Fellow artist
Helen White was kind enough to interview me a couple of years ago. In the resulting article I briefly mentioned the Alexander Technique and how I found it helpful with my art. It occurred to me that this may be a little-known fact so I thought I'd expand on it here:
The
Alexander Technique is a well-established way of becoming more self-aware so that we may begin to notice habits and patterns we were previously not aware of. Once we notice these things we can then begin to take gentle steps to make long-term change for the better. The Technique can have a profound effect on
sporting ability, dramatic performance and chronic health problems. It's also a really cool thing to do if you're an artist, here are some reasons why:
1) More Energy.
The more you study the Alexander Technique the more you are able to perform your day-to-day activities using less energy than you thought possible. This means you have more energy to direct elsewhere as you choose. This may mean creating bigger and better paintings, more artwork, or simply having more energy to devote to marketing and promoting your work.
2) Better Observation Skills.
Almost all artistic endeavours begin with an observation of some sort. As you become more tuned in to your own habitual patterns of posture, tension and movement you also become more aware of, and notice in greater detail, the idiosyncrasies and postural habits of others. This can be a huge help when drawing portraits, life studies and / or caricatures for example.
3) Work More Fluidly.
When painting, I typically begin with loose, expressive brush strokes, this usually continues through the middle stages of blocking in etc but as the work approaches completion and I tackle the fine details the fear of spoiling what has gone before can creep in and this can lead to a loss of expressiveness and fluidity. Studying the Alexander Technique has allowed me to spot this undesireable response far earlier than normal and so nip it in the bud.
Here are a couple of examples of artwork where I feel I've maintained fluidity
4) Better Accuracy.
If you've ever been, for example, to a life drawing class or painted a still life, you've probably used masking tape or chalk to mark the position of your subject so that an elbow or orange doesn't wander into the wrong position. However it's less common, but just as important, for the artist to mark the position of their easel and where they are standing. It's also likely that few have considered that their point of view may change as the day goes on, in particular, if we gradually slump as we tire. The Alexander Technique allows one to maintain poise throughout the day and thereby work from a more consistent point of view.
5) It's Fun!.
The Alexander Technique is really good fun and a totally rewarding form of education which can lead to new artistic choices.
You can find out more about the
Alexander Technique here.
