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AMERICAN
ARTIST ®
The Best of
Drawing M AT E R I A L S
®
THE FIGURE
The Human Form: How to Put It All Together
by Dan Gheno 64
LANDSCAPES
Constable’s Sketchbooks
by Lynne Bahr 96
44
Master Landscape Drawings: Evidence &
Interpretation
by M. Stephen Doherty 104
D R AW I N G F O R O T H E R M E D I A
From Drawing to Canvas
by Joseph C. Skrapits 116
88 20
DRAW SIP 09 Contents:AA feature 9/18/09 4:54 PM Page 3
COVER
Bargue plate drawing by Jayme del Rosario,
courtesy of Judith Pond Kudlow’s NYK Academy.
Photo by Nathan Kraxberger
104
124 36 64
96 132
DRAW SIP 09 Editor's Note:Editor's Note 9/18/09 2:52 PM Page 4
AMERICAN
ARTIST
Editor’s Note The Best of
Drawing ®
EDITORIAL
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
The Big Picture M. Stephen Doherty
MANAGING EDITOR
We’ve tried to present a wide range of articles in Drawing magazine over the Brian F. Riley
last six years so that our readers could find stories in every issue that SENIOR EDITOR
Allison Malafronte
addressed their exact needs. To do so, we needed to space out articles on par-
ART DIRECTOR
ticular topics across several years—we may have to wait a while to run anoth- James B. Bogner III
er article on landscape drawing, for example, if we are going to make an ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Austin R. Williams (646) 841-0050
effort to present all the topics readers want covered. That’s why a special PROJECT MANAGER
issue such as this one is so exciting—it allows us to group together previous- Bob Bahr
ly published articles to create a very focused publication that’s a perfect fit for PUBLISHING
readers who want something specific from our artist-writers. PUBLISHER
David Pyle
The title of this publication is The Best of Drawing, but it may be better to
MEDIA SALES DIRECTOR
think of this as a carefully curated overview of the drawing process. We went Jim McIntosh (513) 961-0034
through all our issues of Drawing and chose articles that covered the essential MEDIA SALES MANAGER
Mary McLane (970) 290-6065
areas of draftsmanship. We start with materials, the first thing a draftsman must ONLINE PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT MANAGER
have to begin. Our editor-in-chief, M. Stephen Doherty, fully explored the materi- Karyn Meyer-Berthel
als of the Renaissance and the artwork of a great Italian Renaissance draftsman, AD TRAFFICKERS
Teresa Warren • Melissa Brown
Parmigianino, to help readers understand Western drawing’s classical roots CIRCULATION DIRECTOR
(page 6). I had much too much fun researching and writing the lengthy piece on Bob Kaslik
graphite—arguably the most common drawing material of the modern world CIRCULATION MANAGER
Sheila Derrington
(page 22). A look at custom-made paper closes out that section (page 36). WEB BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER
Two popular articles were chosen for the Masters & Approaches section— Tricia Gdowik
one on the Bargue drawing course, which Van Gogh utilized early in his MARKETING MANAGER
Annie Hartman Bakken
career (page 44), and a look at American master Thomas Eakins’ systematic
PRODUCTION
approach to draftsmanship (page 58). PRODUCTION DIRECTOR
Drawing the figure is a practice that can immensely help artists from their Nancy M. Pollock
PRODUCTION EDITOR
beginning exercises to their dying day—we can express the breadth of human Nancy Arndt
emotion and experience through depictions of the human body, a never-
depleted well of inspiration. Dan Gheno offers an overview of figure drawing
in his piece (page 64), which was previously only available in a special issue
published two years ago. Specific instruction on figure drawing from Sharon
Allicotti (pages 84, 86, and 88) round out this section. FOUNDER, CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Linda Ligon
CEO: Clay B. Hall
Prehistoric artists depicted the land (and the beasts that inhabited it), and PRESIDENT : Marilyn Murphy
CFO: Troy Wells
this subject matter has never left the draftsman’s repertoire. Lynne Bahr and VICE PRESIDENT, CONSUMER MARKETING: Bob Kaslik
Steve Doherty cover this aspect of drawing on pages 96 and 104. In many VICE PRESIDENT, SALES& MARKETING: Stephen Koenig
VICE PRESIDENT, PRODUCTION: Trish Faubion
cases drawings of landscapes were done as preparatory work for paintings or VICE PRESIDENT, TECHNOLOGY: T.J. Harty
VICE PRESIDENT AND DIVISION PUBLISHER FOR ART AND JEWELRY: David Pyle
other forms of art. The last section of this special issue addresses this func-
tion of drawing. You’ll find informative, instructional articles on drawing for Send editorial mail to American Artist magazine, 29 W. 46th Street, 3rd Floor,
sculpture (page 132), transferring drawings to another substrate (page 116), New York, NY 10036.
The contents of this publication may not be reproduced in whole or in part
and honing your drawing skills through memory training (page 124). without the consent of the copyright owner, Interweave Press, a division of
Aspire Media.
The Best of Drawing is, we hope, the best way to survey the essential Attention Retailers: To carry AMERICAN ARTIST in your store, call IPD at
aspects of draftsmanship through Drawing magazine’s lens—one that places 1-866-473-4800, or write: American Artist Dealer Dept., c/o IPD Source
Interlink Companies, 6195 Lusk Blvd., San Diego, CA 92121-2729.
an emphasis on traditional techniques, competence in key skills, and repre-
sentational art as the ideal jumping off point for any kind of art you may
choose to pursue.
PRINTED IN U.S.A.
Bob Bahr
Project Manager
mail@myAmericanArtist.com
Contributors
Sharon Allicotti ("Representing a Course,” “Master Landscape Drawings: His work has won the support of the
Studio Model in an Outdoor Setting," Evidence & Interpretation”) is the editor- National Endowment for the Arts, the
"The Creative Possibilities of Draping a in-chief of Drawing. National Endowment for the Humanities,
Model," "Eleven Reasons to Attend and the Ford Foundation.
Figure-Drawing Sessions") is an artist Dan Gheno (“The Human Form: How to
who lives and works in Glendale, Put It All Together”) is a New York artist Joseph C. Skrapits (“From Drawing to
California. View her art or contact her at whose work can be found in many pri- Canvas,” “The Tradition of Drawing from
www.allicotti.com. vate and public collections, including the Memory,” “Capturing the Muse: Drawings
Museum of the City of New York and the by Sculptors”) is an artist and freelance
Bob Bahr (“Graphite: The Drawer’s New Britain Museum of American Art, in writer who frequently contributes to
Humble Tool,” “Custom and Handmade Connecticut. He teaches drawing and American Artist, Watercolor and
Paper.”) is a freelance editor and writer painting at the Art Students League of Drawing.
based in New York City. New York and at the National Academy
School of Fine Arts, both in New York John Taye (“Drawing Logic: Drawing for
Lynne Bahr (“Constable’s Sketchbook”) City. He is a professor emeritus at the Sculpture”) is a Fellow in the National
is a freelance editor and writer based in Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts in Sculpture Society. He is an emeritus pro-
New York City. Old Lyme, Connecticut. fessor at Boise State University, in
Idaho, and has taught many drawing and
M. Stephen Doherty (“Materials and Gerard Haggerty (“Studying Drawing sculpture classes and workshops. Taye
Techniques of Renaissance Drawing,” With Professor Eakins”) is an artist and has exhibited widely, and his work has
“The Revival of an Influential Drawing writer who teaches at Brooklyn College. appeared in many publications.
Materials and
Techniques of
Renaissance
Drawing A 2004 exhibition at the Frick Collection included a rich
collection of drawings by Parmigianino, “one of the most undeniably
distinguished but also endlessly surprising artists of the Italian
Renaissance,” writes the show’s curator. by M. Stephen Doherty
DRAW SIP 09 Parmagianino:AA feature 9/18/09 5:48 PM Page 7
Self-Portrait in Profile
ca. 1530–1540, brown ink, 4 x 41⁄2. Graphische Sammlung Albertina, Vienna, Austria.
Drawings
often reveal more about an artist’s per-
sonality, ideas, and methods than any
other aspect of their art. That is certain-
ly the case with Girolamo Francesco
Maria Mazzola (1503–1540), known as
Parmigianino, whose remarkable draw-
ings provide evidence of his prodigious
talent, his quick hand, and his fatal ten-
dency to procrastinate.
In honor of the 500th anniversary of
his birth in Parma, Italy, the National
Gallery of Canada in Ottawa (October 3,
2003, through January 4, 2004) and
The Frick Collection in New York
(January 27 through April 18, 2004)
presented a major exhibition titled “A
Beautiful and Gracious Manner: The
Art of Parmigianino.” The show includ-
ed 51 exquisite drawings, seven jew-
ellike oil paintings, and a dozen historic
prints considered to be some of the first
ever created personally by an artist (as
opposed to a professional engraver). It
was curated by David Franklin, the
deputy director and chief curator of the
National Gallery of Canada, and coordi-
nated by Denise Allen, an associate
curator at The Frick.
Parmigianino was fortunate to have
been born into a family of artists
when some of the greatest artists of all
time were active, including Leonardo
da Vinci, Raphael, and Michelangelo.
Although he was orphaned at age 2,
Parmigianino was raised by two
uncles who were well-established
painters and ran the Mazzola family
workshop. The prodigious young man
received training in a workshop filled
with prints and plaster casts of antique
sculptures, as well as copies of con-
temporary works in Florence and
Rome, and there is some indication he
may have also studied with Correggio.
As a telling indication of events to
follow, Parmigianino’s talent was first
recognized in his drawings. His repre-
Studies of Female
Heads, a Griffin, and
Finials
ca. 1522–1524, red chalk
and brown ink, 71⁄8 x 55⁄8.
Private collection.
Female Martyr
ca. 1522–1524, oil
on panel, 173⁄8 x 101⁄8.
Collection Städelsches
Kunstinstitut und Städtische
Galerie, Frankfurt, Germany.
Circumcision
ca. 1523–1524, oil
on panel, 161⁄4 x 121⁄4.
Collection Detroit Institute
of Arts, Detroit, Michigan.
RIGHT
Circumcision
ca. 1523–1524, brown ink
and brown wash with white
heightening, 101⁄4 x 8.
Collection the Louvre,
Paris, France.
sentations of figures, griffins, and an unexecuted altarpiece or in a gar- from this moment is his use of pen
finials revealed a perceptive vision, a zone study for the figure of Saint and wash on blue paper. This type of
quick and accurate hand, and a skillful Vitalis in one of his frescoes for San paper, which was originally produced
use of materials. He surpassed his Giovanni Evangelista. Red chalk was in Arabia but within Italy appears to
contemporaries in handling the three generally used in this period for highly have been a Venetian specialty,
most common drawing materials: red finished solutions, and Parmigianino allowed artists to experiment with a
or sanguine colored chalk, black chalk, was well aware of its potential for heav- colored ground without any need for
and pen-and-ink. ily chiaroscural, sculptural drawing. preparation. In Venice itself, blue
“The range of styles Parmigianino “Parmigianino’s use of pen—in iso- paper tended to be used by artists
essayed in red chalk during these early lation, or with wash—in this first such as Carpaccio as a backdrop for
years is impressive,” writes David Parmesan period is equally many- meticulously disciplined pen and wash
Ekserdjian in the catalog for the exhibi- sided,” Ekserdjian continues. “There is drawings, sometimes heightened with
tion (Yale University Press, New nothing in the work of Correggio or white, a more forgiving medium than
Haven, Connecticut). “One approach ... any of Parmigianino’s other Parmesan metalpoint that achieved a comparable
is effortlessly polished and tautly disci- rivals that satisfactorily explains his visual effect. ... Also around this time,
plined, but also very delicate. ... By con- precocious confidence with pen and or perhaps a bit later, Parmigianino
trast, Parmigianino concurrently wash. One possible explanation might began to exploit the potential of natu-
employed red chalk to achieve dramati- be the influence of Leonardo da Vinci rally buff-colored paper, not for pen
cally energetic effects, whether in a upon Lombard draughtsmanship. and wash but instead for a combina-
fully resolved compositional study for “Another novelty that may date tion of black and white chalks.”
ABOVE
LEFT
Entombment
(first version), ca. 1524–1527, etching, 103⁄4 x 8.
Collection The British Museum, London, England.
Reba F. Snyder, a paper conservator from the ground, until the supply even- stump, scrape it with a sharp tool, or
at the Morgan Library in New York City, tually became exhausted. Parmigianino wet it with water to create a wash.”
points out that while Parmigianino may and his contemporaries had available a The pens and ink Parmigianino used
have created exceptional drawings plentiful supply of chalks in varying to make drawings with hatched and
early in his career, there was nothing shades of red depending on the crosshatched lines were also quite dif-
innovative about his choice of materi- amount of iron in the ground. The ferent from the steel nib pens, technical
als. “Red and black chalk were quite chalk was used by the artists just the pens, and bottled inks used today.
common drawing materials long way it came from the earth, a natural “Artists made their own pens by carving
before the Renaissance, and they con- combination of clay and iron oxide. It the ends of feathers or reeds,” Snyder
tinued to be used extensively by artists might be shaped in their hands and put indicates. “There was nothing exotic
until more mechanical drawing instru- in a holder, and the artists could sharp- about the materials, and they likely used
ments were introduced in the 18th en the end to draw fine lines or round the feathers readily available from ducks
century,” she explains. it off for broader strokes. While work- or crows, which varied in size and could
“The obvious reason these materi- ing, the artists are likely to have had be shaped into fine or broad points.
als were used so extensively is that red available three or four different pieces With different amounts of pressure,
and black chalk were naturally occur- of chalk of varying colors and degrees these could be used to inscribe thin,
ring minerals in many parts of Italy,” of softness. They would sometimes faint lines, or dark, wide marks.
Snyder continues. “It was mined, or cut smear the chalk with their fingers or a “The ink was probably iron gall
ABOVE RIGHT
Drapery Study
for the Vision of
Saint Jerome
ca. 1526–1527, black
and white chalk,
9 x 63⁄4. Collection
Ashmolean Museum,
Oxford, England.
RIGHT
Study of the
Virgin and Child
for the Vision of
Saint Jerome
ca. 1526–1527, red
chalk, 93⁄4 x 61⁄2.
Collection École des
Beaux-Arts, Paris,
France.
LEFT
RIGHT
M
atthew J. Collins, the princi-
pal assistant to artist Charles
H. Cecil and a teacher of
painting and drawing in the Charles
H. Cecil Studio in Florence, Italy, con-
firms Reba Snyder’s conclusion about
the differences between modern and
Renaissance drawing materials. “I’ve
been studying Old Master drawings for
the past 10 years, and it has been diffi-
cult finding drawing materials and
papers that even come close to those
used by the masters,” Collins says.
“I first became interested in learning
more about the masters’ work in 1993
when I saw an exhibition of Italian
Florentine drawings at The Art Institute
of Chicago,” Collins remembers. “I
made copies of drawings by Cristofano
Allori (1577–1621) and his father,
Allesandro (1535–1607), and I realized it
was difficult to emulate the variety of
colors and marks they achieved with the
materials available today. I decided to
conduct research to see if I could locate
or prepare materials that had the same
qualities as those used in the 16th and
17th centuries.
“The natural sanguine the masters
used was more fluid and velvety than
the Conté crayons we use today,” Collins
explains. “Conté is grainy and gritty
compared to the soft material the
Italians once mined in the earth. It
ABOVE
doesn’t allow for the same flowing,
Virgin in Glory With
the Adoration of the rhythmic lines or the subtle blends
Shepherds and Saint Parmigianino achieved in the 16th cen-
Francis
ca. 1529–1530, brown ink
tury. Cretacolor brand drawing pencils
and gray wash with white are the best commercially manufactured
heightening on blue paper,
pricked for transfer, 15 x 121⁄2.
drawing pencils I have found so far.
Collection Ashmolean “In some ways the modern black and
Museum, Oxford, England.
sanguine pencils are suited to the world
LEFT of photographs that influence contem-
Study for the Steccata porary artists and not to the elegant
Ceiling, With Three
Canephori and the forms observed by the masters,” Collins
Vault continues. “It is important to rediscover
ca. 1531–1533, brown ink
and green, blue, and brown
those earlier materials so contemporary
washes with white heightening, artists have a better chance of achieving
81⁄4 x 7. Collection The British
Museum, London, England.
the same rhythms in their drawings.
“There is some evidence that
Michelangelo mixed wax with chalk to
make a slightly harder drawing mate-
rial that could be sharpened into a fine
point,” Collins adds. “For that reason
I’ve been experimenting with making
my own drawing instruments by first
Designed with the serious artist in mind, the Open Studio line allows
you to create a flexible environment that maximizes space and keeps
your supplies at hand. These mobile worktables and carts give you the
freedom to adapt your workspace to fit any project – big or small.
RIGHT
I N T R O DU C I N G A N E W P R I N T M A K I N G PA P E R F R O M M AG N A N I
“
© Wolf Kahn
”
center for contemporary printmaking
These are some of the reasons why Revere www.contemprints.org
has become my paper of choice.
W W W. L E G I O N PA P E R .C O M t I N F O L E G I O N PA P E R . C O M t 1 . 8 0 0 . 2 7 8 . 4 4 7 8 N Y t 1 . 8 0 0 . 7 2 7. 3 7 16 L A
DRAW SIP 09 Parmagianino:AA feature 9/18/09 5:49 PM Page 20
LEFT
Female Study
by Matthew J. Collins, 2004,
sanguine and white chalk
on cream paper, 10 x 7.
Collection the artist.
liquid made from a combination of Collins concludes by saying his Florence, Italy; call: 011-39-055-21-14-70;
glycerin, gum arabic, and bone-white research is intended to support the edu- or fax: 011-39-055-21-06-90. For more
chalk and allows the surface to dry to a cation program of the Cecil Studio. “Our information on the Charles H. Cecil
hard finish that can be scratched with school is different from others in that Studio, write: Ms. Danielle DeVine,
strands of sterling silver. “The coating we look at nature through the language Dept. DRAW, Borgo San Frediano 68,
is made using the formula Cennini and rhythms of the Renaissance mas- 50124 Florence, Italy; call: 011-39-055-28-
recommended in his classic book on ters,” he explains. “We are concerned 51-02; or e-mail: cecilstudios@dada.it.
artists’ materials” (The Craftsman’s with investigating the idea of beauty and For more information on the
Handbook, by Cennino D’Andrea the means of expressing beauty.” Parmigianino exhibition and a copy of
Cennini, translated by Daniel V. For more information on Zecchi’s art the catalog, call The Frick Collection at
Thompson Jr., Dover Publications, supplies, write: Zecchi Colori Belle Arti- (212) 288-0700, or visit the museum’s
Mineola, New York), he explains. Restauro, Via dello Studio 19/r, 50122 website at www.frick.org. ❖
Graphite:
The Drawer’s Humble Tool
The graphite in pencils is common and largely uncelebrated, but its history, appli-
cations, and physical properties are worth a closer look. by Bob Bahr
H
ow little does our society think of graphite Borrowdale, in England’s Lake District, locked the
pencils? Well, small ones that cost about entrance to the mine each night and searched the
three cents are given away free at some miners at the end of each day for smuggled
government offices where forms need to be filled pieces. According to Henry Petroski’s exhaus-
out. Ditto at horse-racing tracks—even at minia- tive—and somewhat exhausting—book on the
ture-golf courses. In these situations, they are like- subject [The Pencil: A History of Design and
ly used for just a few seconds, then thrown away. Circumstance (Knopf, New York, New York)], a
The pencil’s luck is little better in the art world. saying in the Lake District in the 17th century
Graphite pencils compete with charcoal as the held that “a mouthful [of graphite] was as good as
least valued media—at least in terms of asking a day’s wages.” As the reserves dwindled in that
price for a finished piece—a further insult when mine, which was renowned for its pure, high-
one considers that a detailed graphite drawing can quality product, the owners occasionally flooded
take much longer to execute than an oil painting. the pit in the late 1600s to control supply of the
It wasn’t always this way: Graphite used to be material and to prevent its illegal removal.
a rare commodity—rare enough to spawn imita- Graphite’s ups and downs are directly tied to
tors. Counterfeiters would sell pencil-shaped its usefulness. Artists and tradesmen had long
wood with the “lead” merely painted on. Others known about graphite’s ability to make marks,
would make pencils with graphite in place only but it was rarely found in pure form and there-
for the first inch or so of the writing end. The fore didn’t distinguish itself from other marking
mineral was so valued at one point that graphite materials. Artists interested in fine lines worked
mining involved the kind of security used for the in metalpoint using silver, gold, zinc, or true lead,
extraction of a closely related form of carbon: dia- which left a faint, metallic line that could be
mond. Operators of the graphite mine at removed using the soft parts of fresh bread,
Connie XI
by Costa Vavagiakis, 2003, graphite,
251⁄2 x 191⁄2. Collection the artist.
Maria VI
by Costa Vavagiakis, 2005, graphite,
69 x 48. Collection the artist.
Rainbow XII
by Costa Vavagiakis, 2006, graphite,
121⁄2 x 91⁄2. Collection the artist.
small rods and lay it in the slots of blank pencils, then glue the mixture into the desired shape, allowing the thin strings
another piece of wood over the slot to encase the graphite. to dry, then firing them in a kiln at about 1,800 degrees
This product was in demand the world over. But because of Fahrenheit. (In contrast, Conté crayons, which represent an
diminishing supplies and embargoes due to war, those out- extension of the engineer’s innovation, often contain wax
side of England experienced years of graphite scarcity. The sit- and/or softer clay and frequently utilize colored chalk or
uation became dire enough for France’s Minister of War to another type of pigment.) This process not only created a con-
commission the noted engineer Nicolas-Jacques Conté to dis- sistent, effective pencil lead but it also allowed Conté to manu-
cover an acceptable substitute for the Borrowdale graphite facture leads in various degrees of hardness. That’s why today
pencil. According to legend, it took him less than a day, in the softest, darkest leads, such as 6B or 9B, are nearly 90 per-
1794, to come up with the process still used today to optimize cent graphite, while the hardest leads, such as 6H or 9H, are
a limited amount of graphite. Conté found the answer by effi- less than 50 percent graphite. Approximately 5 percent of a
ciently separating pure graphite from its matrix, mixing the pencil’s lead composition is wax; when graphite strings are
resulting fine-powdered graphite with clay and water, forming impregnated with wax, they create smoother-flowing lines.
Discover Drawing
Back Issues!
%SBXJOHNBHB[JOFJTZPVSFTTFOUJBMUPPMGPS
CFHJOOJOHBOEBEWBODFESBXJOHUFDIOJRVFT
BOEWBMVBCMFJOTQJSBUJPO%POµUNJTTB in areas where a 9B or 8B pencil has been used. “It
becomes almost a mirror,” says Freitas. “But if you don’t
TJOHMFJTTVF
TIPQPVSCBDLJTTVFTFMFDUJPO
use nonreflective glass when framing the piece, the
UPDPNQMFUFZPVS%SBXJOHDPMMFDUJPO viewer will never encounter it.”
New York artist Sherry Camhy makes sure viewers of
5IFPOMZ¾OFBSUNBHB[JOFPOESBXJOH
her work encounter graphite’s sheen—she builds her draw-
FWFSZJTTVFPG%SBXJOHJT¾MMFEXJUI ings on black paper, with 9B graphite serving as the lights.
TUFQCZTUFQEFNPOTUSBUJPOT
UFDIOJDBM This artist turns what many consider a disadvantage into
one of the most compelling aspects of her work, and she
RVFTUJPOTBOEBOTXFST
JOEFQUIBSUJTU accomplishes it by seeing the entire process in reverse. It’s
QSP¾MFT
BOENPSF a novel solution. “I’ve never explored graphite’s sheen as an
advantage because it only seems to happen in the shadow
4IPQ#BDL*TTVFT5PEBZ patterns,” comments Freitas. Camhy instead lets the black
FBDI of the paper provide the shadows, and allows the sheen of
the graphite to provide the highlights.
Frederick Brosen also uses graphite in a fashion that
To order, visit seems contrary to logic. Despite graphite’s superlubricity,
the New York artist puts down a graphite underdrawing for
InterweaveStore.com his watercolors that is so thoroughly toned, Brosen says it’s
“almost like laying a light glaze over a complete grisaille.”
He reports no trouble with the watercolor paint adhering
LEFT BELOW
)JHIMJHIUT
A Special Issue from
the Editors of
American Artist magazine
American Artist Highlights is a special magazine issue devoted
to fine art, with in-depth studies of various mediums. Previously
published American Artist articles are organized into a convenient
guide for the best instruction available. Create artwork with a
variety of art media and in several different styles with American
Artist Highlights.
$8.99
Available October 2009
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DRAW SIP 09 Graphite:AA feature 9/18/09 5:30 PM Page 31
work. If you focus on the process, you can achieve the sub- undesirable crutch, especially in creating transitions. “It
lime.” Gerety often starts with a color photograph of a tree can get too velvety,” says Vavagiakis. “I sometimes will
or other subject, then photocopies the image to reduce the stump—I see it like a glaze, with hatching being like a
information—particularly the color and details. Tight real- scumble. Diego Catalan Amilivia and his peers have devel-
ism is not her goal at all. “I like the contrast between the oped a technique with stumping where they sort of scum-
gestural nature of the subject and the obsessive nature of ble over a tone—they stump an area and then hatch over
my process,” she explains. “I am interested in the idea of the the top of it. They are going for high luminosity and sharp
place, the emotional or spiritual essence of a location.” tactile definitions to emphasize the form.”
Gerety’s use of a multitude of lines to create tone is not The key to precise hatching, which is crucial for a clean-
uncommon, even though graphite’s many forms allow for a looking drawing, is having a sharp point on the graphite pen-
seemingly limitless number of ways to create dark passages cil. Brosen uses a mechanical pencil, always sharp.
in a drawing. Adds Vavagiakis, “The line is really a point of Vavagiakis favors no particular brand, but he usually works
departure as much as it is a point of arrival. The line has to from softer to harder lead. “I start in the middle range—usu-
be a ballpark figure in the beginning. One must start ges- ally an HB or a B,” the artist says. “I want to cover ground.”
tural and then work toward pinpoint accuracy.” The artist He may end up with a 9H in his hand. It may seem counter-
uses hatching to create dark areas but he will also use a intuitive to start with the darkest pencil first, then move to a
stump to create smooth, subtle tones—although he warns harder, lighter lead, but the issue is erasability. One must
that many of his fellow instructors consider stumping an press down harder with hard lead, which leads to a slight
the resulting marks because any additional work in the Light and Illusion
Metaphor
same area will show the valley of the scored line because by Sherry Camhy,
it will hold more of the newly deposited graphite. “The 2005, graphite on black
paper, 33 x 54.
worst thing you can do is score the paper. But if you do, Collection the artist.
it’s not the end of the world,” comments Freitas. “You just
OPPOSITE PAGE
have to work more carefully to fill in the trench. Still, if Etude
you tilt your head the right way, you will always be able to by Sherry Camhy,
see it.” On the other hand, very lightly applied lines from 1997, powdered
graphite on gray
a soft, dark pencil can be pulled up with an eraser—but paper, 141⁄2 x 191⁄2.
they shouldn’t be rashly eliminated. Those early, prelimi- Collection the artist.
nary lines should be left in place even when the artist real-
izes some of them are wrong. “A beginner erases by eras-
ing the mark,” Vavagiakis says. “A professional knows that
a mark is something you work off of. Make the adjust-
ment first, then get rid of the unwanted mark. The fur-
ther you get in your drawing, the more sure you are about
the marks, and the harder you go.” The artist uses a vari-
“A beginner erases by
erasing the mark.
A professional knows
that a mark is something
you work off of.”
—COSTA VAVAGIAKIS
Feed Your
Passion
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DRAW SIP 09 Paper:AA feature 9/17/09 6:25 PM Page 36
DRAW SIP 09 Paper:AA feature 9/17/09 6:26 PM Page 37
Custom &
Handmade Paper
Choosing handmade and custom-made paper over machine-made paper
involves trading consistency and low cost for an artisanal product with unique traits.
For some artists, it’s not a choice at all. by Bob Bahr
A
successful drawing requires the right mix of sever- has made paper to custom specifications for artists such as
al elements, including the artist’s ability, the artist’s Robert Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns, Jim Dine, James
vision or idea, and the chosen drawing material. Rosenquist, Robert Liberace, William Matthews, and
Artists have drawn on all sorts of surfaces throughout his- Robert Motherwell, plus a host of lesser-known artists who
tory, including handmade paper—the only kind of paper couldn’t find just the right paper in a typical art-supply
around until the advent of machine-made papermaking in store. All Twinrocker paper is handmade, and the staff of
the early 1800s. Today, a small, devoted group of artists still six maintains a rotating inventory of paper available for
seek out the more expensive and rare handmade paper, purchase as overruns of special orders. An e-mail newslet-
maintaining that it both enhances their working process ter alerts interested customers of what’s currently on
and adds to the viewer’s experience. For them, a few small Twinrockers’ shelves.
art-supply chains and mail-order companies are invaluable Jeffrey Ingram Stone asked Twinrocker to make a paper
sources of the artisanal product. suitable for his drawings, which incorporate graphite ren-
“There is nothing more exciting than drawing on hand- derings, gouache, pen-and-ink work, and watercolor wash-
made paper,” says Kathryn Clark, co-founder of es. “I couldn’t find paper that I liked,” recalls Stone. “I
Twinrocker Handmade Paper, a papermill in Brookston, wanted to put on a heavy impasto, and I needed a paper
Indiana. “When you get up close to it, you see it’s really that would retain the brushstrokes. I wanted it to be very
different from machine-made paper. thin and delicate, yet something that could hold up to
Daydream When you look at a drawing, it’s watercolor and pen-and-ink work. The other papers’ sizing
by Jamie Wyeth, 1999,
mixed media on handmade really important to get close to it, wouldn’t hold brushstrokes, or the paper didn’t have the
wove paper made by and that’s when you notice the dif- tooth I was looking for, or I couldn’t find the color I want-
Dieu Donné, 29 x 21 ⁄ .
1
4
Collection David Wyeth. ference in handmade. The surface ed. I’m very, very particular, and Kathyrn was great. She
© Jamie Wyeth. texture is more alive.” Twinrocker would send me test after test after test. I would come back
Twinrocker co-founder
Kathryn Clark making a
22"-x-30" sheet of paper
at her papermill.
with, ‘I want this weight,’ ‘I want more tooth,’ ‘warm up the start, their ambition was to operate a small papermill
this color.’” Stone ended up with a parchmentlike paper that could offer intense customer service. The couple
with a brownish, middle value, which he named Toledo, moved to Indiana in 1973 to be with a sick relative and
because he had noticed that it was the same color as the decided to relocate their operations to the family farm,
buildings in that Spanish city. where they’ve been ever since.
Twinrocker attracts drawers and discriminating water- It is now one of two notable custom-paper handmills in
colorists, but it also makes stationery and decorative the United States. Twinrocker starts a custom-paper job by
asking the artist to describe the surface, color, size, and
thickness preferred. Sizing and texture are considered next.
“[Handmade paper] adds significance “We then make a trial so the artist can experiment with it,”
to the work. It’s significant in itself.” explains Clark. “We make adjustments until we produce
the perfect paper for them, and then we save the formula.
—Melanie Nerenberg, Kate’s Paperie. Once we know the specifications, we can make it again and
again.” The cost of the custom order depends on the size
papers. “If it starts with P and ends with R, we make it,” and thickness of the paper. A setup fee of $200 applies to
says Clark. Most of their output is sold directly to artists, papers created from a customized pulp, and the minimum
among whom it enjoys considerable word-of-mouth order of sheets is $500.
praise—but it also sells a small amount to retailers such as In New York City, the Dieu Donné Papermill has worked
Kate’s Paperie, Dick Blick, Daniel Smith, and New York closely with artists since it first began beating pulp and
Central Art Supply. The papermill, which is now located pressing paper in 1976. For years, Dieu Donné supplied
two hours outside of Chicago, was founded in 1971 by handmade paper to outlets such as New York Central Art
Clark and her husband, Howard, in San Francisco. From Supply, but the organization filed for not-for-profit status in
BELOW
A detail of Stone’s
sketchbook made
from handmade paper
from Twinrocker.
1988, and now focuses on working directly with artists at process. Those who sell both handmade and machine-
its mill on 36th Street. “We’re not so much a production made paper are also quick to point out handmade paper’s
mill,” says Paul Wong, Dieu Donné’s director. “We’re usu- collaborative personality. “The main difference between the
ally more involved with the artist and their project. Our two is that handmade has more character; there’s more of a
focus is custom-paper orders—we’re here when you can’t sense of the person who made the paper,” says David
find a particular color or some other trait in a paper avail- Aldera, the paper buyer at New York Central Art Supply, an
able in the marketplace.” Like Twinrocker, Dieu Donné’s artist, and something of a paper guru in New York art cir-
minimum order is $500 and an artist may send specifica- cles. “The main reason someone would choose handmade
tions to the papermill for a unique product. paper is for the aesthetics. It is for people willing to work
with the inconsistencies that handmade paper is more like-
PRI NTMAKE R AN D PAPE R ARTIST Laurence ly to have, inconsistencies in texture, absorbency, weight,
Barker once called handmade paper the hyphen in “sup- and other traits. Papermaking is like baking a cake—you
port-medium,” stressing its assertive role in the creative can follow a recipe, but it won’t always come out the same
way. It’s an issue of human error and skill.” Adds his co-
worker and paper-department manager Kathy Hyde, “You
might notice a richness to the surface. I think you can
build a relationship with the surface of a handmade paper.”
“Artists swear that handmade
Hyde and Aldera both say the appeal of handmade paper is paper behaves differently,
largely aesthetic and perhaps even romantic. and once they work on it,
At Kate’s Paperie, Melanie Nerenberg, the retailer’s mar-
keting director, also sees both sides to the handmade paper
they never go back.”
issue. “Once you put the human hand in it, you allow the —Kathy Hyde,
possibility for human error,” she says. “Conversely, there is New York Central Art Supply.
something incredibly enticing about a unique surface. It
may excite the artist. It may remove someone from their
comfort zone. You know paper from Arches is going to
Expert, Timeless
Instruction
“The main difference between
[handmade and machine-made
paper] is that handmade has more
character; there’s more of a sense
of the person who made the paper.”
—David Aldera,
paper buyer at New York Central Art Supply.
T H E R E V I VA L O F A N
Influential
Drawing Course
2004 saw a museum exhibition and a new book that made
Charles Bargue and Jean-Léon Gérôme’s 19th-century
drawing course available to art students once again.
by M. Stephen Doherty
THIS PAGE
OPPOSITE PAGE
ABOVE LEFT
LEFT
OPPOSITE PAGE
from live models, was so discredited serious lack of skill and taste among ABOVE OPPOSITE PAGE
Copy of Head of a
Young Italian Girl
by Émile Levy
(1826–1890), (Course II).
Copy of Self-Portrait
by Andrea del Sarto
(1486–1530), (Course II).
were expected to learn to draw the very few notations within the outline The Daughter of Jakob Meyer
by Hans Holbein the Younger (1497–1543), 1525,
female form from statuary and other to indicate volume or anatomical black and colored chalks, light green wash
works of art. The first proofs of the detail. In most cases, the outlines are background on paper, 151⁄2 x 143⁄4. Öffentliche
Kunstsammlung Basel, Kumpferstichkabinett.
Course III lithographs showed com- drawn in straight segments, and the Holbein’s work was admired in the 19th century for
pletely nude men, while the more joints are delineated as sharp angles. its “primitive” or “naïve” qualities, and a number of
the plates in Course II are based on his drawings
modest later sets included loin clothes That’s because students were encour- and paintings.
draped over the men’s genitals. aged, when drawing the curve of an
Bargue’s lithographs in Course III arm or leg, to simplify the contour of
were outline drawings of the models, the part into straight lines. First, one
OPPOSITE PAGE
RIGHT, ABOVE
RIGHT, BELOW
THIS PAGE
An Archer
(Course III).
Man in Profile,
Leaning to Right
(Course III).
PROFESSOR
EAKINS
An unearthed drawing manual from America’s consummate realist painter demonstrates the breadth
of Thomas Eakins’ intellectual curiosity and the vigor of his methods. by Gerard Haggerty
lease fill in the blank: “_______ is not a painter, he is disputing the conventional wisdom about how muscle
LEFT
This illustration opens
Chapter VI of Eakins’
book, which deals with
depicting the tricky
perspectives of
reflections on water.
OPPOSITE PAGE
Chapter IV of Eakins’
Drawing Manual
addresses mechanical
drawings.
coined by Peter Marzio to describe the zeal for teaching Those who dread the complexities of linear perspective will
drawing that swept across America in the first half of the smile ruefully upon learning from Professor Werbel’s intro-
19th century. Two of the best-selling how-to-draw books of duction that artists such as Gérôme and Jacques-Louis David
the time, Rembrandt Peale’s Graphics and John Gadsby often hired specialists to map out the perspective schemes
Chapman’s The American Drawing-Book, both linked draw- that underlie their paintings. They will also take comfort from
ing to prosperity and the common good. Chapman pro- Eakins’ opening assertion that “the whole science of [linear]
claimed that art “gives strength to the arm of the mechanic, perspective is one of great simplicity and of easy comprehen-
and taste and skill to the producer, not only of the embell- sion.” Eakins leads us gently through the rationale for the sys-
ishments, but actual necessities of life. From the anvil of the tem, using commonsensical examples like tracing what we
smith and the workbench of the joiner ... it is ever at hand see upon a windowpane placed at various distances from our-
with its powerful aid, in strengthening invention and execu- selves and our subject, and offering pithy truths such as
tion, and qualifying the mind and hand to design and pro- “twice as far off, half as big.” Complications and geometry les-
duce whatever the wants or tastes of society may require.” sons accrue gradually. His black-and-white illustrations are
Eakins used Chapman’s textbook when he attended crisp—though some of the geometric diagrams ought to be
Philadelphia’s Central High School, a first-rate public school larger—and his language is as clear as glass.
where Peale’s notions about drawing and daily(!) grading pre- Eakins was a beloved teacher—praised by his students,
vailed. Although Eakins’ writing is less florid than Chapman’s, who followed him en masse out the doors of the academy
the organization of his manual resembles both The American when he resigned, and praised as well by subsequent
Drawing-Book and the curriculum at Central High School. artist/educators such as Robert Henri. This elegant little
The reader is introduced to linear perspective, mechanical book offers a real sense of Eakins’ plain-spoken pedagogy: in
drawing, and isometric perspective; but where Peale spends equal measure didactic and democratic, caring and exacting.
only two pages on linear perspective, Eakins devotes three Many how-to-draw books preceded and followed Eakins’
chapters to the topic. A chapter on the science of reflections manual, and it is not the final word on the topic. But it is a
mirrors Eakins’ interest in optics, followed by what he claimed valuable addition to one’s library and indeed to one’s life—
were “entirely original” theories about bas relief sculpture. because it provides an opportunity to study with an
Observations about stop-motion photography, equine anato- American master. ❖
my, and mathematical formulae for refraction make up the
books’ appendix, revealing that it is not just his love of linear For more information, or to order Eakins’ A Drawing Manual,
perspective that qualifies Eakins as a Renaissance man. visit www.yalebooks.com.
In this tutorial overview of the figure, we learn how to analyze and correctly draw
different areas of the body, and then bring it all together. by Dan Gheno
The Human
Form: How to Put It
All Together
Y
ou wouldn’t build a house without referring to a infatuated with his new-found knowledge. I learned this the
blueprint or try to take a trip without consulting a hard way when, at 10 years old, I tentatively began my study
map, anymore than you would set up your DVD of anatomy. The sternocleidomastoid in the neck was my first-
player without looking at the instruction manual. found and favorite muscle for weeks. I couldn’t draw a neck
Or, perhaps you would—as most of us do—resulting in that had any cylindrical solidity, but I certainly was proud of
a clock that flashes 12 a.m. in perpetuity and a timer-record my “knowledge”—that is, until I started to read more anato-
function that never seems to find the channel or program my books. The key, as many anatomists warn in their hand-
that you wanted. Many of us approach figure drawing the books, is to learn anatomy so well that you can forget it.
same way, as if trying to reinvent the wheel each time we That way, it doesn’t interfere with your creative impulse,
sketch the human form. There are a multitude of helpful allowing your subconscious to quietly and spontaneously
guidebooks that provide crucial information about the fig- provide the technical information when you need it.
ure and its underlying structure and overlying surface fea- After flailing about for months, memorizing muscles
tures. Artists have compiled this hard-wrought information and drawing rubbery, flaccid drawings, I realized that I
over several centuries of looking and analyzing, each gener- needed to reboot my studies. I began concentrating on the
ation of artists building upon the previous generation’s dis- skeletal underpinnings of the human form as all the anato-
coveries. This knowledge can be found in the many artistic my books recommend. Like all contrarian youths, I had a
anatomy books on the market, as well as in general books hard time accepting the truth: that the muscles follow the
on figure drawing, such as Richard G. Hatton’s Figure underlying curve of the arm and leg bones as well as the
Drawing manual (out of print), but most of them go unread big planar shapes of the rib cage and the pelvis. But soon, I
by the average art student and many of the art profession- could see the results of my study: more rhythm and a sense
als fearful of squelching their “creativity.” of volume in my figure drawings.
It’s true, a little bit of anatomical knowledge can be a very It would be impossible to present all the art world’s
dangerous thing. A cursory study of the subject can result in accumulated knowledge of the human form in one book,
stilted, overworked, muscle-lumpy drawings by an artist let alone in this one article. Whether you’re interested in
Weighted Stasis
by Dan Gheno, 2006,
colored pencil and white
charcoal on toned
paper, 24 x 18.
DRAW SIP 09 Gheno:Drawing-Feature 9/17/09 7:08 PM Page 66
S
D D
N
E
A
F
L
B
E
F C
Getting a Likeness
Although this guideline will work on all figures, even still- above the breasts. Above all, trust your eyes! Even though the
life objects, there is no such thing as a generic core figure. word bilateral implies an absolute symmetrical relationship
I’ve explained previously in Drawing how to get a likeness between each side of the torso, there is always some variation
when drawing or painting a face (fall 2006). Simply put, from the norm, with one breast usually a little smaller than
you divide the distances between features into three seg- the other and one side or segment of the “six-pack” abs larger
ments, estimating which distance is longest and which is or more defined than the other.
shortest. If you can’t find the likeness
at this broad level, you never will, no
matter how many details you throw
into the face. The same is true of the
torso. Try measuring the front of the
torso in a similar manner, dividing it
into three sections and comparing
each of their relative lengths as you
would do with the features. The first
segment begins at the pit of the neck,
or suprasternal notch (S) and ends
below the nipples at the infrasternal
notch (N); The second begins at the
infrasternal notch and ends at the
navel; the final section starts at the
navel and finishes at the pubic bone.
Once you establish this basic frame-
work, you can go to town on the
details, if you want.
But proceed with caution! Some
artists get too hung up on the details—
especially the breasts and shoulder
blades. Most people have a tendency to
draw the breast too large or skimp on
the rib cage so that the breasts seem to
float outside of the torso with no base of
support. With equal frequency, artists
tend to draw the shoulder blades too
small and tight to the torso, not leaving
enough room for the rib cage. I usually
ignore these details when I first set up a
drawing of the core figure. Instead, I
concentrate on establishing the underly-
ing curves of the rib cage, drawing
through the positions of the breasts and
the shoulder blades. Then, with a sup-
porting surface to work with, I add
In the Distance
these superficial details on top. On your by Dan Gheno, 2005, colored
drawings of the female form, don’t for- pencil, 11 x 8.
get to add a little extra bulk for the pects
LEFT
OPPOSITE PAGE
The ribs are a particularly enticing—and baffling— own bodies as “love handles.” As its name suggests, this
detail. Many confused artists look at the ribs and see a muscle rises upward toward the ribs at an oblique angle,
mind-boggling webbing of details that seem to break into and on well-developed individuals, this muscle is also fin-
long and short shapes, sometimes angular, sometimes cur- gerlike at the top. The external oblique muscle intersects
vaceous, going in all different directions. You will find it the serratus above, as if they were two clasped hands, fold-
easier to analyze them if you remember that the rib cage is ing into the same dependable, curving arc that guides the
basically barrellike in structure, and that the individual ribs upper muscle.
follow this form, starting high in the back at the spine and
then curving downward toward the front (see Michelangelo’s The Extremities
Studies for Haman). The pesky complications start when As you may recall from previous installments of this series,
you try to add two very elegant muscles to this simple you know that I like to begin my drawings of the figure
mass: The serratus anterior (A), which grabs the ribs from with a “line of action.” Coined by Thomas Eakins, this term
above and the external oblique (B), which grabs from below. refers to a line, either imagined or actually drawn on your
Luckily, these seemingly complicated muscles have their paper, that indicates the overall thrust and action of the fig-
own logic to guide your eye and pencil. The serratus is ure. The primary line of action usually runs through the
literally a serrated muscle, with short fingerlike segments entire length of the figure, from head to toe, buttressed by
that individually dig into the ribs. The overall muscle more specific, tributary lines of thrust that run through the
follows a dependable arc that runs from underneath the individual extremities. As I move deeper into the drawing
bottom of the shoulder blade and aims for the nipple in process, I concentrate on the core figure and then later
front, before finally disappearing under the pectoralis. move into the extremities that radiate off of it. I usually
The external oblique is the form that sits so gracefully shift into the supporting limb or limbs—for instance, the
above the hips in athletic people and Greek and Roman legs in a standing pose or an arm if the model is leaning
statues; unfortunately, most of us experience this on our back in a seated position.
RIGHT
Indian Beggar
by Georges Seurat,
ca. 1878, graphite,
19 x 111⁄4. Private
collection.
Note the shadow
patterns on the arms
compared to those of
the torso.
RIGHT
Bones
There is nothing rigid or straight about these cylindrical shell. Many artists loathe this exercise—until they look at the
arms and legs. Even so, it’s sometimes hard to see the sub- anatomical sketches by Michelangelo, Leonardo, and the
tle, curving line of action that runs through the limbs even studies for The Raft of the Medusa by Théodore Géricault.
when they are bent upon themselves. Look closely: The They were Old Masters, not rank amateurs. That’s why they
underlying bones of the extremities curve subtly, taking the understood the need to return to the bones when necessary.
muscles on a ride with them. It can take a long time for They knew that you sometimes have to build from the inside
some artists to give up their preconceptions and see these structure and work your way outward to find a better under-
slight bends that run through the limbs. In fact, when told standing of the surface forms and rhythms.
to look for the bowing, many artists
inexplicably curve the limbs in the
opposite direction. Then, when
they finally grasp the concept, they
frequently over do it. For instance
when drawing the lower arm sus-
pended in midair, they will look at
the muscle mass that droops below
the ulna and often exaggerate its
appearance, drawing the overall
forearm like a piece of overcooked
pasta. If this is you, and you want
to avoid this effect, try visualizing
the bony structure underneath the
skin and muscle casing. Remember
that in architectural terms, these
bones of the limbs are essentially
weight-bearing posts or columns.
Built out of delicately refined twists
and turns, the bones coil just
enough to deflect the stressful
effects of the body’s weight and
actions outwardly away from the
core of their long forms. They can’t
curve too much beyond their basic
columnar structure, or they will
snap like a twig. Another important
architectural point: Avoid the equal-
ly annoying problem of drawing
the lower arms and legs too thin,
leaving barely enough room for one
bone, let alone the two bones that
support each of the forelimbs.
If you’re having a hard time see-
ing any of this, put some tracing
paper over one of your drawings and
draw the bones underneath. See if
your drawing makes sense and see
if the subtly curving bones will fit
your drawing without “breaking the
bones” to make them fit a faulty
A Flying Angel
and Other Studies
by Michelangelo,
ca. 1534, black chalk,
16 x 103⁄4. Collection
the British Museum,
London, England.
the body that you don’t recognize and can’t OPPOSITE PAGE
Nude Man
identify from your previous studies. by John Singer Sargent, graphite,
97⁄8 x 73⁄4. Collection Wadsworth
Atheneum, Hartford, Connecticut.
Possibilities
pieces—and well worth the added effort. Drapery can extend
the possibilities of a pose, add psychological and narrative sug-
gestion, and help tie together parts of a complex composition.
Over many years of both drawing and teaching how to
a Model
break as often as every 20 minutes, and it is simply not real-
istic to expect that one will get the fabric back in precisely
the same place. But, because I always want to make at least
some modification to the drawn study for aesthetic improve-
by Sharon Allicotti ment and to suit the overall pictorial design, I am not undu-
ly concerned that the drapery does not remain exactly the
same throughout the session. The inevitable changes in the
drape caused by model breaks actually offers the artist sub-
tle variations often superior to the initial arrangement.
In Study for Wellspring, the drapery forms enabled me to
develop curved, swirling rhythms to play off those in the
landscape and to serve as a transitional element between fig-
ure and nature. I arranged the fabric to form a large “figure
eight” that began at the model’s upper torso and raised right
arm, flowed down and across the left bent knee, around and
beneath the right foot, and ran up the left covered arm to
complete the shape. I was also mindful of the exposed pant
leg, taking pains to arrange and redraw the folds to coincide,
as much as was practicable, with the overall drapery scheme.
The model demonstration illustrates how safety pins can
assist in holding folds and gathers at key points. I make sure
to run a pin through all of the fabric layers that make up the
fold. I use an inexpensive eyeliner pencil on the model’s skin
to mark the position of the pinned drape. The position of the
edges is also marked on the drape, using a small safety pin
or chalk mark to match the cross drawn on the model’s skin.
If the model is wearing a leotard, I use chalk instead of eye-
liner so it can be easily laundered out later.
I first sketch the undraped model, either nude or wearing
dancewear, in order to understand the model’s gestures and
the anatomical structure beneath the drapery. In the graphite
study Wendy, Draped, I intentionally allowed the underdrawing
of the knees to show through the fabric. Although the cloth is
not actually transparent, the drawing is a preliminary study for
a painting, so retaining such critical figure landmarks will be
useful in developing the final
Study for Wellspring
2002, charcoal, 30 x 22. All artwork
piece. I used a twin-size bed-
this article collection the artist. sheet for the drape.
LEFT
Wendy, Draped
in progress, graphite,
30 x 22.
BELOW
Wendy, Draped
2003, graphite, 30 x 22.
LEFT
by Sharon Allicotti
DRAW SIP 09 Allicotti:AA feature 9/18/09 3:22 PM Page 89
Fey, Seated
2005, colored pencil on
blue-green paper, 25 x 19.
All artwork this article
collection the artist.
Samantha, Seated
2004, charcoal and
crayon on fawn-colored
paper, 41 x 291⁄2.
8.
92 THE BEST OF DRAWING
Substantial savings in model fees.
Figure-drawing-workshop fees average about $15 per three-
hour session—versus $15 to $20 per hour for private sittings.
Eventually, if you have the space in your home studio, you
may wish to organize your own sessions. Splitting model
fees with even one other artist results in significant savings.
DRAW SIP 09 Allicotti:AA feature 9/18/09 7:25 AM Page 93
Wendy Reclining,
Taos (detail) How to Find Figure-Drawing Sessions
2003, graphite, 30 x 22.
Look for “uninstructed figure-drawing” or “life-drawing” workshops at local colleges, community recre-
ation centers, galleries, museums, artist clubs, and associations.
Also, figure artists—found through galleries, local art schools, and colleges—sometimes run figure-
drawing sessions in their own studios or belong to drawing groups that meet regularly to draw from
models. This arrangement confers the added benefit of working with talented professionals; attend one
workshop and, in turn, find out about venues from both participants and the models themselves.
10.
Experimentation/exploration.
Washbrook
1803, black chalk and
stump, 13 x 91⁄2.
Each stroke and mark in
this drawing has a unique
quality, lending a fresh-
ness and sense of life.
Constable’s
SketchbooksJohn Constable responded to the landscape in pocket-size sketchbooks
he carried nearly everywhere he went. Although primarily used
as notes and studies for large-scale, highly finished oil paintings,
the drawings show an immense authority in a small format.
by Lynne Bahr
ABOVE
Stonehenge
1820, graphite, 41⁄2 x 71⁄3. Collection Victoria and
Albert Museum, London, England.
Arranging all the stones in such a small format
required Constable to view the scene from a very
close range. It seems the artist was able to do this
and still incorporate the objects on the periphery in
an effective composition.
LEFT
Binfield: A Watersplash
1816, graphite, 31⁄3 x 41⁄3.
In nearly all his drawings Constable commented on
the sky. Here he also attends to the footbridge,
explaining how it was built with heavy and light
strokes of his pencil.
OPPOSITE PAGE
T
he British landscape artist John Constable position—and whole compositions.” The drawings are
(1776–1837) believed that “we see nothing, ‘til exquisite in terms of their execution, showing the artist’s
we truly understand it.” Suggesting that one skill and sensitivity. “They are a means to an end,” adds
sees through the mind, not through the eyes, Evans, “but they have huge authority.”
this concept is central to understanding Between 1809 and 1812, Constable painted directly from
Constable’s creative process. Largely known as a painter of nature in oil, making quick sketches that significantly
specific places—the Stour Valley, Salisbury, and Brighton, advanced his artistic development, “establishing, with bold
for instance—he relied on sketchbooks to develop his skills tonal and colour juxtapositions, landscape images of utter
of visual perception in addition to collecting source material originality,” writes Ian Fleming-Williams in Constable and
for his oil paintings. Most important, however, the sketch- His Drawings (Philip Wilson Publishers, London, England).
books became a vehicle through which the artist could His ability to experiment with light effects was more limit-
respond spontaneously and freely to the subject he knew ed when he worked in graphite, and according to Evans,
and loved best: the English landscape. Constable used the sketchbooks primarily to study a subject
Among the papers that were found after Constable’s in detail. “One infers they were done rapidly,” he says,
death was a quotation from a book on painting by the 14th- “because they are small, but they are highly finished and
century Italian artist Cennino Cennini, stating, “Day after meticulous.” The development of the footbridge in Binfield:
day never fail to draw something,
which, however little it may be, will
yet in the end be much, and do thy
best.” Constable took this advice by
filling sketchbooks with small
drawings of wherever he was at the
moment, especially during periods
when he was not painting, such as
during a tour of the Lake District in
1806 or the summers of 1813 and
1814. “The drawings vary from
individual people or things to
pieces of foliage,” describes Mark
Evans, the senior curator at the
Victoria and Albert Museum, in
London, which owns the largest
collection of Constable drawings in
the world, including the 1813 and
1814 sketchbooks. “They include a
man sitting on a bank, a woman
and child, and entire landscapes,”
says Evans. “We see things that are
major or minor elements in a com-
A Watersplash, a drawing in the 1816 book, is one such objects and their component parts are represented in terms
example. Heavy and light strokes of graphite build up the of lights and darks of varying strengths with a closely relat-
structure of the bridge, attesting to the artist’s attention to ed, quite spontaneous system of textures,” he writes.
detail in visually describing the structure. Furthermore, at this point the artist was experimenting
Constable excelled as a draftsman in other ways as well. with revealing and concealing certain parts of forms, which
Notably, in the sketches of whole compositions, the artist was to become a critical aspect of his art.
had an unusually well-developed aptitude in organizing By 1815, Constable had apparently begun recognizing his
individual elements. As Fleming-Williams describes, some powers as a draftsman, as evident in the three drawings he
of the drawings present a point of view that incorporates submitted to the Royal Academy exhibition of that year. His
objects that normally are out of the visual range, revealing sketchbook of 1816 shows his new confidence as an artist,
how Constable convincingly depicted a broad sweep of the achieved by the ambitious oil paintings he had recently
landscape. In Stonehenge, for instance, one would have to completed, as in Dedham Mill [not shown]. One of a few
stand much farther away to include all the stones within drawings of the same scene that Constable had in mind for
the pictorial space. Undoubtedly the artist moved his head an oil painting, Dedham Lock and Mill shows how the artist
and relied on more than one line of vision in composing worked out the composition. “With a relatively blunt-
the drawing, but he was nevertheless able to take in the pointed pencil and an unerring eye, Constable reduces a
long view and convey it effectively in a small format. scene of some complexity down to a miniature alive with
Equally remarkable is the way in which Constable endowed information,” writes Fleming-Williams. The Horizontal
each stroke or mark with a unique and spontaneous quality Mill, Battersea, another fully realized sketch, depicts an
and avoided repetitive gestures,
as in Washbrook.
Drawing in sketchbooks
advanced Constable’s skills such
that eventually it did not matter
whether he drew or painted,
according to Fleming-Williams.
All that mattered was the use of
lights and darks. In Cornfield at
East Bergholt, for instance,
Constable enhanced the shad-
ows on the foreground to offset
the sunlit fields beyond, defin-
ing the scene in terms of light
and shadow. In A Group of
Cottages and a View Towards
Denham, he represented the
scene tonally, playing up the
subtle effects of light. Compared
with earlier drawings, in these
examples the artist relied less on
outlining the forms. “The whole
is seen as a tonal field in which
Master
Landscape
Drawings:
Evidence & Interpretation
Many great landscape drawings were created as preparatory studies,
educational exercises, or informational journals and not as finished
works of art. We can now study those freely made graphic images for
evidence of the artists’ ideas and procedures. by M. Stephen Doherty
T
he history of art is often pieced together seldom listed them in the inventories of their
from scraps of evidence and pure specula- holdings. Even when auction houses offered
tion, and drawings are often the most valu- the landscape drawings for sale, they tended to
able resources in conducting that kind of investi- group them together to be sold as a lot rather
gation. When someone discovers dozens of indi- than as individual treasures.
vidual studies for a large fresco, for example, they To those of us who are trying to improve our
understand all the various compositional ideas abilities as artists, there is much to learn both
the artist considered before executing the fin- from the cast-off studies and the polished draw-
ished decoration. And when a carefully detailed ings. And landscape drawings are often among
graphite study is linked to a painting of two war- the most interesting scraps of evidence about
ring gods, scholars can see how the artist turned the thoughts and methods of the Old Masters
studio drawings of hired models into an emotion- we admire. They are like the first draft of a
ally charged painting of supreme conflict. novel, the unedited version of a public speech,
Some Old Master landscape drawings were or the unaltered score of a symphony. They
polished up by the artists so they could be used provide valuable insight that helps us expand
as part of a proposal to a prospective painting our own abilities to create art.
client, duplicated to satisfy several collectors Drawing magazine selected a group of master
who each wanted the same drawing, or present- drawings to review, with each offering an oppor-
ed as a gift to a patron who supported the tunity to explore some important aspect of the
artist’s career. But even these refined drawings artist’s powers. All are reproduced in books that
failed to impress their owners as great works of are still in print, and several are currently on view
art, as evidenced by the fact that the collectors at the National Gallery of Art, in Washington, DC.
ABOVE
Pastoral Scene
With Classical
Figures
by Claude Gellée
(called Claude Lorrain),
ca. 1640–1645, pen
and brown ink and
brush with brown and
gray wash over graphite
on cream laid paper,
79⁄16 x 101⁄8. Collection
The Cleveland Museum
of Art, Cleveland, Ohio.
LEFT
View of the
Acqua Acetosa
by Claude Gellée
(called Claude Lorrain),
ca. 1645, pen and
brown ink and brush
with brown and gray
wash over graphite on
cream laid paper,
103⁄16 x 1515⁄16.
Collection The
Cleveland Museum of
Art, Cleveland, Ohio.
Trees
ca. 1590, brown ink,
77⁄16 x 511⁄16. Private collection.
was admired for his portraits of English may be a lone sheep—drawn with
lords and ladies, would consider the act utmost brevity—atop the hill at left.
of drawing to be an opportunity to Gainsborough executed the sheet with a
explore new materials, concepts, and layer of rhythmic, diagonal chalk strokes
styles of expression. This example of his that emphasize the thrust of the land-
experimental chalk drawings was on scape. The softened, rounded features of
view at the National Gallery of Art in a the rocks and trees, and the feathery sur-
2007 show titled “Private Treasures: face pattern, evoke a lush, dramatic set-
Four Centuries of European Master ting, presaging the landscapes of the
Drawings.” In the catalogue description British romantic school.”
of the work, Jennifer Tonkovich, the One can easily understand how an
associate curator of drawing and prints artist who devoted most of his artistic
at The Morgan Library & Museum, skills to serving English society would
where the show originated in New York take pleasure in creating experimental
City, comments that “although drawings. In all likelihood, he would have
[Gainsborough] occasionally made lost his sanity if he hadn’t found some
studies related to portraits, landscapes relief from flattering dukes and dowagers.
Wooded Landscape
With a Stream
ca. mid-1780s, black and
white chalk on gray-blue
paper. Private collection.
ABOVE
RIGHT
A View of the
Mountain Pass Called
the Notch in the
White Mountains
1839, oil, 403⁄16 x 615⁄16.
Collection National Gallery
of Art, Washington, DC.
Rocks at Nahant
ca. 1864, graphite and watercolor,
141⁄4 x 207⁄8. Collection Museum of Fine
Arts, Boston, Boston, Massachusetts.
ABOVE
The Quarry
ca. 1917, charcoal,
16 x 20. Collection the
Pennsylvania Academy of
the Fine Arts, Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania. Gift of the
artist.
LEFT
Quarry
1917, oil, 50 x 60.
Collection the Pennsylvania
Academy of the Fine Arts,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Joseph E. Temple Fund.
From Drawing
to Canvas
A wide range of traditional and modern techniques is available
for transferring preliminary drawings onto the painting surface.
by Joseph C. Skrapits
F
or most artists, drawing is both a stylus or the end of a paintbrush—is
pleasurable activity in itself and a then used to trace over the lines of the
stage in the complex process of drawing with enough pressure applied
creation. The final goal is often a to leave graphite marks on the paint-
painting, usually on canvas, paper, or ing support. The result will be a faint
a similarly portable support, or more graphite reproduction of the original
rarely today, on a wall. Between the drawing on the canvas, with the accu-
initial expression of a graphic idea in racy and detail determined by the
charcoal or graphite, and its ultimate artist’s care in tracing the original.
realization in oil, watercolor, or acrylic, As with everything else in the crafts
lies the technical challenge of transfer- of drawing and painting, practice
ring the preliminary design to the makes perfect. Experiment with differ-
painting support. Artists in late ent tracing tools, the density of the
medieval times developed or refined graphite layer, and variations in pres-
the basic transfer techniques that are sure to achieve a satisfactory transfer.
still widely used today; in addition, Chalk or pastel can be rubbed on the
modern technology offers the contem- back of the drawing instead of
porary artist an array of options that graphite. And since graphite rubbing
promise to save time and labor while is really a primitive form of carbon
improving the accuracy of the trans- paper, a sheet of carbon paper can be
ferred image. placed between the drawing and the
canvas as a substitute for the layer of
TRADITIONAL TRANSFER graphite or chalk on the back of the
TECHNIQUES drawing. Graphite rubbing is best suit-
ed for the transfer of small-scale
GRAPHITE RUBBING: Possibly the designs and simple outline drawings
simplest way to transfer a drawing without too much detail.
onto canvas or another support, when
there is no change in scale, is to cover POUNCING (SPOLVERO): The revival
the back of the drawing with a thin of fresco painting in Italy near the end
layer of graphite using the broad side of the 13th century gave rise to two
of a solid graphite pencil. Next, the important transfer techniques:
drawing is taped, faceup, to the can- spolvero and graticolare. The art of
vas; a tool with a dull point—such as a fresco required meticulous planning
Study for the Left Foreground Cartoon for the School of Athens Cartoon for Annunciation
Group in the School of Athens by Raphael, charcoal and black chalk, with by Raphael, ca. 1502, pen-and-ink and wash
by Raphael, silverpoint with white heightening white heightening, on many sheets of paper, on paper, pricked for transfer, 11’ x 161⁄2’.
on gray prepared paper, 111⁄2 x 16. Collection pricked for transfer, 9’ x 27’. Collection Collection The Louvre, Paris, France.
Albertina Museum, Vienna, Austria. Ambrosiana Gallery, Milan, Italy.
and preliminary work, including the Since pouncing results in permanent damage to the
preparation of a full-scale drawing,
called a cartoon, comprising numerous
cartoon—not to mention the damage caused by contact
sheets of paper glued together at the with wet plaster—the drawings were considered
edges to cover the exact dimensions of
the wall to be painted. The surviving
expendable and often discarded after use.
cartoon for Raphael’s School of Athens,
for example, measures 9' x 27'. ding section of the fresco. Next, a cloth trace the lines of the drawing with a
Spolvero, or pouncing, was used to bag filled with charcoal powder was stylus when it was in contact with the
transfer the cartoon onto the wall. The rubbed over the cartoon using circular, intonaco, leaving physical impressions
lines of the drawing were first perforat- daubing motions—the “pouncing.” of the lines in the plaster—a transfer
ed with thousands of tiny holes. The The charcoal dust passed through the technique very similar to graphite rub-
perforations were made in two ways: a perforations in the paper and marked bing, but of course useful only in fres-
pouncing wheel, resembling a riding the wall with a series of dots, which co. In his entertaining and well-
spur, could be used to trace along provided guides for redrawing the researched book, Michelangelo & the
straight and gently curving lines—as design on the wall after the cartoon Pope’s Ceiling (Walker & Company,
the wheel turned, it made holes at was removed. The pouncing bag was New York, New York), Ross King close-
evenly spaced intervals. More intricate made from a piece of coarse, heavy ly examines Michelangelo’s varying use
lines, such as the details in faces, were linen, folded to double thickness. of spolvero and incision to transfer his
perforated by hand using a sharply Charcoal powder was placed on the cartoons to the ceiling of the Sistine
pointed tool such as an awl or a sewing linen, and then the corners were gath- Chapel. The project lasted four years,
needle fixed to a piece of wood. ered together and tied to form the bag. from 1508 to 1512, during which time
Once perforated, the cartoon was A shortcut transfer technique, called Michelangelo’s confidence grew with
usually cut into sections, which were incision, was sometimes used instead experience. In the early stages he used
then laid directly on the wet plaster, or of spolvero to save time. Instead of per- spolvero exclusively because it pro-
intonaco, of the wall in the correspon- forating the cartoon, the artist would duced more accurate and detailed
The Music Lesson transfers. Near the end he relied were considered expendable and often
by Jan Vermeer, ca. 1662–1665, oil, almost entirely on incision to transfer discarded after use. None from the
291⁄2 x 25. The Royal Collection, St.
James’ Palace, London, England. the outlines of his figures, then paint- Sistine Chapel ceiling are extant.
ed faces and the interior modeling of Raphael’s cartoon for the School of
musculature freehand. Athens survived because, though it was
Since pouncing results in perma- perforated, he did not make the trans-
nent damage to the cartoon—not to fer directly to the intonaco but onto an
mention the damage caused by con- auxiliary cartoon. King theorizes that
tact with wet plaster—the drawings because the fresco was painted for the
ABOVE
RIGHT
If past masters had available to them the range of tools available today, no doubt
many of them would unhesitatingly have adopted the latest methods.
cases save time in the long run: of one’s drawings. There is also the ects startlingly sharp enlargements up
Placing a grid over the drawing can issue of possible distortion of the to 15 times the original size. The MC
make distortions in figural propor- image caused by the camera lens, the 250 has a 6"-x- 6" copying area, so I
tions more apparent, allowing the projector’s lens, and the angle at made reduced-size scans of my draw-
artist to correct mistakes early and eas- which the image is projected onto the ings on my computer. Alternatively, I
ily, in the copying stage, rather than in painting support. Only practice in could have downloaded images of the
the difficult later stages of painting. photography and in the use of the pro- drawings from a digital camera for
jector can adequately address these printing from the computer.
MODERN potential problems. Using the projector, I was able to
TRANSFER TOOLS An alternative tool would be an easily transfer several basic outline
opaque projector, which displays source drawings to canvases in a matter of
PROJECTORS: Latter-day replace- material—commonly photographic minutes. The projected images were
ments for traditional transfer tech- prints but also drawings—directly, very clear and detailed—more than
niques come in a variety of shapes and eliminating the need to create an inter- adequate for my needs. In fact, were I
sizes, but they share a common tech- mediate transparency. Opaque projec- to consider buying a projector, I would
nological principle: the projection of an tors are of two types: stand-mounted, probably choose a less expensive
optical image of the source (drawing, which project images downward onto a model, such as the general-purpose
photograph, or in some cases a three- horizontal surface; and tabletop mod- Artograph Prism Projector, which is
dimensional subject) onto a plane sur- els, which project onto vertical surfaces suitable for transferring high-
face. Optical projection requires, at a such as walls or easel-mounted canvas- contrast line art, patterns, and designs.
minimum, a strong light source and a es. (Some models can project both hori- Projectors, coupled with comput-
lens to focus the image, and in fact zontally and vertically.) ers, scanners, and digital cameras, can
most projection systems today feature Opaque projectors are very popular certainly bring speed and convenience
a lot more bells and whistles. The basic among artists who work from photo- to the process of transferring drawings
principle of optical projection has been graphs, and most models have copy- to a painting surface. They make it
known for centuries, however, and was ing areas of 6" x 6" that easily accom- possible to preserve original designs
used as early as the Renaissance in modate standard-size prints. Some intact, without marring by graphite
such devices as the camera lucida and more expensive projectors have copy smudges, pouncing holes, or squaring
camera obscura. areas as large as 81⁄2" x 11". Therein lines. But these modern conveniences
The artist David Hockney believes lies a problem for the artist who also add substantial financial costs and
that these early predecessors of the wants to transfer a drawing larger a lot of cumbersome, complicated
modern film camera were used exten- than that. One solution would be to equipment that eventually must be
sively by masters such as the Van Eyck shoot photographic prints of the serviced or replaced.
brothers and Vermeer to achieve stun- drawing. Another would be to make a Ultimately, one’s choice of transfer
ningly realistic effects. The camera luci- reduced-size copy of the drawing, techniques and tools may reflect his or
da and camera obscura could, theoreti- using either a commercial photocopi- her overall approach to art making.
cally, be employed to transfer the image er (found at most office-supply stores) How important is speed to you, and is
of a drawing onto panel or canvas; but or a flatbed scanner attached to a it worth the investment to make the
that would defeat their purpose, which home computer and printer. “chore” of image-transfer go more
was to bypass the stage of preliminary quickly and easily? If past masters had
drawing altogether by enabling the COMPUTERS, SCANNERS, AND available to them the range of tools
artist to fix an image of the “real world” DIGITAL CAMERAS: For the purpos- available today, no doubt many of them
directly onto the painting support. es of this article, I borrowed an would unhesitatingly have adopted the
Today, an ordinary 35-mm slide pro- Artograph MC 250 Professional latest methods. Others, like the cur-
jector can become a basic transfer Projector from my local Dick Blick art- mudgeonly Degas, would have stuck
device for the artist. Its use presuppos- supply store. This is a top-of-the-line with the old ways. “Speed,” he once
es, of course, that one owns or has tabletop model featuring a precision- quipped. “What nonsense! Nothing
access to a 35-mm film camera and ground color-corrected lens system was ever accomplished without the
can take good-quality transparencies and 300-watt halogen lamp that proj- patient collaboration of time.” ❖
The Tradition of
Drawing from Memory
The systematic methods of a brilliant 19th-century teacher can
help artists of all ages discover and develop their inner eye.
by Joseph C. Skrapits
A
rtists who wish to improve had previously drawn in the life class. these abstract shapes to “one of the
their drawing skills would do Continual practice in this exercise, he simplest details of the human face, a
well to consider the crucial role said, would soon enable the student to nose drawn in profile,” as he wrote in
that memory plays in even the most draw “tolerably correct” human fig- The Training of the Memory in Art, pub-
straightforward drawing from life. As ures “with as little effort of the mind lished in 1847. He pointed out some
Kimon Nicolaïdes wrote in his classic as is required to trace with a pen the salient characteristics of the form and
book The Natural Way to Draw, “With letters of the alphabet.” lectured on the nose’s anatomical con-
the exception of the [blind] contour Probably the most comprehensive struction, then allowed the pupils to
study, there is no drawing that is not a approach to memory training for study the image for a few days before
memory drawing because, no matter artists was devised in the 1840s by a asking them to draw it from memory.
how slight the interval is from the time wonderfully gifted teacher with the Lecoq took care not to require his
you look at the model until you look at unwieldy name of Horace Lecoq de students to use a particular method in
your drawing or painting, you are Boisbaudran. While a professor at the committing the image to memory. He
memorizing what you have just seen.” School of Decorative Arts, in Paris, wanted them “to have free scope for
Various exercises for cultivating the Lecoq conducted some experiments their own natural and individual ways
visual memory have been practiced at involving a group of enthusiastic 12- to of working.” Some simply looked at
least since the time of the Renaissance, 15-year-old students in his drawing the nose very attentively, others drew
and, no doubt some form of memory class. He wanted to find out whether repeated copies until they could
training was used by artists long his pupils’ varying natural abilities to remember the nose’s modeling, pro-
before that. For example, Leonardo da recall visual forms could be improved portions, outline, and details exactly.
Vinci recommended that artists, through a series of logically graduated Lecoq was surprised at how rapidly the
before going to sleep at night, review tasks of increasing complexity. young artists progressed. After three
in their imagination the outlines of Lecoq began by asking his students months, they could draw an entire
forms they had studied during the day. to memorize straight lines of different head accurately from memory, even
Similarly, in the 18th century, Sir lengths, then angles of different down to details of the hair. The later
Joshua Reynolds told his students to degrees, followed by curves varying in stages of the experiment involved the
redraw from memory figures that they difficulty. He moved on quickly from memorization of engravings of classi-
■ Modeling, or three-dimensionality, is
best remembered by noting the pat-
tern of light and shade on the subject.
Pick one part of the subject, either the
darkest or the lightest, to use as the
unit of comparison to measure the
relative values of all the other parts.
These general methods are especially “formula,” he called it, despite his Nocturne: Blue and Gold—
Old Battersea Bridge
important in the early stages of memory own distrust of formulas. With the
by James McNeill Whistler, 1872–1877, oil, 267⁄8 x
training, but with practice, such con- object in view, he said, trace its outline 201⁄8. Collection Tate Britain, London, England.
scious guidelines become gradually less or major forms in the air with the tip During the period when Whistler painted his
Nocturnes, the artist, who studied under Lecoq,
necessary, according to Lecoq. “For then of your finger or a pencil. Then look prided himself on the ability to turn his back on a
the proportions, points, shapes, model- away from the object, close your eyes, scene and describe it accurately from memory.
Because of problems with lighting and logistics,
ing, and color are calculated by what I and draw it again in the air. Repeat the Whistler painted many of this series from memory.
may call the inner eye of the memory, process rapidly, as often as it takes to
without recourse to previous calcula- fix the object clearly in your mind.
tions and reasoning, much as they are
judged by the eye in ordinary vision.” LECOQ NOTIC E D that his students
Finally, Lecoq recommended one applied the formula in different ways,
overwhelmingly successful method of depending on their abilities to grasp
committing any object to memory: the essential qualities of structure, mass,
empower his students to discover their tence that students in his class initially the trouble of committing a complex
own inventiveness, to unlock the pow- produce exact copies of memorized subject to memory when you can sim-
ers of their own imagination. As models was but one step in a long ply take a picture of it? Lecoq’s elegant
another of Lecoq’s pupils, Henri process, the ultimate goal of which system fell into disuse in the schools,
Fantin-Latour, said in honoring his was—paradoxically—to free the artist’s and today, is all but unknown except
teacher, “Cultivating the memory, as he imagination from the grip of literalness. among scholars of 19th-century art
especially recommends, means noth- “In the execution of such drawings and a handful of perceptive teachers.
ing less than cultivating more intense- and paintings in our heads,” he wrote, That’s unfortunate, because there
ly the personality of each one of us.” referring to the formula of tracing in the are real advantages to cultivating the
air with a finger, with eyes closed, “our visual memory, and serious disadvan-
LECOQ’S I N FLU E NC E, direct and ideas and feelings are unhampered by tages to an overreliance on photo-
indirect, was greatest among the gen- material difficulties and have free play graphic material. As he demonstrated,
eration of artists who came of age in to follow their natural inclination. They Lecoq’s methods, when practiced con-
the middle to last part of the 19th cen- need not be slavishly bound by the exact scientiously over a long period of time,
tury. The Impressionists’ interest in appearance of things, which they may can be a way of growing those “higher
painting figures in the open air may modify at pleasure by selection, by faculties” of art: not only memory, but
have been stimulated by Lecoq’s exer- abstraction, by adding to them or taking imagination, intelligence, and feeling.
cises using models posed outdoors in away from them, by emphasis or embel- Relying on photographs may be a
the early 1860s. Édouard Manet’s lishment, in short, by grafting, as it shortcut, but ultimately, it’s a shortcut
famous Déjeuner sur l’herbe, a studio were, the ideal upon the real. to nowhere. Not only are the “higher
painting of an outdoor subject that “Is not that truly an act of assimila- faculties” not stimulated, they might
combines elements of direct observa- tion, whereby an artist, once he has actually atrophy in the long run.
tion and references to the grand tradi- made nature his own, is able, so to
tion, is very much in the spirit of speak, to infuse her with his own per- I N CONTE M PORARY society, awash
Lecoq’s teaching, though Lecoq proba- sonal sentiment? with generic mechanical memories—
bly would have objected to the inclu- “Thus the procedure that I advocate photographic and electronic imagery—
sion of so much observed “ugliness.” must be admitted to exercise and there is less occasion than ever to
Manet would have known of Lecoq’s cultivate simultaneously artistic memo- exercise and develop our natural pow-
methods through his friendship with ry, artistic intelligence, and artistic feel- ers of visual recall. As we witness a
Fantin-Latour, as would another mem- ing. It is equally well adapted for growing epidemic of memory loss
ber of their circle, Edgar Degas, who advanced as for elementary study. among the aging in our general popu-
shared Lecoq’s belief in the importance Besides tending to develop the memory lation, is there a connection? Studies
of cultivating the memory. Alone and the higher faculties, it will lead to have shown that memory training can
among the Impressionists, Degas the early formation of the excellent benefit patients in the early stages of
scoffed at the idea of painting directly habit, only too rare, of devoting a few Alzheimer’s. It couldn’t hurt those of
from nature. Though he did make life moments of head work to considering us who don’t have an organic brain
studies of his beloved dancers, laun- the model, before the hand work is disease, but want to improve our
dresses, and horseracing scenes, Degas allowed to begin.” drawing skills—or maybe just remem-
relied on his memory when compos- ber where we put the car keys. As with
ing his finished oils and pastels, draw- LECOQ’S BOOK was translated into physical fitness, the lesson for memo-
ing and redrawing the lines of his fig- English in 1911, and his methods had ry fitness is simple: Use it or lose it.
ures until they satisfied the demands some impact on art education in Great There is, potentially, a lot to lose.
of his inner eye. Britain and the United States during Horace Lecoq de Boisbaudran under-
The connection between memory the early 20th century. But artists’ stood that the ability to remember is
and the creative imagination, so abun- increasingly widespread use of not merely a mechanical aptitude, a
dantly demonstrated in Degas’ achieve- mechanical memory—that is, photo- parlor trick; it is the key feature of our
ments, is a theme that Lecoq empha- graphic reference material—made the individuality, as artists and human
sizes again and again in his book. arduous training of the visual memory beings. Without our memories, we lit-
Lecoq’s vision was holistic. His insis- seem like a waste of time. Why go to erally don’t know who we are. ❖
Madonna Breastfeeding
the Christ
by Michelangelo, ca. 1525, red
and black chalk, 211⁄3 x 153⁄5,
Collection Casa Buonarroti,
Florence, Italy. Photo courtesy
© Alinari/Art Resource, New
York, New York.
DRAW SIP 09 Sculpture:AA feature 9/18/09 12:56 PM Page 133
Capturing
the Muse
Drawings
by Sculptors
“MY DRAWINGS ARE ONLY MY WAY OF TESTING MYSELF,” wrote French
sculptor Auguste Rodin. “My object [in drawing] is to test to what extent my
hands already feel what my eyes see.” Rodin’s linking of visual perception to
tactile, emotional expression establishes the vital, but often overlooked, role
of drawing in the art of sculpture. Rodin is one among many master sculp-
tors—from Michelangelo in the 16th century to Henry Moore in the 20th—
who have also been superb, prolific draftsmen. They drew to understand and
explore anatomy, mass, and movement, and to try out possible compositional
solutions before translating their ideas, irreversibly, into marble or bronze.
For many sculptors, drawing is thus both a preliminary and a necessary
accompaniment to the realization of their three-dimensional conceptions.
Michelangelo
The rarity of Michelangelo’s talents as sculptor, painter, and
architect tends to obscure the fact that he was, in some
respects, a typical product of the Renaissance studio system,
which valued skillful drawing as indispensable to serious
accomplishment in any of the visual arts. The 15th-century
sculptor Donatello demonstrated this attitude when he told
his students, “The art of sculpture could be summed up in
one word: Draw.”
Michelangelo learned to draw as an apprentice to the
painter Domenico Ghirlandaio, who used an elaborate tech-
nique of crosshatching in pen-and-ink over preliminary
drawings in graphite or chalk to build up a rich range of val-
ues and a convincing illusion of volumes in space. Among
Michelangelo’s earliest surviving drawings are copies of
robed figures from the frescoes of Giotto and Masaccio, also
know as Three Figures From a Group of Spectators, in which
the young sculptor-to-be transformed the flat patterns of
wall paintings into startling convex forms that appear to
bulge outward from the paper. He produced this effect by
carefully emphasizing the play of light on the folds of heavy
drapery, moving the viewer’s eye from highlight to midtone
to deep shadow in regular intervals, as would happen when
viewing a sharply lit figure in the round.
In black-chalk studies of a fragment of ancient sculpture
made later in his career, Michelangelo continued to refine
the crosshatching technique, employing subtler internal
Study of an Antique
Venus
by Michelangelo, black chalk,
10 x 71⁄10. Collection the
British Museum, London,
England.
ABOVE
BELOW
ABOVE
Her Thigh depended as well on Rodin’s practice of keeping damentally sculptural way of thinking about the figure. In
his arm still while allowing his wrist to move freely. The sta- these early drawings Moore discovered the theme that would
bility of the arm delimited the scale and proportion of the fig- preoccupy him for much of his career as a sculptor: a vision
ure—confining it to an area within the borders of the of the body as a heavy object; an expression, not of internal
paper—while the freedom of the wrist allowed him to search dynamism, but of the force of gravity acting upon it.
for the truth of what he called the “great line,” which could Life studies such as Standing Figure have a palpable
describe both volume and movement in a rapid, varying, but weight that grows from the artist’s use of pen-and-ink to
unbroken mark of his pencil. Rodin sometimes later added a develop thick outlines and a dense network of shadows.
wash of watercolor to the graphite outlines of his drawings, Pen over chalk or graphite was the combination of materi-
which strengthened the sense of massiveness of the forms als used by Michelangelo to make his early studies of fresco
and also enabled him to make minor corrections of the con- paintings. Moore has used a hatching technique with the
tours, as he did with Cambodian Dancer en Face. pen that is reminiscent of Michelangelo’s crosshatching,
Formal perfection in drawing was not Rodin’s aim. “It is though Moore’s seems sketchy and random rather than
a false idea that drawing itself can be beautiful,” stated the orderly and deliberate. Moore’s figure exudes the feeling of
sculptor. “It is only beautiful through the truths and the having been desperately scratched or carved into existence
feelings that it translates.” out of some hard, resistant material.
Around 1930, Moore began to experiment with the
Henry Moore Surrealist practice of “automatic” drawing, through which
Henry Moore belonged to a generation of modernist sculp- he generated hundreds of ideas for sculptures by initially
tors who seemed to reject the Renaissance tradition and the letting go of conscious control. He explained, “I sometimes
vigorous naturalism of Rodin. Moore eventually looked to the begin a drawing with no preconceived problem to solve,
art forms of non-Western cultures and the dream imagery of with only the desire to use pencil and paper, and make lines,
the collective unconscious for inspiration. Yet his many early tones, and shapes with no conscious aim. But as my mind
drawings from life prove that he began his career with a takes in what is so produced, a point arrives where some
sound grasp of traditional methods and a very personal, fun- idea becomes conscious and crystallized, and then a control
RIGHT
Standing Figure
by Henry Moore, 1923, pen-and-ink, and ink
wash, 16 x 81⁄4. Private collection.
Seated Studies of
an astonishing economy of line. In Mother and Child
Moore’s Seated Studies of Mother and by Henry Moore, 1940,
Child, he has shown a movement of graphite, wax crayon, pen-
and-ink, gouache, and
the child toward the mother for nour- watercolor, 104⁄5 x 15.
ishment and protection, but his draw- Collection Henry Moore
Foundation, Hertfordshire,
ings are much more heavily worked. United Kingdom.
Using a combination of chalk,
LEFT
graphite, watercolor, and pen-and-ink, Madonna and Child
Moore works each drawing, searching by Henry Moore, 1943,
for the right composition for his piece. bronze, height 71⁄6".
Collection Henry Moore
Michelangelo’s drawing encapsu- Foundation, Hertfordshire,
lates the lucidity and confidence of the United Kingdom.
Drawing Logic:
IT HELPS TO DRAW BEFORE YOU START A SCULPTURE. people ask about using photos, but there are distortions in
I find that if I draw first, I become more familiar with the photos, and unless the lighting is good they will not be that
model’s proportions and body type. It also makes me more useful. They don’t record a lot of the information one can
awake visually, and warms me up to that particular model. see and thus depict in a careful drawing. Drawings record
I recommend doing sketches of the model from four views: in a more personal way the information needed to create a
front, back, left side, and right side. These are contour sculpture. I also use written notes, such as, “sharp edge” or
drawings that simply show the proportional relationships, “shallow indentation.” I may record actual dimensions if I
rhythms, and masses of the model. plan on doing a life-size piece.
Quick gesture studies help me find a pose that is inter- If there’s time, fully shaded drawings with strong side-
esting. I often have students do gesture drawings of the lighting will give a good sense of the form. It’s crucial to
same pose from different places in the room to better ana- carefully render the light and shade seen on the model, then
lyze the form and be able to visualize it in three dimensions. recreate the same light conditions on the sculpture as you
Another helpful approach is to draw cross-contour lines work. This can be a problem in a classroom because the light
that explore the form at right angles to the direction of the is usually uneven in different parts of the room. If the shad-
form. These lines help record the surface topography of the ows on your sculpture appear the same as the shadows on
model and are especially useful on complex areas. A lot of your drawings, then the form should also be fairly accurate.
LEFT
High Step
1996, bronze, 12" high.
BELOW
BOTTOM
Standing Woman Proportion
1997, graphite, 15 x 7. and Movement
Cross-contour lines are used Studies for
here to show planes and High Step
surface topography of the 1995, graphite,
model. 12 x 16.
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