When I was in public schools, I was typically instructed that there is one correct answer to a problem. No variables. Just start here…and end here. This is right__This is wrong. But for me, art has variables that need to be considered. There really isn’t a right way to do things and a wrong way to do things in my book. And as a teacher now myself, all I care about is the end result and did the student learn something along the way. Not sure if I’m doing them a disservice with that approach but I think creativity can’t be limited AS the process is happening. Sure, structure is good but not if it’s so limiting that the student feels reluctant to push the brush and make things happen. What would be worse than having someone leaning over your shoulder saying “Oh, I wouldn’t do it that way!” Yes, I might not do it that way but maybe their way is actually better. And that’s what makes art fun for me. Realizing that each day you can learn something new from not only yourself but from those around you.
With that said I’d like to talk about the following drawing. It breaks all my own rules but in the end I was pretty much happy with the outcome. I was recently commissioned to illustrate a multi person caricature. Included in this image I was asked to draw a Theater, a few signs and a public fountain/sitting area. Considering the fact that many of these elements were not located next to each other in real life, I knew that drawing this street scene would be daunting. I broke my own rule and pretty much completed the entire background before I finished the figures in front. Now as a teacher I would NEVER tell my students to illustrate that way. I would normally ask them to work all over the drawing so you’re creating equal values and light balance. But truthfully, I was actually scared to draw that way because if I messed up on the street scene, the figures in front would have been a waste of time. Below is my process_ right or wrong. In the end did I learn something. Yes. I learned that I can’t draw windows. So that’s a good thing. 
