How to Draw Nothing

I'm working on a book called, "How to Draw Nothing," and here's why.

I think if people spent a lot more time drawing Nothing instead of trying to draw Something, the world would be a better place.

Here's the problem:

Most of the time, people confront a pencil and paper with the idea that they are going to draw Something. For example, maybe your kid says, "Daddy, could you draw me a cat?"

There are a couple of not-so-good reponses to this:

1. "Honey, I can't draw. You know that."

or,

2. "Okay, well, it won't look like a cat, but I'll see what I can do..." - this is generally followed by a very frustrating process of trying to get some rendering of a cat down on paper, which may or may not look like anything, and which gets even worse when someone walks by and comments, "I like your dog."

What's wrong with #1? First of all, it's a great way to show your kid how to quit. You say you can't do something, and then you move on. Also, it's a great way to show yourself how to quit, and to reinforce your own misgivings about your drawing skills.

What's wrong with #2? Well, it is zero fun. Zero. No wonder people avoid drawing.

So, what do to? We need to draw more Nothing.

Here is how to draw Nothing:

First, find a pencil and paper.

Next, make a mark.

A line, a blob, a speck. Whatever.

Then, look at your mark. Maybe it is angry, maybe it is happy. Maybe it zooms off the page. Perhaps it needs eyeballs, or legs, or a skateboard, or a tree.

(When I draw Nothing with a group of kids, generally there is a lot of armpit hair, or hairy noses, or drool, or fangs, or... you get the idea.)

Spend some time with your mark, and see what it turns into.

If you've got a friend, or a group of friends, you can have great fun drawing Nothing by making a mark or a blob and then passing it around.

Go back and forth, or around the group, as many times as you want. Surprise each other!

Give everyone a piece of paper and have everyone pass to their left after a minute.

This process often gets silly and ridiculous, and that is just great.

What is happening here, and why is it so wonderful?

Drawing Nothing is a very pure form of visual thinking. Art is a mystery - nobody knows exactly how it will turn out. Not even professionals. Okay, some artists plan better than others. But mistakes get made, pencils break, ink bleeds. Some artists incorporate these things right into the finished product. Others will change their idea midstream. Even on a computer, the unexpected happens.

The point is, art is a journey. And drawing Nothing helps you get started on that journey, too.

In addition, drawing gives us access to a vast landscape in our minds that often gets shut down too early in our lives. It is the place where we say, "I wonder what would happen if..." That is where so many great ideas are born. No matter whether you are a scientist, a writer, a manager, a chef, it doesn't matter - great ideas come when someone asks, "I wonder what would happen if...," or "I don't know, let's see what happens..." Galileo asked, "What if the Earth isn't the center of the universe?" We unlock that mode of thinking when we engage in the open-ended process of drawing Nothing.

For kids, this is profound. In our schools these days, we are really into Something. Test scores are Something. Correct answers are Something. Charts and graphs and school rankings and evaluations and state budgets are Something. And while mastery of language and numbers gives students the building blocks to succeed, we've got to ask, what do they want to do with those words and numbers?

Next time you see art in a book or museum, think about the very first mark that artist made to get started. Then think about all the marks and blobs and lines and everything that came after, until the very last bit of ink or pencil or paint went on. That is what the painting is, not just the object you see hanging there.

Then, give yourself - and your kids - a chance to draw Nothing. The benefits are endless.