Part It The Perception of Spaces Materials: #2 and #4n pencils, sharpener, and eraser Felt-tip marker Picture Plane/ Viewfinder Stem of a plant, 1” to 12" tall, with medium-sized leaves (see the drawing for an example) Assheet of 9" x12" white paper Time needed: About 3o minutes 49 EXERCISE 14 Drawing Leaves Using Negative Spaces Purpose of the exercise: ‘This exercise builds on your new ability to see and draw edges by introducing you to one of the most important skills in drawing: seeing and drawing negative spaces. Negative spaces are important for three reasons: Seeing negative spaces makes it easy to draw difficult views, especially foreshortened views. Negative spaces build on the concept of edges in drawing as shared edges: if you draw the negative spaces around a fore- shortened form, you will have inadvertently also drawn the form, and you will find thacivis drawn correctly. An emphasis on negative spaces strengthens and improves the unity of your compositions. Focusing on negative spaces causes the language mode of the brain to drop out, allowing access to the visual brain mode, which is suited to the task of drawing. When you focus on an “empry” space, the language mode seems to say, in effect, “Ido not deal with nothing” It takes a ‘moment for a negative space to “pop” into focus as a shape. This incre- ment of time may be the language mode objecting, “What are you look- ing a I can't name that. If you are going to gaze at nothing, I'm drop- ping out” Perfect, Just what we want. Instructions: ‘Turn to page s1 of the workbook, with the printed format. . Lightly draw the crosshairs with your #2 pencil . Lay the stem with leaves on a piece of white paper and cover it with your plastic Picture Plane/ Viewfinder. Rather than thinking of drawing a leaf, look at the white shapes surrounding the leaves. Focus on one of those shapes and begin to draw that first “negative space.” Then draw an adjacent negative space. “Copy” all of the white spaces onto your paper. Do not draw the leaves at all, butbe aware thatin drawing the edges of the negative spaces, you will have inadvertently drawn the edges of the leaves. {EXERCISE Ig. DRAWING LEAVES USING NEGATIVE SPACES 490 6. Where one leaf crosses another, ignore that edge. Your concern is with the negative spaces only. [As in drawing your hand, note where the edges of the white shapes touch the format edges and where they encounter the crosshairs. 8, When you have drawn all of the spaces, use your pencil ro fill them in so that the negative spaces are dark and the positive forms (the stem and leaves) are left untouched. 9. Erase the crosshairs if you wish; sign and date your drawing. Post-exercise remarks: From the image you have just created, I am sure you can see the power of negative-space drawing. Drawings that emphasize negative spaces are a pleasure to look at, perhaps because the compositions are strong (emphasis on negative spaces always improves composition) and the spaces and shapes are unified, meaning that equal attention has been paid to both. enealpas Ge Drawing by the author. 1e EXERCISE 14. DRAWING LEAVES UPart It The Perception of Spaces Materials: #2 pencil, sharpener, and eraser Picture Plane/Viewfinder Felt-tip marker #42 graphite stick and paper towel, for setting a ground Photograph of a chair, about 5" or 6", cut from a newspaper or magazine advertisement (or use the one on page 54 of the workbook) Sheet of white paper, 9" x12". Time needed: About 3o minutes oy EXERCISE Iy Drawing a Chair in Negative Space Purpose of the exercise: One common problem in starting a drawing is deciding bow hig make the Jirse shape. If you draw the first shape too large, the subject of your draw= ing will go off the page. If you draw the first shape too small, the subject will sit in the center of the page and you must then deal with the unin= tended empty surrounding area. Choosing what I call a “Basic Unit” asa starting shape will solve this problem and enable you to end with the composition you intended to draw. Instructions: ‘Turn to page s5 of the workbook, with the printed format. Lightly draw the crosshairs with your #2 pencil . Seta ground within the printed format, following the directions in Bxercise 9 Lay your Picture Plane/ Viewfinder over your chair photograph, moving it around until you find a composition you would like to draw. [EXERCISE 1 DRAWING A CHAIR IN NEGATIVE SPACE