Drawing
September 19th, 2009Drawing at its most basic level is nothing more than measuring what you see and then recording that measurement on paper or canvas. This skill is the easiest to explain in mechanical terms but for most artist it is the most difficult to master. As Richard Schmid has noted, people who can manage to write legibly have the dexterity needed to draw well if they can find an effective and disciplined way of measuring what they see.
The five things that an artist measures while drawing are length, width, depth, angle and relative placement. Most artist, when drawing from life, use some form of a plum line to make these decisions. So when you see an artist sticking his paintbrush out with his arm fully extended he is not trying to look like an artist but rather he is doing the hard work of measuring what is in front of him.
The most difficult subject to draw is the human figure. Horses do not judge the work of artists (as far as we know) but humans do and humans are intimately familiar with what other humans look like. So if an artist puts an eye in the middle of a forehead the average three year old of our race will realize that there is something a little off. So when I come across paintings that depict the human figure with great skill I instantly know I am dealing with a special artist, one who’s skill is far above average.
You can judge drawing skill’s by asking three questions.
- #1. Does anything seem askew? If something in the painting looks unnatural then something is usually off in the drawing. But we must be careful here because correct drawing does not mean that every detail is laid out for the viewer. For instance there may be a painting of an old man with a very wise expression on his face and since his face is the center of interest his hands may just be suggested with a line or two to keep you focused. If however that suggestion is placed ten feet away from his torso, or if the line suggests a fish rather than a hand, then you have a drawing problem.
- #2 Is the artist use of line interesting? After an artist masters getting things in the right place then he can move on to getting them in the right place in a visibly enjoyable way. This most often is done with a variety of angles, avoidance of static shapes and awareness of composing his drawing well while also placing the different aspects of his drawing correctly.
- #3 Are the shapes as well drawn as the lines? In painting, drawing is not simply getting the line placement correct but also getting the shape of every brushstroke correct. A misplaced, misshaped small shape can do as much damage as an eye put in the middle of a forehead. I identify these in my own paintings by looking for “hot spots”. These are brush stokes that stick out for no particular reason and have nothing to do with communicating form.
Final Notes
- #1. It is important to be aware that many paintings are intentionally not very concerned with drawing. Monet is the best example of this. He was so concerned with light and color effects that drawing was often a secondary issue, but even with Monet you do not see hay bales floating in the air.
- #2. You will have to make your own judgement regarding the quality of means by which an artist goes about getting his drawing correct. I personally believe the highest form of art is to draw directly from life with a plum line. More complicated compositions may require the use of reference photos and some artist may choose to graph these photos as a means of transferring a correct drawing. Other artists will choose to use a form of projecting, or tracing the photo to their canvas. Although this certainly saves time I believe that part of the “art” is lost in this mechanical process.
- #3. Collecting drawings and sketches done by artist is an affordable way to build up a sizeable collection of artwork. Even some of the most famous artist in the country will part with their drawings for a very reasonable price. Ask them about it because most do not advertise their drawings as being for sale.
- #4. No matter what I just told you about drawing buy art that you love and can live with for years to come. Art is meant to keep our souls in a good place. Buy the art that does that for you!
Book Recommendations on Drawing.
DVD Reconmendations
If artist who view this blog have other recommendations I would love to hear from you! You can reach me at: jkelleystudio at eathlink dot net.
[...] It has come to my attention that since many of you are not artist that there may be many terms that I use to describe the work of other artists are unfamiliar or that you may misunderstand my application of the term. To deal with this I am writing a series of articles on “the basics” of representational art. Here you can read the first one on the basic skill of “drawing”. [...]