DRAWING
GRADE 1
BOY
GRADE 2
GIRL
GRADE 4
BOY
GRADE 5
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
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 DRAWING
VINCENT VAN GOGH
1882 DRAWING
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 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 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.