Learning to draw

Sometimes drawing isn’t just the base for a painting. Sometimes the drawing itself is a painting. I don’t paint with brushes, but I call what I do painting with pencils. There is a comment in the Esoterica about finding the line and making it work. Maybe drawing can mean different things depending on the art itself. Life drawing is often line-based, but there are no lines in my drawings, just as there are no lines in paintings. I’m speaking of realism here, probably should specify that.

Quote from your article: “People who write about art are often those who are merely confused by it.” Yes.

I believe that skill in drawing is a foundation for convincing marks. It’s not just for realists. Our emotion, intelligence, visual poetry is carried on our mark just as these things are carried on the voice by a skilled actor. Confident mark making, from the heart is a palpable property of great art.

Drawing is the most honest creation in the visual arts. You can’t hide nervousness, excitement, energy, confidence, or many other things in a drawing. Drawing shows the artist flaws and all and for that it is beautiful. A drawing can exist without painting however I don’t believe a painting would exist without drawing. Drawing is every artists beginning. The most primal and perhaps most honest and enjoyable of human activities. Hmmm… maybe I need to take a couple hours in my studio and enjoy the pure joy of drawing.

Drawing from reality is important because it teaches you how to see as an artist. Conceivably you could learn this by LOTS of painting from reality (as opposed to photos), but either way, there’s no substitute for putting in your hours. The main difference is that drawing deals with line, painting deals with masses/shapes.

Just reading about “finding a line” and “filling a sketchbook” gives me a little thrill. I love drawing, but more than that believe it is the bones of every painting. If the drawing is bad the painting will not work. I used to think I drew well until I went to a recent work shop taught by Carla O’Conner, who put us through a workout for 5 days with two different models. I should do do that kind of class every week!

A while back I responded to one of your letters on the subject of drawing and wrote something like “drawing is a frame of mind, a loving embrace, if you will.” Since then, I’ve seen that quote used for drawing classes, printed on notebooks for sale, on blogs, you name it! I still feel the same way about drawing, and like the sentence, but your site has gotten my name out there in a way my work never has. Maybe I should stick to writing! ;-)

In all aspects of our society, there is a veritable plethora of charlatans posing as “experts”, who profit by advising us hoi polloi. In the stifling atmosphere of the Art World, Jacob Collins is a real breath of fresh air.

Drawing is an important part of even my purely abstracted paintings. I always preach the importance of being able to understand how to draw if not master it. As far as a brilliant painting goes I am always blown away by some of the beautiful work that comes out of people who cannot draw well.

Usually I don’t make it a practice of writing to folks like you who send me letters every so many days/weeks. However, this one excited me. I teach children how to draw and they are capable of doing amazing work when taught the basics: measuring, shapes, grids, etc. I had a wonderful education, earning a BA in Graphic arts and took a life drawing class one summer. Loved it!!! As far as I’m concerned, good drawing is a MUST. Paint a masterpiece, but if the drawing is off the whole thing suffers. I’m grateful for the fact that I am able to do a workable job drawing out a painting.

Jacob Collins is a phenomenal artist and I really enjoyed the video of his work. I also really enjoyed the saxophone music that played with the video. Is there any way of getting the name of the CD? I’ve gone into Amazon and i-tunes with whatever info there was at the end of the video…but no luck. I would love to play that music in my own studio!

I’ve known people that say painting doesn’t require drawing. They can’t be talking about representational drawing. Ridiculous. This requires drawing — lots of it. I like to think of sketching as the calisthenics of painting. The better one can draw, the more confidence one will have when putting down a brush stroke. Richard Schmid may not have coined the term alla prima, but he sure knows how to use it. He’s a sharp shooter with a brush. Good for Gopnik for gaining a higher appreciation for the skills behind drawing.

Drawing is still the best foundation of a painting. It provides a solid foundation of the composition. It does not have to be that of a human figure. I think it provides for a central theme of the work which is enhanced by a good selection of harmonious color to which the eye is drawn to again and again. I like drawing a clothed human figure that challenges the imagination, how the clothes drape over a knee or a breast defining it without being exposed and the selection of good colors that enhance the beauty of the human figure and color. The shadows created defines the lines and forms which adds to the overall picture. I wish I could master it. That would be an accomplishment.

The Collin’s video is one of the most beautifully produced pieces I’ve seen. Thank you for sharing.

Well, the cream has risen to the top again. I’m struck by how we can be so far away, but so near in thought. I read Gopnik’s article about Jacob Collins in The New Yorker several weeks ago and recommended it to others who struggle with drawing. At the end there was a small note saying one could go to the New Yorker website and see a demonstration of Collins actually drawing. I’ve been meaning to do that but forgot the name, can’t find that copy of the magazine, thought I’d let it go.

Jacob Collins’ paintings are truly remarkable! His drawings are incredible enough, but I find his painting of dewy skin and silky hair so lifelike one can ‘feel’ it with one’s eyes. This is an artist that inspires the rest of us to keep practicing our craft to perhaps someday master all that one must to create fine art.

Just a thought regarding Mr. Gopnik. What he needs in regards to his drawing ability is desire. A good teacher on fundamentals would also be of great benefit… even if the sessions were infrequent.

Very technically impressive studies…but they fail to transport me as works of art.

Saw this video at six in the morning before starting my day in the studio and it was hugely inspiring. The figures are hauntingly beautiful and the facial expressions are so wistful and moody. I also watched a video of Collins landscapes and they are wonderful as well.

I believe that drawing is a learned skill; a form of literacy that is sadly overlooked in most schools today, probably because so few teachers can draw. Drawing is an essential tool for any visual art form, and regular drawing from life is like art push-ups. The muscles, the eye/hand coordination, the visual vocabulary we develop from a lifelong habit of drawing, make our art better, whether we are painters or film makers or decorators or video game designers.

to fill a notebook~

We’ve a Figure Drawing class in Washington, NC the first and third Tuesday of every month, Inner Banks Artisans’ Center!

Your letter put me in mind of the folks who seek out to study with artists whose work they admire, only to find that they have no ability to teach anything. Being able to draw or paint is one thing, to be able to teach others to draw or paint is another. One can be an excellent critic or art writer without the ability to draw or paint. It is a separate talent. As an artist I am grateful for those who have the ability to give me perspective on my work whether or not they are adept in the actual implementation itself. Respect is earned through teachers and critics that can help us see art better and that is their gift to us!

Gopnik’s humble assessment of the beauty and joy of genuine creative toil is a breath of fresh air in a critical field generally studded with foaming stupidity. And thank you so much for bringing Collins to our attention.

Drawing is the foundation for a painting, it is the roadmap. I must agree with all who say how important it is to painting. Sadly, it is a step and skill that is often minimized in the world of painting today. Many artists just want to get to the “fun” of applying color. A good drawing is the first step to a good painting. Besides without the drawing – how do you know where to put the color?

So many people think they cannot draw or they draw badly…Honestly, it was about 10 years After I became a professional visual artist that I was able to draw well…It took that long…When I write “draw well”, I mean, to be able to know with confidence that what I was going to draw was going to come out good…before then it was more of a hit & miss & miss situation…I could hit, but I had to learn confidence in my own strokes…To those who think they cannot draw I say, keep trying & call me in 10 years…

As I read your letter the feeling of creating for the appreciation of another’s generosity towards life happenings touched me. To see the value of wonder “life holds” connecting full circle is the blessing. It’s as if we hold a precious moment “seed” in our hands and to have a part in planting, & nourishing it so that it takes on a life of its own is pretty special in its own right. I’d love to find out also the path and “life” your painting brought to others after it left your hands. Certainly that senior couple appreciated its value. No wonder it holds a special place in your den.

This is so true….Just as I thought I was painting for no reason, a client came up and bought SEVEN paintings. It is beyond thrilling!

I’ve known about Jacob Collins for many years and use him as fodder for those of my students who wish to learn drawing.

I love Life Drawing and think it is important in keeping up one’s skills in drawing and observation. You can draw a tree that doesn’t look like the tree you are observing but it will be accepted as a tree, even if the proportions aren’t right. If you draw a person with the wrong proportions, everyone will notice – and probably comment. Drawing is just good practice. I don’t keep most of my drawings but I’m still glad I’m practicing.

I believe that drawing is the foundation of art. All of the great artists were great draughtsmen before they started breaking the “rules” (such as Picasso putting noses on the tops of heads and breasts where they shouldn’t be).

There are some vocations in life one can fake but draftmanship in an artist isn’t one of them. Albrecht Durer comes to mind … it is a fine thing to see a well done drawing executed with painstaking care. Sketches are necessary studies but a drawing done for its own merit and beauty is beautiful to behold.

Having taught drawing and painting for more years than I care to admit, I must say that the art of drawing is as inherent a facility as the art of breathing. The first thing I do with my students in a drawing class is to take away their erasers. There are no mistakes in drawing or painting. Only opportunities to be explored.

This evening, I had two friends over to do sustained studies of a third friend in vine charcoal – head studies, that is. We were following the traditional method of blocking in shapes and proportions, and then developing the play of tone on the forms. I have not done regular drawing practice for over 5 years due to vision problems and numerous eye operations. We worked, mostly in attentive silence for over 2 1/2 hours, with a couple of brief breaks to stretch tense shoulder and arm muscles. Eye muscles, too! It felt wonderful to engage in the process of looking, seeing and mark-making, even though for me the seeing part was somewhat problematic. I produced a true stinker of a drawing, yet I feel encouraged to keep at doing more drawing for the simple pleasure of undergoing the process, which to me is a lot like meditation. In over 40 years of regular drawing I have experienced making spectacular dogs, and a few delicious gems, in rather unbalaced proportion mostly dogs of a staggering variety of breeds. It is when the magic happens, and a confluence of serendipities occurs, seldom though that might be, which keeps me hooked on drawing. The joy of doing far outstrips pride in the result, for me, at least. What a joy drawing has been in my life, and seeing the manifestation of all kinds of persistent drawing practice by others (not just the classical, or photorealist types) is an ongoing pleasure, unmatched. tegingui

Drawing is the basis for everything. Without a sound knowledge of basic drawing principles one is condemned to floundering around in a muddle of confusion and frustration. I have admired Jacob Collins’ work from afar for a very long time now. I think he is one of the foremost contemporary painters we have right now. When one looks at his work there is a sense of not only the retinal image being processed but also the emotional synthesis of what is being seen and digested “by the artist. I think Jacob Collins re-creates reality. Recently, good friends of mine attended a portrait demonstration by Collins. I was not able to attend but was anxious to hear what they thought of the demo. Ironically, even though they love his work as I do, the demo proved to be less than satisfying. why? because in their words “nothing was happening”, “he was excrutiatingly slow to make a mark”. I think my friends would have thought differently had they not attended other demos where the painter worked their brushes into painterly gymnastics, designed to please the “crowd mentality”. Jacob Collins work is more studied, slower paced, thoughtful, inciteful, extremely calculated, not unlike Degas. I would love to attend a live session of his working method and wouldn’t care a bit if even one mark was made it is his “mental process” that makes his work so unique. One thoughtful mark is much more important than one hundred careless marks.

Full demo is an evidence that the artist really did the job, it’s not just a crowd pleaser. If someone can’t make more than a few marks in couple hours, how is it possible to have finished a large body of work in a few years?

It struck me as curious, that there’s but one comment, from a world wide community of art lovers, about one of the greatest artists of our time.

Read the letter with great interest. Many years ago I was very lucky to take drawing from the late Dick Van den Hoogen of Calgary. He was the old style teacher, ‘learn the technique, then emote if you must” He made me draw 1000 skulls (he counted them) before he’d let me try to draw a face. Brings back fond memories.

Drawing is the purest medium of expression. The contact of pencil to paper is immediate and at once complete. No other effects are needed to make a drawing. We don’t need shading or even perspective and we can understand the image. It’s all in the placement of the lines of the work; the pressure and direction of the line. If you can handle your pencil with skill, the result is one that connects you to your thoughts and allows you an expression that can likewise connect you to a viewer instantly. Even if you have less skill, this connection still results. The most primitive drawing has the innate ability to tell a story or make a statement. Very little effort need be extended by the person doing the drawing and his/her message is conveyed. Of course, we all are enamored of a skillfully drawn work, done by a ‘professional’. This is what makes drawing unique. Any level of skill can produce a piece of art with drawing; whereas any other medium starts us critiquing the method or form or technique. From a Picasso drawing to the neighbor’s three year old child’s work, the message will be clear to us because of this relative simplicity a drawing has. We are unencumbered with associating our likes and dislikes with color or skill at design or techniques. A drawing is simple, straightforward. We only have to understand the lines to make sense of what is intended. Drawing distills a work of art to its essence. One line leading to another and another until an image starts to develop. In some cases the lines may seem random, disjointed; leading in all directions. Further still even when the lines don’t make immediate sense to some, an image can be deciphered if you look hard enough. Such is the power of a drawing no matter how crude or skillfully done. The oldest works of art were drawings. Some lost forever as they may have only been scratched into the earth to show direction or tell of an unknown animal or story. Drawing could easily have been the first language spoken. I could go as far as to say our written words are drawings, assembled into shapes we call “words”. All you have to do is look at the myriad of written languages around the world to understand what I am talking about. Lines formed to make words; images into words. The irony for me is, today these words are now used to describe the drawings from which they may have emanated. No matter how skillful a drawing seems, it is still a mode of communication. We see drawings all around us; on television, on the big screen, on billboards, in newspapers, magazines and yes, comic books. Some drawings move, while some remain still. When all is said and done drawings permeate every part of our daily lives. In some way, it is as it should be; since drawing has taken us from cold dark caves to the relative comfort of our televisions.

My costume design process consisted of three stages of drawing: first 3″ scribbled figures, then clarifying 6″ figures, before 9″ renderings, usually painted. Those tiny, initial exploratory scribbles were often full of animation as I searched for the pose and the important elements of the clothes. The 6 inchers still had strong gesture and frequently sported lilting lines I loved, mixed in with rejected lines I didn’t always bother to erase. The 9 inchers, meant for public consumption, showed the costumes posed with character personality. They were successful renderings, but they seldom contained the joy of drawing those smaller figures had.

Learning to draw seems scary….until you begin to realize that you are in charge of the tools….not the other way around. By the time you reach a plateau of skill….you begin to feel the need for more. It’s addictive. Being able to draw well gives the individual power. Anyone can paint….up to a point. But the work will never progress in skill level beyond that until he/she learns to draw….draw well. Being able to draw gives a strength to paintings that can’t be achieved any other way. Flashy painting techniques can’t mask the fact that a person cannot draw. Many artists project, onto canvas, that which they then paint. It’s a crutch but many make lots of money with such devices. It’s sort of like taking credit for something you did not do…..completely on your own. Ever enter a classroom painting (with instructors work on it) and receive an award? Same thing. I digress. Drawing gives you power. It’s heady stuff. There is no substitute.

Hi Robert,

wowowowow nice lar