Frederick Franck’s to-do list
He called it his “10 Commandments”
These Ten Commandments on seeing/drawing were revealed to me on a mountain, but also in a meadow, on a beach and even in the subway.
For their revelation did not come all at once, but in instalments, as it were, over the years, and always while I was busy drawing, and invariably on holy ground.
But that may be because, while drawing, all ground is holy: unseparated from the Whole.
1 You shall draw everything and every day
2 You shall not wait for inspiration, for it comes not while you wait but while you work
3 You shall forget all you think you know and, even more, all you have been taught
4 You shall not adore your good drawings and promptly forget your bad ones
5 You shall not draw with exhibitions in mind, nor to please any critic but yourself
6 You shall trust none but your own eye, and make your hand follow it
7 You shall consider the mouse you draw as more important than the contents of all the museums in the world, for
8 You shall love the ten thousand things with all your heart and a blade of grass as yourself
9 Let each drawing be your first: A celebration of the eye awakened
10 You shall not worry about “being of your time”, for you are your time
And it is brief
– Frederick Franck
From Franck’s book, The Awakened Eye
For more about Frederick Franck, visit the awakened eye website.
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