Drawings (above) master artist's: Francis Vallejo, Henry Moore, Albrecht Durer
In class we discussed mark-making-- it is the gestural language of drawing. Everybody makes their own unique set of marks and every medium has its own particular quality. The "artist hand" was our subject, and my student's performed a variety of exercises focusing their attention on their own mark-making. In responsive drawing, the line describes, it acts, and it interacts with other lines, producing various dynamic and expressive results. We studied three different types of line; gestural, calligraphic (caressing) and diagrammatic (construction). Looking at the work of artist's Francis Vallejo, Henry Moore and Albrecht Durer, student's studied the expressive nature of their marks, how tone was developed and what type of materials were used.
I wanted to get students thinking about the possibilities of mark- making. Often our familiarity with picking up and holding our favorite pencil creates a habitual approach to how we draw. To look at the lines, dots, dashes, smudges of another artist and study their intent helps us reconsider our own actions. Student's do not copy, but use their observations to consider what is feasible, learning to "carry over" what they have learned.
Please consider-- in order to focus on the mark, student's sacrificed accurate proportions for the quality of their mark making. If this was a class about "how to draw a hand" the lesson (and result) would be completely different.
A selection of drawings
from my Wednesday class
“It’s as simple and complicated as this: if we want to make our best work, we must believe that what we have to say matters. We must believe wholeheartedly in our own vision of the world. We must be willing to be imperfect, vulnerable, playful, uncertain, and authentic. Doing is the creative habit that separates those who go places from those who spin their wheels.” Sol LeWitt, in a letter to Eva Hesse