THE NATURE OF DRAWING
Drawing is the probity of art. To draw does not mean simply to reproduce contours; drawing
does not consist merely of line: drawing is also expression, the inner form, the plane, and
modeling.
- J.A.D. INGRES 1780-1867; French
Seeing is the genesis of drawing, and drawing is the progenitor of visual language. Italian artist
Giorgio Vasari said, “Drawing… is the necessary beginning of everything in art, and not having
it, one has nothing.”
Drawing is the act of inspired mark-marking that reveals and conceals. Drawing is direct
– immediate – and primal; drawings are the irrepressible results of artistic sight and response.
From the Altamira Cave ceiling, Santander, Spain, as early as 12000 BCE, the impulse of our
cave ancestors to draw ignited an exploration of drawing tools and the marks they make – chalk,
charcoal, and earthly clay containing minerals of yellow ochre and red hematite (with iron
oxide.) Compared with all other studio areas of artistic creation, the directness, immediacy, and
surface appeal of drawings go unmatched. Drawings stir our emotions like no other art form. In
our close observance of them, we glean clues to the unusual and intrinsic nature of the artist’s
intimate experience while creating.
What is Gesture Drawing?
Gesture drawing is a form of expressive mark-making that emphasizes an energetic and tactile
approach to form.
Gesture drawing explores the form and movement of an object in space, as your eye follows its
shape. Often it may look quite realistic, but more often gesture drawings will have just a sense of
the overall form. Gesture drawing isn’t an outline, nor is it an abstract drawing. It might not
always look realistic though, because it isn’t trying to represent the figure in a photographic way,
but to suggest the essential feeling of the subject.
Imagine you are describing the object with your hands as you talk to someone, those hand
gestures are similar to those you make when gesture drawing. The marks are quick and
deliberate. You look at the subject and try to sum it up with a few marks, as you might describe it
in a few words. Because you don’t have much time, each word, each mark, in a gesture drawing
must say something significant about the subject.
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When creating a gesture drawing, according to Kimon Nicolaides in ‘The Natural Way to Draw’,
“you should draw, not what the thing looks like, but what it is doing. You need to ‘sense’ the
thing that you are drawing. Is it fluid and soft, or spiky and hard? Is it coiled like a spring or offcenter and asymmetric, or is it solid and balanced?
By nature gesture drawing tends to be done rapidly. Loose, often circular marks capture the flow
of forms. Look at the whole object and notice points of tension, direction of weight or pressure,
spaces, protrusions into space.
Gestural Drawing – Expressive Marks
Gestural drawing, especially in figure drawing, often uses circular, flowing marks, perhaps
because of rounded human forms. You can, however, use other kinds of marks in gesture
drawing. A drawing of a clenched fist can use spiky, scribble marks to express the contained,
angry energy in the fist. Lines converge and create shadows that begin to suggest the form in
space.
You can use the side of a piece of chalk or charcoal to create a gesture drawing with a strong
feeling of weight and form, pressing more heavily on one side of the chalk to create tonal
gradation within the single mark.
By Helen South
From the following website:
http://drawsketch.about.com/od/drawinglessonsandtips/ss/gesturaldrawing.htm
From the following website
http://www.mmwindowtoart.com/gesturedrawing.html
“What Is Gesture Drawing?” Exercise:
Basically, it is a method of training hands to quickly sketch what the brain has already seen.
Staying "focused" means sustained concentration. Once you start drawing, don't stop--there's
only 10-30 seconds to finish! As you proceed in skill development, drawings should be
"grouped" with overlapped shapes and time extended up to 2 minutes. This is Gesture practice.
Steps to Success
1. FOCUS--- constantly. The eye, a wonderful camera estimates proportions, contours,
movement, and contrasts quickly. Determine contours first, then interior shapes and shadows.
2. DRAW LIGHTLY---for the 1st "layer" as a rough draft; darker for the 2nd drawing
corrections right over the 1st layer adding contrast; then, the darkest 3rd layer with deep shadows
and final contours.
3. DRAW QUICKLY--- The entire image is viewed in a blink. Make the pencil follow content
flashed to the brain. Keep the pencil/pen in constant circular and linear motion. Catch the form,
not the details.
4. CONSTANT MOVEMENT---is a necessity. Quick, light drawing makes for easy
clarifications in succeeding layers. Move eyes with quick returns without moving the head.
Accuracy takes patience, perseverance and lots of practice.
5. TIMED DRAWINGS---from 10-30 seconds for skill practices of single shapes and 1-2
minutes for grouping objects together. It's a challenge only in the beginning.
6. NO ERASING. Step 2 is the key. Gesture drawing's purpose is to develop visual skills which
will effect expertise. Erasing breaks focus and wastes time.
What is a Contour?
Contour means “outline”, and presents exterior edges of objects, shapes and forms. A
contour is also considered an edge. A plain contour has a clean, connected line, no
shading and emphasizes an open “shell” of an subject. More complex contours can imply
shading values through interior outlines, may have line texture or be contrasted with
mixed media. Where gesture drawing is fast, contour is slow and more deliberate.
In Class Exercise:
Visual training is the purpose and accuracy the goal. No erasing is used
Begin with a focal point on the object and continue concentration as if the eyes were
drawing the image. The pencil/pen, once placed on the paper stays there moving in a
slow line development until the entire contour is completed. Eyes focus from object to
paper without head movement. Take your time!