The power of line
The power of line is huge. Simple sketches in pencil or pen look impressive and artistically interesting. We are born with the ability to draw, but we just lose it as we grow up and get older. In order to simply look at something and draw it, one must practice. It will not happen right away, it will not happen on its own. One also needs to know what they have to look for and what they need to notice.
Perfection or discovery
Cravings for perfection can be irresistible, therefore, many people take credits for a drawing which they have created by tracing a photo or reproducing it on a larger scale using grid, display on a wall. Some artists edit the photo to obtain parts of printer paper size, so that it is possible to put them together in a line drawing. The question is: is that really a drawing or a copy of photography? To me, the latter is true. I do assume anything a drawing when we look at our subject and then manually draw it on paper.
Our eyes get it right
Is drawing difficult? In fact, it isn’t, but it takes time and practice, and anything which is somewhat time-consuming isn’t loved much these days. The general opinion is usually that camera gets our subject right and we might not get the right proportions when drawing. That is true to some extent only. If the distance between camera and subject is small, or the distance within the view is huge, camera will produce wrong proportions.
How camera distorts image
Camera draws closer the front part of the view or subject. It widens the middle portion and creates much more distant background part. This is very easy to notice in case of water reflections or shadows. When artist follows a photo closely, not the actual view in nature, the reflections will be stretched out for miles which would never be the case with reflection in nature.
Don’t take a picture
Many instructions start with: take a picture. I would like to say: don’t do that if you ever want to learn drawing. We have to trust our eyes and ability to recreate the same proportion, edge and line relationship and color transitions without additional tools. However, to get to the level when one can do the so-called “blind drawing” (you do not persistently look at paper or canvas but rather at your subject), you have to practice. That means making decisions and allowing the eye-brain signals to be transmitted to our hand with pencil or brush.
We can do it
That also means trusting ourselves more than a camera or grid. It also takes practicing daily or weekly and, at the end, this activity improves the brain functionality, memory and flexibility to an incredibly high level. When we sometimes look at a drawing, it seems it didn’t take time or efforts. It is due to the fact, that good art shouldn’t exhibit artistic struggles and technical difficulties, but mood and atmosphere of the painted subject. When we get past these struggles, the real creation takes place.
The principles and methods of drawing
There is an interesting thing: people, who cannot draw anything yet, believe they have to practice drawing a particular subject: portrait, landscape, still life or flower. That is definitely not true because once you can draw, you can draw absolutely anything. The principles and methods are actually the same regardless of what we draw. You cannot skip understanding values, shadows, highlights, proportions, relationships, contrast, perspective and negative parts. That is what makes drawing a drawing and eventually painting a painting.
Functions of drawing
Drawing has very different functions in the creative process. If it is an independent work of art, it will go through many stages until it contains all the above mentioned elements. If it is a sketch for use later, we will include only the most important lines. If it is a value sketch for painting, we will pay special attention to values, contrast and shadows. If it is an outline drawing for watercolor, we will have only slightly visible lines.
Not what you draw, but how you do it
Therefore, it is not that important what you draw, but how you do it. Trust the power of line. It is rewarding. Sketches must help you in the painting process later, there is no need to overwork them and prepare for framing. Technique matters, but doesn’t mean it is the most important part of drawing.
Get rid of eraser
How to get rid of eraser? If your intention is to draw, do it. Erasing everything and starting over for numerous times isn’t helpful. You simply have to forget the eraser at home, so that you do not have it with you. When something does not come out correct, start from scratch, not from adjusted lines. Use focusing ability instead of eraser.
Go reasonably large
Draw reasonably large subjects. Tiny things cannot show any shadows, values or important details. Drawing large isn’t more difficult, it is just a strange assumption and belief that handling a bigger subject is more complex. If the drawing is for creation of painting, large is much better. Unless you want to use magnifying glass, avoid details which are hardly visible because they don’t get noticed anyway. Keep details under control.
Manual drawing for artistic freedom
Drawing is a wonderful thing. It allows one not to use any additional devices. You won’t even need a camera if you have learned capturing the most important features of the subject. It also gives one a complete artistic freedom: skip whatever part does not improve your scene or subject or add whatever it seems to be missing. There are no restrictions. It is visible right away whether one was drawing from reality or they are modestly describing their perfected copy of a photo as a sketch from nature.
Sketch in actual size
I create pencil sketches in the actual size of painting: this time it was 20 x 24 inches or 61 x 51 cm. This drawing serves as a reference. Colors are all in my head and everything else what I need is in the sketch. I transfer it onto watercolor paper and then apply washes which get defined with every layer.
I take numerous pictures: with iPhone and with camera using different settings. However, I do not ever get the colors which are in the actual painting. Therefore, I’m trying to also take some pictures with background by placing something around the painting.
To learn sketching and drawing, please apply for April classes: Art classes
Interesting
Thanks! Well, I hope they are more than just interesting. I believe perspective adds a lot to any painting or drawing.
Well said. Thanks.
Thank you for stopping by. With my here and there presence on the web, I don’t get that too much. I really feel bad that most people never read or even look at the actual post. These art-related articles take easy two weeks in preparation. Neither drawing, nor painting happens within a few hours, plus, I’m struggling with photos since most often colors are off. Camera and phone camera do not see or make things look real, they do whatever is in their settings. Thanks again for cheeking this out!
It’s not easy to do art-related articles. I pray you have the spirit to continue. They are lovely.
I do have the spirit, I always had it regardless of what happens. The thing I am short of is time, or rather lack of it, small mandatory tasks every day take a lot of time, especially things like injections, wound care, medical tests. I cannot say I won’t do them. The second thing is I would love you mentioned in your prayers good outcome of the upcoming surgery since the first one in 2016 caused a lot of issues, in particular because the doctor did not do his part by testing cultures and taking preventive measures in order excessive bleeding would not occur. Well, I know by now, that it is very different from Europe. I will check everything myself and make sure all the tools and meds are ready straight the moment when I exit the operating room.
I would appreciate your good prayers. I do believe in God, but that is not a passionate belief since I also believe in the universal energy, the all-over-connected universal mind and our rebirth in accordance with the universal approach of randomness which is highly organized randomness. Sound contradictory, but, in fact, it isn’t. Thank you!
From my perspective (someone short on talent in the drawing department), drawings like yours look like magic. Beautiful, Inese.
Thanks Jo-Anne! It is great that art causes somebody to experience a little bit of magic.
While teaching I am trying, however, to keep the magic out of it. It takes just thinking, decision making and using one’s hand with the brush or pencil. I do believe that without decent time devoted to practice and understanding what is that one wants to show the viewer there are just reproductions of either other artists’ works or photos. Therefore, I am trying hard to convince people how important it is to hone the human intelligence versus artificial and one sure way to do so is to draw and paint without help of any devices.
I use many different methods for my drawing. I draw freehand, but also use grids. Any photo I use is my own and I have a very good eye for getting pictures. I do not feel I am cheating as I don’t always draw from a grid. But in my acrylic paintings the proportions have to be very exact, especially for my birds and animals. But yeah I agree it is crucial to be able to draw first before you use a grid. You need to look at the drawing as a whole, and see how everything fits together. I’ve also been doing some loose pastel sketches out in the garden last year and am currently doing a larger drawing using both my sketch from last summer and reference photos of my garden from last year. My drawing is much more alive than the photo and incorporates a wider angle. I was able to put my snowballs in bloom even though the photo was taken in August when they are not in bloom.
There is probably nothing wrong with any approach to drawing. However, if you start learning from copying lines of a photo that is what you most likely will have to do.
I know how people do not want to believe that developing the personal visual abilities is actually easier and way more accurate than using photos, but that is how it is. I have had students who told they were only able to see something on a photo and nothing at all when they looked at the real subject. It always depends. My background is such that I never had even camera. I only got one after I relocated to Canada when I was almost 50. So, for me simply looking at something is extremely natural and effortless way of doing this.
See, and you are admitting too that your personal drawing is much more alive. That is always the case with drawings and sketches from real life.
I think people get somewhat convinced that their drawings are not as life-like as photos and that it is way better for art they create. I can only agree that drawing from the momentum in reality is the best way to do it. We are not talking only about the likeness, but rather about the impact we make and the feelings we try to convey.
I’ve been writing a lot about this: North American art tries to emphasize the technical perfection while the European art, especially Eastern European is much more about the emotional aspect of creativity, meaning, it is not that important that you captured all million grass stems, but whether the grass tells us something and makes us say”Wow” even when there is no likeness with reality. That’s why I do not use masking fluid, ruler for long lines and similar things. I want my hand to do it.
Every single person can draw. They can before they speak and they can draw when they are unable any more to communicate anything. That is the message I would like to make stand out. I would like us to be less perfect, but more creative and free.
Inese, Do you do your sketch for example an acrylic painting directly onto the canvas. I would love to do an original painting but I wouldn’t know what to paint without a reference to look at.
p.s. hope you are doing well…. Diane
You still have a reference if you have still life set-up, somebody sitting and posing or you are looking out of the window or standing in the middle of a garden. I do a separate sketch for any painting if it involves some complex parts of fine details. You can use your sketch as other people use photography. Why to do a sketch? I’ve been writing about that before. While you sketch out values you prepare yourself for easier painting experience because you already know where to apply your darks and where lights. Color does not matter in early stages, you can do your preliminary sketching and blocking just in 1 color using a bit lighter and darker shades of it, like brown or grey, or even red. That depends on subject. I do not do any sketches for simple acrylic paintings, like these what we do in classes because it makes no sense to carefully mark up spots which later get covered up. Acrylic is not transparent, watercolor is. Sketching on its own teaches us a lot because what matters with painting are these simple things: perspective, contrast, value, composition. They are the same regardless whether you use pencil, pastel, watercolor, acrylic or oils. The methods of applying paint are different, but the way of arranging a work of art is always the same. That’s why I advise to sketch more. Do it for yourself, not for show. Do a lot of it. It does not take much time, but it teaches really a lot.
Thanks for all the detail you explained…. Diane
You’re very welcome. I hope you’ll have some time later in summer to do painting.
I am going to try and do my own sketch… Thanks .. Diane
Absolutely! The more you sketch, the easier it is going to be to paint. I know how people feel that sketching isn’t painting with acrylic or oils, but it is an essential step in understanding the anatomy of a painting. Good luck! Do sketching whenever you have time.
Great info. I love those country scene paintings.
I’m glad you find it useful. I also like such scenes. I do paint Latvia because that is how I feel about painting, that is also why I do not have any mountains, etc. in my paintings.
I love how you showed your process from sketch to watercolor, each lovingly rendered in its own detail. Best of all your emphasizing that drawing is really about noticing hit home. Beautiful work. Hope your surgery was (will be?) successful.
Thanks! I am putting together a book for drawing, sketching and watercolor. There are fewer and fewer people who can draw from nature and reality without using anything else. Surgery will be in May.
Excited for your book. Wishing you a successful May surgery!
Thanks! It will take a year or so. I will add a lot of drawings and techniques with pictures. I have noticed that people cannot really learn from watching how others do it on videos, it has to be that person who wants to learn. One has to go through all errors and make their own discoveries. There is no other way.