Shell
Exercise 2 -
Materials Needed:
Drawing paper,
such as a newsprint pad or sketchbook, any size up to 18" x 24". You can
also try pastel or charcoal paper, for a nice texture.
Conte crayons or compressed charcoal sticks:
Conte crayons are about 3" long and block shaped, and hard. They come in
black, gray, brown and red ochre. Compressed charcoal is usually 2" or 3"
long, rounded, and hard, and usually black. Utrecht and Pearl online have
what they call "Charkole," which looks like it might serve the same
purpose.
Exercise:
The first exercise, Contour Drawing, dealt with the element of line. This
exercise, Mass Drawing, deals more with the 3-dimensional reality of
figures or objects, that is, their form, or mass, using tonal values of
light and dark.
Sometimes, what we know differs from what we see. When drawing or
painting, we sometimes need to choose between what we know and what we
see. For example, though we can see a person or object only from one
vantage point, we know that the person or object is rounded, and continues
beyond the "edges" that we can see. Though we can draw figures or objects
with a line on a flat surface to try to depict reality, we also need to
have a real sense of the actual 3-dimensional form.
This experience of the 3-dimensional form gives our work not only physical
depth, but depth of content as well. Even if we choose to make art without
the illusion of three dimensions, our understanding of these dimensions
will add substance to our work. For example, the painter Paul Cezanne had
a strong sense of the flat surface as the reality of painting, but his
understanding of the third dimension gives his work a solidity that not
many artists have achieved, and creates a tension between the
2-dimensional and the 3-dimensional realities. This is one reason why his
work is so powerful.
First, choose an object or figure to draw. Figures work very well for this
exercise, including yourself in front of a full-length mirror, in a
non-symmetrical pose to avoid monotony. Don't be intimidated by the figure
- just look at it like you would at any other form - just draw what the
forms do. But if you find the figure too daunting, find a solid, large
form, like an animal; or a large sculpture or still life object. In one of
the examples shown here, I used a conch shell, which is small, but has a
definite form. Try to work from life, rather than photographs, for this
exercise.
These mass drawings do not need to be large. Work in whatever size you're
comfortable with. Break off a small piece of conte crayon or charcoal; you
will be working with the side of the crayon, not the point, for this
exercise.
Always start a drawing by sitting quietly and studying your object,
waiting to draw until you are relaxed and prepared. Allow your eyes to
receive the information, rather than pursue it. You are trying to feel the
solidity and volume of the form. Start in the "center" of the form by
pressing the crayon slowly and lightly in a relaxed, circular motion, as
though you were building the object with clay. Continue to "build" the
form in outward circles, gradually reaching the outer edges of the form.
Work on the whole figure first, before you go back to refine your drawing.
Do not worry about proportions or edges - you are only thinking of the
mass of the form. When you have the whole form roughed in, go back over
it, slowly increasing the pressure of the crayon in the bulkier areas of
the form, where the weight is.
This darkening of certain areas will help define the form of the object or
figure. You don't want details or individual hands, feet, etc. here - only
the sense of form. Again, this is an exercise to increase your
understanding of forms. You're not making a product - you're practicing.
In art, it isn't enough for the intellect to understand a concept - the
whole art-making apparatus must be brought along - the eyes, mind, heart,
soul and hands. The only way to do this is to draw with these ideas in
mind, and the more drawings you do, the more understanding and strength
you will have in your work.
Examples of Mass Drawing:
A really good example of this concept are the drawings of the 19th century
French pointillist painter,
Georges Seurat. They are deceptively simple
drawings of figures, probably studies for his paintings. Looking at these
drawings, you can see what can be done with such simple means, in the
hands of a good artist.
The Natural Way to Draw,
by Kimon Nicolaides, Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1941
By Nancy Doyle
Information supplied by: http://www.ndoylefineart.com