Realism, Landscape, Pop Art and Hyper Realism. JD’s work has been viewed all over the United States and was also featured in The Art Basel in 2019, an American showcase of leading galleries from five continents showing significant works by masters of Modern and Contemporary art, as well as the new generation of emerging artists. His advice to those interested in art is, it’s never too late or too early to start, holding to the belief that each of us has something they can hone in on whether it’s cooking, music, drawing, or writing, it calms your mind and nourishes your spirit and lastly, do it as much as you can.
At the start of our Live IG Session, we begin with the topic of “Perfectionism” – a common issue in creative communities and often grows from the fear that lives at the center of many artists. The pursuit of excellence, to churn out a piece greater than the last, or to live up to the harshest critic which can often be the artist themselves, or the internal and external pressures to succeed. The session begins by learning the various aspects of sketching to maintaining a sketchbook which can be fairly challenging at times for an artist, as well as many others who are perfectionists by nature. Because of the pressures that accompany the expectation that the final result for a particular piece should not fall short once you’ve reached a certain level of success or advancement as an artist, there is a tendency to hold back.
When sketching, there is less wiggle room and more rigidness for an artist who is expected to continually produce great works of art, and so the expectation is the end result should be held up to a particular standard or it’s simply not good enough. JD shows us that is simply not true. JD introduces us to Dina Brodsky, a Contemporary realist miniaturist, painter, and curator with whom he had taken a sketch class and who had shared her sketchbooks which included a selection of still life tree imagery. He further goes into the progression of her sketchbook and the importance of it cultivating her development as an artist. A sketchbook can serve as an art diary staging area used to flesh out ideas and play with new concepts.
The takeaway from her course was in that she completed one-minute sketches, two-minute sketches, five-minute sketches, and fifteen-minute sketches. The beauty in this practice was the sketches didn’t allow for many technicalities, you free ball it and let the paper take you where you’re going to go without the expectation for “perfection. As the group exercise began, JD chooses trees as his subject starting at the one minute mark. You were allowed to go where your mind took you without much attention to detail. As he began to share his own sketching, he started with numbers two and three from simple strokes to the gentle drawing from the tip of his pen. His first rending begins by going very softly with subtle strokes. Artist Rawan and creative collaborator Nadin also participated in creating sketches and afterward sharing with the group. The one-minute sessions served as a warm-up to get the creative juices flowing more loosely without the judgment of your work which would typically hold one back from sketching, allowing one to become more comfortable with the page and habit of sketching itself.
As he moved into the two-minute sketch, JD explains to think of a tree as a refined letter “Y” which now you can build off of as a skeleton thickening at the bottom and thinner at the junction point of the Y, which he explained in a way that was easy to follow along with. The beauty of tree branches is that they are never perfect, which makes for a great subject for his exercise and topic of discussion.
Throughout art history, trees have been used as a symbol of growth which plays an important role for artists.
The one-minute drawing allowed for an outline of the basic skeleton while the two-minute follow-up allowed for more shadow and utilizes two of the three-stroke methods described above.
JD discusses the main theme of his first class, “Perfectionism”, which appeared to be a common trait with every artist in the class accompanying the fear and hesitancy towards working in a sketchbook. This idea stems from many trains of thought from not believing their art is up to par with their own standards, to feeling as though it’s simply not as good in comparison to what is streamed through often what is a filtered lens online, to feeling dissatisfied and discouraged. As the session continues, JD imparts knowledge gained from his experience to instill confidence in his audience to not only easily follow along but to understand art is available for everyone to try, not solely to experience.
And as we listen to an accomplished artist such as JD explain being intimidated by the idea of having a sketchbook, to now understanding sketching has allowed him to broaden his comfort zone, we as participants in the sessions who may not be as skilled in art listen in, we too, begin to learn how to overcome our own vulnerabilities.
We understand there is beauty in the imperfect, as in the concept of “Wabi-sabi” that encourages us to accept the rawness in the natural, instead of striving for perfection which may hinder our development. We should allow for the progression of growth, as in the practice of sketching and as in art.
The one-minute drawing allowed for an outline of the basic skeleton while the two-minute follow-up allowed for more shadow and utilizes two of the three-stroke methods described above.
Sketch in real time with us! Watch our IG Live Studio Session available on YouTube
Resources:
JD: https://www.instagram.com/jdpaintz
Dina Brodsky: https://www.dinabrodsky.com
The Art Spread: www.TheArtSpread.org
I had a great time learning to draw so freely! Excellent teaching skills, JD.