DRAWING

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• DRAWING

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GRADE 4 BOY
GRADE 5 GIRL
GRADE 1 BOY
GRADE 2 GIRL
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.
DRAWING IS A LEARNED SKILL
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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.
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VINCENT VAN GOGH
1880 DRAWING
1882 DRAWING
These two drawings also illustrate how van Gogh
learned to draw better with practice.
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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.
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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).
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Quick Line Gesture example (Brooke,
2002, p.47)
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Quick Line Gesture example (Betti Sale, 1980,
p.27)
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Girl with ponytail by student
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Quick Line Gesture
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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.
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Mass gesture examples
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Mass gesture examples
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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.
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Mass and Line
Gesture
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Mass and Line Gesture
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Mass Line Gesture
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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.
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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.
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LEONARDO DA VINCI ITALIAN HIGH RENAISSANCE 1452
1519 STUDY OF A YOUNG WOMANS 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.
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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.