Week 7 Overview
Intro to Drawing
La Grange Art League La Grange, IL 60525
T 708-352-3101
M 312-505-4822
kelleyquinnclark@gmail.com
Week 8 (10/29) Expression
Gesture
Gesture is a way of seeing, feeling and thinking about the things around us. This way leads to an early involvement with the factors of empathy, order and structure. Whatever visual goals and ideas you wish to pursue with your work, and whatever other techniques or skills you bring to a drawing, the process will always develop through advancing our works from the general to specific.
Expressive Line
Expressive Contour Line | Expressive contour follows the same inner and outer contour edges used in your blind line and modified contour studies. Expressive contour does NOT however, have to maintain a continuous line. Often it is combined with the use of implied line for an interesting effect.
Expressive Line | While all line is “expressive”, an expressive line is noted for its particular ability to capture energy, emotion and rhythm. It is important to understand the difference between expressive line and gesture. Expressive line can be gestural but not necessarily be a “gesture” drawing.
The right brain does not edit or generalize visual information. It perceives form, color, shape, etc., as it exists at the moment of perception, as pure and independent of label or function. By using perception skills of our spatial brains, we will be able to develop accurate drawing skills, as well as free our powers of creative thought.
La Grange Art League La Grange, IL 60525
T 708-352-3101
M 312-505-4822
kelleyquinnclark@gmail.com
Week 8 (10/29) Expression
Gesture
Gesture is a way of seeing, feeling and thinking about the things around us. This way leads to an early involvement with the factors of empathy, order and structure. Whatever visual goals and ideas you wish to pursue with your work, and whatever other techniques or skills you bring to a drawing, the process will always develop through advancing our works from the general to specific.
- Contour - slow, meticulous, detailed each part - focus, edges are important, 1 descriptive line, quality, exactness, structure edges
- Gesture - energetic, generalized whole object-focused shows form of planes many descriptive lines, weight, density, thrust, force, stress, tension, structure - whole, “become the whole object”
- Similarities - beautiful line, 80-90% focus on object, physically in touch with object, expressive results, active perception, study object before beginning practice and explore
Expressive Line
Expressive Contour Line | Expressive contour follows the same inner and outer contour edges used in your blind line and modified contour studies. Expressive contour does NOT however, have to maintain a continuous line. Often it is combined with the use of implied line for an interesting effect.
Expressive Line | While all line is “expressive”, an expressive line is noted for its particular ability to capture energy, emotion and rhythm. It is important to understand the difference between expressive line and gesture. Expressive line can be gestural but not necessarily be a “gesture” drawing.
The right brain does not edit or generalize visual information. It perceives form, color, shape, etc., as it exists at the moment of perception, as pure and independent of label or function. By using perception skills of our spatial brains, we will be able to develop accurate drawing skills, as well as free our powers of creative thought.
Movement
Rhythm
Rhythm is found in composition. Its found in design. Its found in the preliminary drawings, instincts, early connections to your subject. Everyone has a different rhythm. Some painters/ drawers have a slow tap, some have a samba, and some a concerto. There is no correct rhythm, only that you observe your own, and try to understand your own movement.
When beginning to sketch, be careful how you place the first few touches or outline of your masses. Do you change composition early? Move things around to a rhythm of your liking. After you start to draw, its very difficult to make radical adjustments. The artist must look to nature for inspiration, but must rearrange the elemental truths into an orderly sequence. What is of primary importance, secondary and tertiary?
We achieve rhythm through; composition, then mass, then line. It is certain that all lines related to rectangular or simple geometric shapes produce within us an entirely different set of emotions than do lines possessing a playful meandering quality.
“Art is art only when it is confined within a self-imposted form. A sonata in music, an ode in poetry, a building in architecture - these become works of art through confirmation to a form...any artistic expression is most beautiful when it does not obviously follow a fixed form. There are limitations to the form: its special rhythm or meter or style or color. A thing becomes a design only when invisible limitations are strictly held. Form or limitation does not make a work of art, but all works of art partake of form” - John F. Carlson
Rhythm is found in composition. Its found in design. Its found in the preliminary drawings, instincts, early connections to your subject. Everyone has a different rhythm. Some painters/ drawers have a slow tap, some have a samba, and some a concerto. There is no correct rhythm, only that you observe your own, and try to understand your own movement.
When beginning to sketch, be careful how you place the first few touches or outline of your masses. Do you change composition early? Move things around to a rhythm of your liking. After you start to draw, its very difficult to make radical adjustments. The artist must look to nature for inspiration, but must rearrange the elemental truths into an orderly sequence. What is of primary importance, secondary and tertiary?
We achieve rhythm through; composition, then mass, then line. It is certain that all lines related to rectangular or simple geometric shapes produce within us an entirely different set of emotions than do lines possessing a playful meandering quality.
“Art is art only when it is confined within a self-imposted form. A sonata in music, an ode in poetry, a building in architecture - these become works of art through confirmation to a form...any artistic expression is most beautiful when it does not obviously follow a fixed form. There are limitations to the form: its special rhythm or meter or style or color. A thing becomes a design only when invisible limitations are strictly held. Form or limitation does not make a work of art, but all works of art partake of form” - John F. Carlson
Strategies for Creating Movement
Directional Mark-making
One of the most effective techniques for creating movement in your drawing is to use bold and directional mark-making. By doing this, you can suggestively push your viewer around the drawing as you please.
Vincent van Gogh was a genius at using directional brushwork; his paintings almost jump off the canvas at you. You can see that in each of his paintings.
Notice how van Gogh creates variance and activity in his paintings by changing the thickness, length and direction of his strokes. Those directional lines drag you all around the painting as you follow his brushwork.
Contrasting smooth and specific texture
By contrasting smooth and refined texture against detail texture you can create an interesting depth in your drawing. The illusion of movement is created as our eyes are drawn towards these areas of more or less detail.
Using rhythmic, or repeating elements
Every painting has an underlying rhythm much the same as a song. Rhythm can be created by purposefully arranging the elements in your painting with regard to pattern, harmony and variance.
An example may be the intervals between negative and positive spaces. Long positive spaces (the space where subjects are placed) could be your heavy drums, short positive spaces could be the trumpets and flutes and the long negative spaces could be the silent pauses between notes.
This lends itself to the illusion of movement as our eyes dance around to the rhythm of the painting.
One of the most effective techniques for creating movement in your drawing is to use bold and directional mark-making. By doing this, you can suggestively push your viewer around the drawing as you please.
Vincent van Gogh was a genius at using directional brushwork; his paintings almost jump off the canvas at you. You can see that in each of his paintings.
Notice how van Gogh creates variance and activity in his paintings by changing the thickness, length and direction of his strokes. Those directional lines drag you all around the painting as you follow his brushwork.
Contrasting smooth and specific texture
By contrasting smooth and refined texture against detail texture you can create an interesting depth in your drawing. The illusion of movement is created as our eyes are drawn towards these areas of more or less detail.
Using rhythmic, or repeating elements
Every painting has an underlying rhythm much the same as a song. Rhythm can be created by purposefully arranging the elements in your painting with regard to pattern, harmony and variance.
An example may be the intervals between negative and positive spaces. Long positive spaces (the space where subjects are placed) could be your heavy drums, short positive spaces could be the trumpets and flutes and the long negative spaces could be the silent pauses between notes.
This lends itself to the illusion of movement as our eyes dance around to the rhythm of the painting.
Exercises
1. Drawing your piece as an expressive exercise. Try combining elements of variance, directional mark-making, and creating areas of contrasting detail (smooth and specific).
2. See if you can come up with a pattern or something rhythmic in your drawing/finished piece. Can you push it further in your work?
2. See if you can come up with a pattern or something rhythmic in your drawing/finished piece. Can you push it further in your work?