The three drawings pictured above are the earliest representations of gesture drawing completed in my Life Drawing 1 course. All of the drawings are characterized by a single-weight, rapid and expressive line quality. Perhaps this line quality is simply a reflection of the relatively short window of opportunity provided to complete each piece. Each sketch fills a space approximately 8" by 14".
Contained within the same sized picture plane as the sketches completed in the early stage of the class and within comparable time frames, the results achieved in these sketches are much improved. Rather than portraying a bloated, marshmallow-man figure, there has been a progression to central axis drawings which depict the human form much more accurately. The introduction of the pelvis and rib cage specifically contribute to the perception of the figure in each gesture study. These two forms are subject to linear perspective and this allows them to read spatially far more effectively than any simple outline drawing. However, the line quality has appeared to decline as all other aspects have improved. It is my opinion that, now that I know what is expected and have been provided with accurate examples of how the figure should be drawn, my confidence has fallen. Initially, I was unaware and must have felt that my gesture drawings were perfectly adequate. Obviously, this was not the case and may have caused my current mark making to become tentative and nervous. This, more than anything, is a quality that I feel my drawings still have yet to develop.
2 comments:
You've evolved out of the mattisse stay pufft marshmallow ghost figures to a further understanding of space. You're figure studies are developing gesture and form. Line quality will come naturally if you are confident in that you are learning new spatial techniques . .
your gestures have improved dramatically. two things i would have you work on between now and the end of the semester:
1) using more economy of line in the gestures (how few lines can you use to describe what's happening? less sketchy)
2) continue working on proportion remembering the halfway point is at the symphysis pubis and tip of sacrum--to allow more length in the femurs.
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