Tuesday, June 13, 2006
WHY I LIKE KATIE RICE'S GIRL DRAWINGS
I don't know if I'm up to the task of explaining why I like Katie's drawings so much. After all she draws beautiful girls wearing girlie fashions and I'm a guy. Guy's aren't interested in fashion! But I am interested in ideas. I love it when someone with talent seduces me into liking something that I wouldn't ordinarily like. It may be something I don't want to like, like fashion, but these seducers invest their their world and their vision with so much magic that I'm drawn in against my will. Katie's one of those people.
Maybe it's because her girls are so doggone happy. Katie makes it seem like being a girl is fun and I guess we're all magnetically drawn to people who are having fun. Even more important, she knows how to draw fun. It's hard. I've tried. It's not enough to draw smiles on people. The quality of the line itself has to be fun. The lines have to playfull. The shapes have to be playfull. The reader has to believe the artist had fun drawing it.
On the other hand, the lines have to have confidence. Most people are intuitively repelled by lines that appear aimless and pointless. You have to know what you want and in a playfull way not know what you want at the same time. It's a tough balance to maintain. You can see why artists like Katie are so rare.
One of the things that makes fun so hard to draw is that the mediums we all work in are so resistant to that subject. All media express some things better than other things. Television seems to favor intimate, Jay Leno-type shows and film seems to favor car chases and broad action. In the same way pen drawings seem to favor the grotesque and pencil favors super-realistic drawings. Whenever you try to draw fun, like Katie does, you'll find the medium you're using attempting to pull you away to its own bias. Katie imposed her will on the medium and tamed it.
OK, I've been saying nice things about Katie and I feel it's my responsibility as an impartial observer to try to find a dark side. If there is a dark side in Katie's future it may come about because she's a thoughtfull person and may one day wake up thinking that she's lived her life wrong and that it's an artist's duty to portray famine and pestilence. It's the serious disease and it's ruined many an artist. She says this is impossible. I hope she's right.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
21 comments:
It's a good thing Katie's on vacation, or I'm sure she would be embrassed. But for the record, I agree.
<3 <3 <3 <3 <3< 3<3< 3< 3<3<3<3<3<3 <3 <3<3 <3<3< 3<3<3
that's all i can say is love
(and admiration)
Can't disagree with this post, that's fer sure!
So true Uncle Eddie! Each one of her lines always seems so free and fun, in spite of the medium! No matter how hard I work at this, I'll never master that quality.
I don't know, pestilence can be cool sometimes...
Kaite's drawings make me happy.
I don't usually go for cute-girly things, but I can't help to admire Katie's awesome girls, dammit!
Her style is amazing.
I have to agree with Gabriel, though--pestilence-type themes *can* be pretty awesome sometimes. It's when it looks too "preachy" that I don't like it.
Nice analysis, Eddie!
Yep, Katie's the man alright. (Or something like that). I'm interested in seeing what some of her projects are. I'd love to see some of those girls animated.
Incidently Eddie, I tried to post an illustrated version of my music theory today but Blogger wasn't cooperating. I'll try again tomorrow I guess. >:(
I feel so warm and fuzzy!
Her drawings are so interesting compared to normal happy looking girls- eclectic- yes, that's the word!
David: Wow! That's dedication! I liked the point you made in your photo rant. Aren't rants great!? Sometimes nothing does the trick like a good venting at full volume!My busted eye prevents me from drawing for a few days so you can afford to take your time posting the new stuff.
Eddie
Eddie, my bubbala, that was a wonderful tribute post on Katie and her work. I absolutely adore her drawings. Some of them are just so cute and adorable.
Aw shucks Eddie, thanks for saying all that nice stuff about me! I'm very flattered! I liked your observations about different mediums, too. And you don't have to worry...I won't be drawing any crying babies or anything like that anytime soon.
wooohoooooo for Katie her drawing ROCK !!! and shes kinda Hot too hehe
Katie: Glad you liked the post and I'm glad you didn't mind me ferreting out a dark side. Nowadays if someone doesn't accuse you of having a dark side it's a veiled insult. It means you're not important enought to attract criticism.
Jennifer: Bubbala!??? I've never been called that before! It sounds like an arab with bad manners.
I don't understand.
"dark side"=criticism?
Is "dark" supposed to mean "negative"? Anyway, you actually didn't find a dark side, you just positied that she's so naturally sunny you hoped she wouldn't overcompensate & become bitter...right? ; )
No one should mind loving cute and sassy drawings...especially an artist!
Eddie
I really liked your analysis about how “All media express some things better than other things”. I know that Katie has expressed concern when it comes to inking and cleaning up her drawings. I think that part of the problem that she’s running into is that the implicit quality of her line work is such a huge part of it’s life and energy, that the minute she tries to explicitly define each line with the type of clean inking that is needed for computer coloring, it’s inevitable that the drawing will loose a little something.
I would love to see Katie’s drawings inked with the type of rough brushwork that you find in old magazines. Nice clean brush strokes to define the shape from one side of the brush, and then a rough edge on the other to help keep some of that raw energy alive.
Thanks for another great post!
James.
I've certainly become a big fan of Katie over the time she's been blogging and sharing her sketches and insight. I think what makes her work so refreshing and appealing is her ability to portray girls as a visual caricature of what girls are really all about. Whereas most of us guys who enjoy drawing girls tend to emphasize their sexier qualities (and I'm no exception), Katie is able to put forward a more honest depiction of a young girl - one of sheer goofiness in addition to the cute, attractive side.
My very favourite post on her blog thus far was the one in which she shared cartoon likenesses of her handful of highschool friends. These drawings were not merely cute and appealing, but transcended that and made the viewer feel as though they had just stepped into Katie's world and feel as though we actually knew these young ladies too. Katie's visual shorthand of recollecting her personal memories of her friendship with these girls made them seem very real and endearing in all their inherent goofiness.
I know that Katie must find it hard to post on as regular a basis as she has been doing and she certainly should take a break from it rather than keep posting out of habit or a sense of obligation to her fans. I will continue to enjoy all that she has shared with us up 'til now and I find her work has a positive influence on my own need to keep exploring the human condition in cartooned observances.
Here's to ya' Katie!
I don't think it's possible not to love Katie's drawings. They are just too dang good.
Post a Comment