Sketching

What is sketching?

Light quick drawings to capture a moment, a scene or even a felling. Sketches are not necessarily meant to be finished drawings, but often form the basis of larger artworks. Sketches and sketchbooks have been eh source of many great works of art, and give us inside into the thinking process of many great artists. They also have been a way for artist to take notes.

A sketchbook is personal. You can share it if you want, but you do not have to. It is ok to write in a sketchbook. You can note down the colors you see, notes on what you want to use in another work, anything that works for you.

Sketchbooks can be used to capture the overall look of something or record details that you see

Back to sketching

Start by simply drawing and lightly filling in the large blocks. Noticing the difference in value between things far away and close up, and in between. Even if all you do is place big blocky shapes, getting these correctly from your point of view is a tremendous accomplishment.

Contour VS Gesture Drawing

Just what is it?

There is a lot of confusion on what is meant by gesture drawing. The word gesture implies movement, a waving of the hands. How does this apply to drawing? There is also as much lack of understanding when contour drawing is discussed. These are two different approaches to drawing. Both are valid, but give totally different results.



Both deal with drawing what is actually see, not what you think you see. Both exercises teach you something about the real world and how you, as an artist interpret that world.



Contour Drawing



Contour drawing is simply put drawing the outline of the object or subject. Sound simple enough. But it requires a great deal of concentration. You are looking for edges, edges that might not actually exist in the real world. You are looking for the visual edges. But you are going to apply a sense of touch to your drawing.


When I was taking my first drawing class, we all struggled with this. The teacher had set up a complicated still life, and tried to get us to do a continuous lines contour of what was there. Frankly, the exercise was a failure because none of us understood just what the teacher was trying to have us do. Now, years later, I look back at that class and realize just how hard explaining this can be. You are trying to say in words what is happening in the head. Contour drawing is much more than simply looking at something. You need to see it, feel it almost taste it.

Concentration

Contour drawing is all about concentrating on an object. Also, it is about drawing from life, not a photograph. You need a real life object or subject. Something solid. You want to experience this object totally. Immerse yourself in it.

The Set Up

Draw the outline
one contineous line

First, relax. Set up a simple still life, or find an interesting object. Have a 2B or 3B pencil, very sharp! Use a fairly large piece of paper, either a larger pad or a large piece of paper attached to your drawing board.

Completed contour drawing

What you are going to do is draw this object without looking at the paper in one contineous line. Yes, keep your eyes on the object, not on your paper. Look at the object and decide on where the line will start. Pick a point that you decide is the beginning. Stare at that point until you convince yourself you are touching that point, thus your pencil becomes an extension of you. Wait until you believe that your pencil is touching the contour of this object. Yes, you can do this! You want your eye and your pencil to move at the same speed, and in union with each other. So your eye, and pencil are in concert. Without taking your eyes off the object, trace around the contours of it. When you complete one section, briefly look down and move your pencil to a new starting point, wait until you can feel the object in your mind, your pencil is on that object, then continue. This is the contour of the object. And the contours change if you shift position, so keep your head still.



Gesture Drawing


Gesture Drawing of Bow



The exact opposite is gesture drawing. It is not about edges, but volume, movement; the fullness of the whole. This is a favorite method of mine when I can see people or animals move. It is about catching the action! Seizing the moment. Gesture drawings should be rapid, fluid and very expressive. Sometimes it just might be hard to see the object/subject in the activity! Let your pencil roam the paper, fill it with the action you see happening. Draw rapidly and continuously, in one fluid line what you see happening before your eyes.







Summary



Contour drawing puts you in touch with the edges of a form, in gesture drawing you feel the movement of the whole. Remember that contour drawing is about edges, and gesture drawing is about movement.




Gesture Drawings of Squirrels
at the Bird Feeder



Sketchbook Project 2012

It’s Arrived!



My sketchbook for the “2012 Sketchbook World Tour Project”.

For me, its just in time. Monday I am taking off with my Mom and older sister to Northern Illinois for a visit with my other three siblings. We have not gotten together for years. Last time we were all together was when my Father became seriously ill, just before his death. That meeting was so overpowering sad, that it almost does not count. This get together is long overdue! We need to get together in a happy sense.



Long Trips and Short Phone Calls



Each person who signed up for the project got to choose a theme for his or her sketchbook. I chose “Long Trips and Short Phone Calls. Seemed like a theme I could relate to, since I am the worst person for phone calls!



It’s a 2 day trip to my younger sister’s house. I guess that does qualify for a long trip. And I seldom make phone calls of more than 15 minutes. I am like my dad in this, as I really don’t like to talk on the phone. I can never think of anything to say until after I hang up.



The Price Of Gas



The price of gas will certainly affect this trip and any future trips I might contemplate. Today it hit $4.29, soon to be $4.50. At these prices the car that once took $20 to fill up now takes $50 or more. How far can you afford to travel when your money is eaten up like this? Like artists are so over paid as it is!



I find I have second or even third thoughts about running up to the store, much less taking an actual trip. I think if my younger brother didn’t already have his tickets, we all might re-consider this!



But I am glad we are not. Yes, it is going to cost more than we thought when we set this up months ago, but we need to see each other. Phone calls and web cam visits just don’t satisfy my growing need to actually see people I am related to. But I need to get what I can from this trip, as it is likely the only one I can afford to make this year.



Plans on Hold



I had planned on attending an oil painting workshop next month at Cheap Joes. I went to one last year, and found it really both fun and educational. Yes, I learned a lot from the teacher, but I got as much from other attendees. Simply being with 20 other people who shared my passion for oil paintings was stimulating artistically. But I don’t know if I can swing it this year.



Another trip in jeopardy is our autumn sojourn to New England. I have been over much of this country, but never to New England. We (hubby and I) had planned on taking two weeks this fall and driving to straight to Maine, then taking our time to drive back. But now, two weeks of driving? That is going to cost a small fortune. A fortune I just don’t have.



My Sketchbook

Trips and Phone Calls



So it looks like my trips will transform into phone calls, and how do you draw a phone call?

*~*

For those interested in joining me in this project, here is the link to Art House and the project page:Art House & the Sketchbook Project

The Fiction Project

The Art House Sketchbook Fiction Project

My new sketchbook project has arrived from Art House. The Fiction project, a sketchbook library, is to marry artwork with fiction. It is a sister project to the previous sketchbook library project, where we did sketchbooks for addition into a library of artist sketchbooks. This project is to be an illustrated narrative. Each artist/writer is given a topic, or theme to use and develop into a work of fiction, with illustrations. The theme can be as closely or loosely followed as desired, but each sketchbook should be 51% literature.

These books are to be part of a permanent collection of sketchbooks, creating a library of them. The public will be able to come and look through them free. What a good resource for new artists and simply people interested in art and literature!

http://arthousecoop.com/projects/fictionproject

These are not really aimed at children, but they can be. Any prose or poetry is acceptable or any combination there of. But quality is what I am aiming at.

I received my sketchbook yesterday, and with it my theme: This is Where We Start.

Now, this is where I start!

Keep Your Pencils Sharp!

Were you the one in class who got into trouble for going to the pencil sharpener too often? Were you fussy about the marks you made?

I was. I hated trying to write with a rounded lead. Hated it! The legacy of being told not to “waste time” “stop fooling around” and get on with your work is hard to break.

However,

You get no points for drawing with a “dull” pencil!

Sharpen up those points!

Having a sharp point on your drawing tool makes the creation of precise lines and points much easier. It will also allow you to create lines of different style and weights evenly and gives you much more control over your medium.

This is not school, and you can stop any time you want and sharpen up that pencil. Carry with you a neat little sharpener, something with a lid. And try using a sandpaper pad or Emory board to touch up the point when you are away from home. I draw with a mechanical pencil when I am sketching, but still touch up and point with a small Emory board from time to time.

Even guys can carry a small one in their wallets. Simply twist the lead around it to bring back the point. The fine side of the Emory board is also good for cleaning off your eraser. Sometimes they get dirty too, and leave smudges on your paper that are impossible to get off.

Its Gone, the Sketchbook Library Project

The sketchbook is gone. Mailed off today. I have mixed feeling about it. There was so much work and worry into it. I wanted to be true to the idea of a sketch book, a place for taking graphic notes, but also wanted it to be interesting for someone else to look at, which frankly, most sketch books are not.

And they are not supposed to be. The idea is for the artist to make quick sketches, more like notes or visual records of things seen to be used as reference when back in the studio.

Also they are a great way to learn. Because they are quick, you have to locate and record the most important lines and details, reduce what you see to the key lines and images. Because what you are doing is out in public, or plein aire, they have to be quick. Life does not wait for the artist to record it.

Sketchbook Cover

The sketchbook for the Art House Coop is done, and I need to do the cover. I know the cover can be important, but I decided to keep it very simple. Simply tell what it is, a sketchbook whoms theme was postcards and since I live in West Virginia, the cards are from West Virginia.

I need to send this off Monday so it is there by the 4 of January for the opening show of all the sketchbooks done from all over the world. It should be interesting.

I have looked at many of the posted pages, and they really vary!

Sketchbook Library

I am creating a sketchbook for an art project by arthouse. It is to create a library of sketchbooks from living, working artists from all over. We are each given a small sketchbook and a subject and we are to fill this with artwork to the assigned theme.

I was given: Postcards

Sketchbook Library project 1

How to start

Nothing is more intimating than a blank sketchbook with expectations. The book is so nice and clean and full of ambitions. This is not a private journal, but something that will be seen by other, and archived for the future.

But will anyone want to look at it? Will it grab attention? Inspire or educate? It is worth the effort I will pour into it?

How do I start?

No Art Classes for the Holidays

I am at loose ends this week. No art classes tomorrow and I am kind of lost. Usually I spend Tuesday afternoons making sure I have everything for the next day at the Renaissance Gallery. I will not have classes for two weeks and I was planning on finishing my sketchbook project. I should be drawing on it right now.

But it seems that I am having trouble getting started!

I have a lot of work to do and have to get started.

I have several sketchs to finish before it is mailed in.