DRAWING

GRADE 1 BOY GRADE 2 GIRL GRADE 4 BOY GRADE 5 GIRL DRAWING IS A LEARNED SKILL The desire to draw is as natural as the desire to talk. As children, we draw long before we learn to read and write. Writing is a kind of “drawing”. Because drawing is less abstract than writing, developing drawing skills may be easier than learning to write. On one is born an artist with all the skills to draw well.

BEFORE AND AFTER STUDENT DRAWINGS To visually illustrate the fact that drawing can be learned, here are some before and after drawings done by students of Betty Edwards who wrote a book on drawing. The first drawings by the students are on the left. Two months later the same students drew another portrait (not necessarily the same subject). They learned to draw.

1880 DRAWING1882 DRAWING VINCENT VAN GOGH These two drawings also illustrate how van Gogh learned to draw better with practice.

GESTURE DRAWING There are two basic approaches to drawing, both involving time. The first is a quick, all-encompassing overview of forms in their wholeness. The second is an intense, slow inspection of the subject – a careful examination of its parts (contour drawing). The two approaches can, of course, be combined, but the first – called gesture – is an essential starting point for the drawing student (Betti & Sales, 1980, p.19). The gestural approach is actually an exercise in seeing. The hand duplicates the movement of the eyes, quickly defining general characteristics of the subject – movement, weight, shape, tension, and so on (Betti & Sale, 1980, p. 19). Gestures are done quickly capturing the essence of the object. It is spontaneous and free flowing.

Gesture The gesture is simply capturing the essence of your subject in the quickest and most economical way. Gesture drawing is a record of the energy that went into making the marks, and this record makes a visual connection between the artist and the subject. The gestural technique gives the drawing vitality and immediacy. It is a fast, direct route to the “second self”, the part of us that has immediate recognition that sees, composes, and organizes in a split second. Through gesture drawing we bring what we know and feel intuitively to the conscious self, and this is its prime benefit. Gesture also trains us to search out the underlying structure. It helps us to digest the whole before going to the parts, to concentrate in an intense and sustained way. Another advantage of the gestural beginning is that it furnishes a blueprint for more sustained drawing. In learning to translate three-dimensional forms onto a two-dimensional surface, gesture drawing makes us aware of the limits of the page without our having to refer constantly to it. It helps us place shapes and volumes in their proper scale and proportion. It introduced the lights and darks into the drawing. Finally, gesture drawing provides a flexible and correctable beginning for a more extended drawing. It gives options for developing the work. You can extend the drawing over a period of time. Gesture provides you with a route to a finished drawing (Betti, C. and T. Sale, 1980, p. 38).

Quick Line Gesture example (Brooke, 2002, p.47)

Quick Line Gesture example (Betti & Sale, 1980, p.27)

Girl with ponytail by student

Quick Line Gesture

OTHER KINDS OF GESTURES There are many types of gesture drawings. We are going to study only three types – Quick Line Gestures, Mass Gestures, and Mass and Line Gestures. MASS GESTURES Mass gesture is a spontaneous exercise using the broad side of charcoal or crayon rather than the point of a pencil to capture the essence of the subject in the quickest and most economical way and to give it shape and volume in proper scale and proportion. It gives the object volume and gives a three-dimensional appearance to it. It creates depth.

Mass gesture examples

Mass and Line Gestures In mass and line gestures you first create a mass gesture. Then you add the most important features with a quick line gesture on top of the mass gesture. It is important that you do not over do each part.

Mass and Line Gesture

Mass & Line Gesture

RAPHAEL ITALIAN HIGH RENAISSANCE 1483 – 1520 STUDY FOR THE ALBA MADONNA 1510 – 1511 RED CHALK, PEN, TRACES OF BLACK CHALK 42.1 CM. X 27.1 CM Musee des Beaux Arts Raphael began this study with gesture drawing.

ANTOINE WATTEAU FRENCH ROCOCO PAINTER 1684 – 1721 TWO STUDIES OF THE HEAD AND SHOULDERS OF A LITTLE GIRL RED, BLACK, WHITE CHALK 7 3/8” X 9 5/8” This artist began with gesture drawing, added contours and finished with some modeling.

LEONARDO DA VINCI ITALIAN HIGH RENAISSANCE 1452 – 1519 STUDY OF A YOUNG WOMAN’S FACE LATE 1680s METALPOINT - SILVERPOINT WITH TRACES OF LEADPOINT AND WHITE GOUCHE 7 1/8” X 6 ¼” Biblioteca Reale, Turin Leonardo began with gesture drawing, added contours and finished with some modeling.

References Betti, C. and Sale, T. (1980). Drawing, A Contemporary Approach. NY: Holt, Rinehart & Winston. Brooke, S. (2002). Drawing As Expression, Techniques and Concepts. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Edwards, B. (1979). Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. Los Angeles, CA: J.P. Tarcher, Inc.