Refinements

I’m having a blast working on the final illustrations for my book right now. After working on my series of 50 portrait sculptures for a little over a year, working on these little quirky pen illustrations has been enormously refreshing and different. Most people think of me as a fine artist, so many don’t know that I actually have a degree in illustration.  Technically speaking, this is my first professional illustration gig!

Above you can see the final illustration for the chickens and eggs that I did a sketch for in this post. I had initially thought that I was going to go for a much tighter look.   However, when it came down to the actual drawing I realized that I tend to like to draw with a much looser hand, so you can see the strokes in the texture of the chicken feathers has a more gestural feel.

Conceptually speaking, the illustrations really range from literal interpretations, to metaphors and symbols that represent the ideas and content of the book.  The  idea is that with each page, you never quite know what image to expect so it will hopefully keep readers engaged in that way.

Ask the Art Professor: How can one regain lost satisfaction with their work?

Welcome to “Ask the Art Professor“! Essentially an advice column for visual artists, this is your chance to ask me your questions about being an artist, the creative process, career advice, a technical question about a material, etc.  Anything from the smallest technical question to the large and philosophical is welcome. I’ll do my best to provide a thorough, comprehensive answer to your question. Submit your question by emailing me at clara(at)claralieu.com, or by posting here on this blog. All questions will be posted anonymously. Read an archive of past articles here.

Here’s today’s question:

“Ever since I started studying graphic design, I feel like I exchanged a bit of creativity for professionalism. Nowadays, I feel unsatisfied with my work all the time.   I still love drawing but I used to feel a lot more satisfied when I was younger.  I feel like something seems to lack in my art now.  How can one regain lost satisfaction with their work?”

I know that the majority of the time, I don’t allow myself to indulge creatively. Usually I’m experimenting with some new method or subject.  I challenge myself to do something unfamiliar and uncomfortable because I know that it’s good for me to be doing new things.  I try hard not to sit around polishing my strengths because I want to target my weaknesses in order to build a well-rounded skill set.

I’m going to advise that you do the opposite of what I just described: give yourself the license to artistically indulge. Fully immerse yourself in your greatest strengths, working only with subjects that you feel very excited about. Pick an art medium that you are very experienced with, and can work with fluidly.  If it feels good, then do it. Don’t worry about improving, experimenting, what other people think, etc. just focus on what will bring that sense of satisfaction back. Keep this up for several months and I am confident that you will be enjoying yourself again in no time. I had a professor as an undergraduate student who used to say all the time “if you’re not having fun, you’re doing something wrong.”

Another strategy that you can employ is to think back to all of the artistic experiences that you’ve had in your past.  Try to home in on the experiences that brought you the greatest satisfaction, and attempt to create those circumstances for yourself again.  For me, drawing from a live model has always automatically brought me satisfaction.  At all stages of my life, life drawing is one specific activity that brings me a sense of stability and freedom at the same time. Life drawing reminds me of being an art student, and with that I associate the wonderful excitement and rigor of the learning process. Any time I sit down to draw the figure I know that I am always guaranteed to enjoy myself.

Related articles:
“How much of your emotional life do you allow to infiltrate your work?”
“How do you face artistic burnout?”
“How can an artist balance their life?”
“How can an artist overcome their financial issues?”
“How can an artist create an artistic group outside of school?”
“Am I actually an artist?”
“What do you do for art storage?”

Crit Wall #8

Welcome to “Crit Wall“, where I offer online critiques of individual art pieces.  To submit, send me a link to one image by commenting here, or by emailing the link to me at clara(at)claralieu.com. Please, NO ATTACHMENTS. Include the media, size, and title if you have one. Only submit original, finished works, no works in progress or sketches. Artwork created for a RISD degree program course is not eligible. You’ll receive notification if your piece is selected to be critiqued. Only one submission per person please, and know that I will not be able to critique every single work due to the volume of submissions. All images will be posted anonymously.

charcoal on paper
70cm x 50cm

Overall, there is a loose, painterly quality to the charcoal marks in this drawing that keep the marks active and dynamic.  The area on the shirt right below the neck has some excellent strokes in the charcoal that look very quick and gestural.

In terms of materials, it appears that the drawing is done exclusively with vine charcoal.  Vine charcoal is great for the initial sketch of a drawing, but it’s not good as a final material because it’s too grey and not permanent at all.  Mixing both vine charcoal and compressed charcoal is an effective combination, as the compressed charcoal has a richness and darkness that the vine charcoal is not capable of achieving. The compressed charcoal also has a heavier look which is great for expanding the tonal range of a drawing. Also, the using a kneaded eraser in combination with a white plastic eraser to subtract the charcoal from the page would be help the drawing look less messy and smudged.

The head has a good sense of lighting, it is quite clear what direction the light is coming from. Proportionally speaking, the nose appears slightly too large, the chin seems to be too small, and the distance from the left eye to the ear is too wide. The transition from the forehead into the hair is beautifully executed, with a great sense of volume to the hair.

There are some structural issues with the figure, in particular the hand on the right hand side looks awkward and the arm seems to be too thin.  The positioning of this arm and hand is particularly tricky, since it is a foreshortened arm.  Foreshortening of limbs in general tend to look strange anyway, so it’s a tough thing to make it look natural. In this case, the width of the arm needs to be expanded in order for the proportions of the hand to the arm to look convincing.

The tonal work and the line work are too separate from each other throughout the drawing. Mostly, the lines are too dark heavy and apparent and could be de-emphasized so that the lines sink into the tone more effectively. Areas where the lines are not as prominent tend to come across as having more depth and dimension.

The background is problematic because it appears to be a last minute effort that wasn’t as carefully considered as the rest of the piece. The fact that the right hand side is toned in and the left hand side of the background isn’t touched at all seems inconsistent and confusing.

Past “Crit Wall” pieces are below.  Click on the images to read the critique.

     

Ask the Art Professor: What is the best way to simplify the human figure? As cubes or as spheres?

Welcome to “Ask the Art Professor“! Essentially an advice column for visual artists, this is your chance to ask me your questions about being an artist, the creative process, career advice, a technical question about a material, etc.  Anything from the smallest technical question to the large and philosophical is welcome. I’ll do my best to provide a thorough, comprehensive answer to your question. Submit your question by emailing me at clara(at)claralieu.com, or by posting here on this blog. All questions will be posted anonymously. Read an archive of past articles here.

Here’s today’s question:

“What is the best way to simplify the human figure? As cubes or as spheres?”

The answer is neither.  I see people all the time trying to reduce the human figure into a series of geometric shapes when they’re drawing from a live model.  They draw spheres where there are joints (wrists, shoulders, elbows, etc.) and it always ends up looking like an awful mannequin. The problem with this approach is that cubes and spheres used in this manner have nothing to do with the actual anatomical structure and forms of the human figure.

When I teach figure drawing, I simplify the human figure into the three structural concepts listed below.  If you draw the human figure with these structural concepts in mind, you’ll be pleasantly surprised that you’ll have a likeness of a figure in no time. The order of these structural concepts is important to maintain as well, as the largest forms are addressed first and then eventually working down into the smaller details.

1)Major Masses: Major masses are essentially the largest forms on the human figure.  I recommend beginning a figure drawing by first addressing the torso, by far the largest form. The torso is where all of the limbs and the head intersect, so it’s critical to knock in the torso immediately when starting a figure drawing. The torso can then be subdivided into a ribcage and pelvis, which provides a sense of structure within the torso itself. From there, the head and thighs can be quickly added to provide more mass to the form. The limbs and the hands and feet should come in last.

2)Centerline: There is an imaginary centerline down the front of the torso and down the back of the torso.  On the back of the torso, the centerline is easy to spot because it is basically the spine.  On the front of the torso, the centerline starts at the pit of the neck, (the point in between the collarbones, aka clavicles) moves down the center of the rib cage, through the belly button down to the pubic bone on the pelvis. A centerline is highly descriptive of the type of pose that is being struck by a figure.  Look at the centerline when a model is posing and ask yourself what the centerline is doing:  is the centerline perfectly straight?  Is it twisted, is it leaning to the right or left?  If you quickly establish how the centerline is behaving in your figure drawing, you’ve won half the battle.

3)Boney Landmarks: Boney landmarks are areas on the human figure where the bone is directly under the surface of the skin. These landmarks are significant because they are consistent with every single person, regardless of how large or thin they may be. When you’re looking at a model, search for these boney landmarks and indicate them in your drawing. Some boney landmarks include:  collar bones, elbows, kneecaps, ankle bones, shoulder blades, etc. Boney landmarks are considered to be details, so they should not be drawn in until the major masses and centerline are well established.

Related articles:
“What is a gesture drawing?”
“Is drawing considered an innate talent or a craft, which can be learned by anyone?”
“How can I learn to shade objects in my drawings?”
“How can I draw what I see in my head?”
“What is the best way to practice my drawing skills?”
“How can you learn to draw hair?”
“How do you get yourself to practice drawing?”

Ask the Art Professor: What do you do for art storage?

Welcome to “Ask the Art Professor“! Essentially an advice column for visual artists, this is your chance to ask me your questions about being an artist, the creative process, career advice, a technical question about a material, etc.  Anything from the smallest technical question to the large and philosophical is welcome. I’ll do my best to provide a thorough, comprehensive answer to your question. Submit your question by emailing me at clara(at)claralieu.com, or by posting here on this blog. All questions will be posted anonymously. Read an archive of past articles here.

Here’s today’s question:

“Do you have any advice on art storage? What sorts of projects would you recommend keeping? Are epic failures or pieces you hate worth holding on to?”

Storage of both art materials and artwork is a logistical nightmare for most artists.  These problems only get worse as you get accumulate more supplies and create more artwork over the years. When I was an undergraduate at RISD, I thought transporting/storing all of the large scale oil paintings, drawings, and prints was bad. Then I did my MFA in sculpture, and storage became exponentially more difficult with all of the fragile, three-dimensional work I was making. Compared to storing sculpture, storing two-dimensional works was a breeze. Most of the sculptures I created were plaster casts, and every single once had to be tightly bubble wrapped and packaged carefully.  The summer I finished graduate school I commuted from NYC to Providence to teach in the RISD Pre-College program every week. I remember taking multiple trips in my car, slowly transporting my thesis sculptures from NYC to Boston throughout the summer. On top of that, I had three nearly life-size figure sculptures as well. Each sculpture found a home with a local friend in NYC.

One of my storage closets with bins of art supplies

I rarely throw away art materials, and so I stock up on many, many plastic bins from The Container Store to store everything. I also have a rule that I always hold onto every tool, no matter how specific or obscure it is. You really never know when you’re going to need that tool or material again.  Something always emerges unexpectedly years later that you could never anticipate. I once bought a really large rubber mallet that was specifically made for woodcarving for a woodcarving class I took during Wintersession at RISD.  That rubber mallet sat untouched in a tool box for seven years, until I discovered during graduate school that it was the perfect mallet for chipping plaster molds. I ended up using this mallet intensively for two years during my graduate degree.  Since then, I haven’t picked it up for nine years, but I don’t doubt that it could again prove to be useful in the future.

Coincidentally, this question is being asked at the same time that I went through one of the biggest “art purges” that I’ve ever done in my career. After five years at Wellesley College, I’m moving my studio back home into my garage.  My garage has been housing the majority of my artwork for the past nine years, and it was filled to the brim with old sculptures, paintings, etc., with some of the work even dating back to freshman year at RISD back in 1994. My solution:  a massive yard sale to give away all of my old artwork in the garage for free. I was so certain that I would be paying exorbitant fees to have a junk service take all of the work away.  Some of the work was so awful, really heavy, and awkward that I couldn’t imagine anyone possibly wanting to own any of it.  However, I was pleasantly surprised that the majority of work was taken at the yard sale.  In my opinion, better to give the work away for free, knowing it’s being given a good home and is being appreciated by someone else.  (I know it sounds like I’m talking about a pet, but that really is my reasoning here)

Some of you are probably squirming/wondering how I could possibly bring myself to part with so much of my artwork, and then on top of that, give it away for free.  So much of the work is just so incredibly old that I’m completely emotionally removed from the work. The immense amount of space storing all of this work was so overwhelming that keeping the work was a significantly bigger headache than getting rid of it.  I understand that I made that work, I learned from it, and that it’s time to move on.

Only you can really determine what is worth keeping. In my opinion, failed work and work you hate isn’t worth the hassle of storage.  As long as I have good documentation of the work, it’s fine to let go of the physical work. With digital technology, that’s easier than ever.  I always make sure that I keep my most recent projects, so that that work is available for exhibition for at least a few years. In this case, I consider “Falling” and “Wading” to be projects that I’m holding onto. Work from “Digging” and “Waiting” is old enough that I’m either actively selling the work on my Etsy shop, or have given it away.

The one exception I do make in terms of keeping old work is when it’s a large scale, framed piece.  In that case, the frame itself worth several hundreds of dollars so that’s an financial investment that I don’t want to part with. When I had a solo exhibition at the Danforth Museum of Art back in 2006, I had a number of 2′ x 3′ woodcut prints matted and framed. These pieces in my opinion are worth the hassle of storage.

Related articles:
“How much of your emotional life do you allow to infiltrate your work?”
“How do you face artistic burnout?”
“How can an artist balance their life?”
“How can an artist overcome their financial issues?”
“How can an artist create an artistic group outside of school?”
“Am I actually an artist?”

Ask the Art Professor: How do you get yourself to practice drawing?

Welcome to “Ask the Art Professor“! Essentially an advice column for visual artists, this is your chance to ask me your questions about being an artist, the creative process, career advice, a technical question about a material, etc.  Anything from the smallest technical question to the large and philosophical is welcome. I’ll do my best to provide a thorough, comprehensive answer to your question. Submit your question by emailing me at clara(at)claralieu.com, or by posting here on this blog. All questions will be posted anonymously. Read an archive of past articles here.

Here’s today’s question:

“I find myself having a lot difficulty getting myself to practice drawing. I keep procrastinating.  I know this is rather dumb, because it is as simple as just sitting down and doing it. What is your advice to force yourself to practice?”

Many people don’t realize the tremendous amount of self-discipline that is required to be an artist. Constant, rigorous practice is an absolute necessity.  Everyone I know who works professionally as an artist does so with rock solid focus and concentration.  Most artists work alone, so we have to have strategies to self-motivate on a regular basis.

One of my former students recently got back in touch with me. She had been really struggling lately in terms of how to motivate herself to work. She asked me whether it was important to be “in the mood” when working. My answer for her was appallingly unromantic.  I’m rarely in the mood to work.  Instead, I splash cold water on my face in the morning, and get to work, no matter how I’m feeling. The artist Chuck Close once said “Inspiration is for amateurs, the rest of us just show up and get to work.” My work schedule is such that I don’t have the luxury to wait to be “in the mood”. Right now, I work in the sculpture studio most weekdays from 9am-11am.  If I don’t sit down and work steadily for those two hours, my window of opportunity to work in the sculpture studio that day is gone.

You have to create a schedule for yourself to rigidly follow.  Set aside a chunk of time for drawing that you can anticipate and look forward to every day.  Don’t work haphazardly at random times, it will be difficult to maintain a continuous train of thought, and you’ll be much less likely to accomplish anything concrete. I’ve heard before that it can take about one month to firmly establish a routine, so give yourself a few weeks to settle into a predictable work pattern. Eventually, the routine should become an automatic response to your daily schedule.

Extremely long work sessions are not necessary and can actually work against you.  I would rather draw every day for 2 hours than draw for 10 hours once a week. Many of my students have noted to me that their work is better when they break up their work over the course of several days rather than trying to do one 12 hour marathon work session the night before the project is due. The advantage of multiple work sessions is you have the opportunity to come back to your work and look at it with fresh eyes.  You’ll see things you didn’t see the day before, and be able to make the necessary revisions.

How do you get yourself motivated to work?  What kind of strategies work for you?

Related articles:
“What is a gesture drawing?”
“Is drawing considered an innate talent or a craft, which can be learned by anyone?”
“How can I learn to shade objects in my drawings?”
“How can I draw what I see in my head?”
“What is the best way to practice my drawing skills?”
“How can you learn to draw hair?”

 

Ask the Art Professor: What is a gesture drawing?

Welcome to “Ask the Art Professor“! Essentially an advice column for visual artists, this is your chance to ask me your questions about being an artist, the creative process, career advice, a technical question about a material, etc.  Anything from the smallest technical question to the large and philosophical is welcome. I’ll do my best to provide a thorough, comprehensive answer to your question. Submit your question by emailing me at clara(at)claralieu.com, or by posting here on this blog. All questions will be posted anonymously. Read an archive of past articles here.

Here’s today’s question:

“What is a gesture drawing?”

A gesture drawing is basically a quick drawing that captures the essential gesture of a subject in its most distilled form. Gesture is everywhere, embodied in every object, person, and place. It is action, emotion, movement, and expression all rolled together into one cohesive motion. Through gesture, your drawing can transform into anything from ferocious to quiet.

In drawing, gesture represents the primal instinct, the essential character of the subject.  As a form of expression, an initial gesture drawing is critical to every drawing. Without a sense of gesture, drawings become sterile and static.  Drawings lacking gesture become dull and mechanical.  Instilled with gesture, a drawing is able to communicate emotion and expression in a concentrated manner that is visually compelling. Through gesture, the essential character and emotion of any given subject can be effectively communicated.

A sense of fluidity is one of the key components of a successful gestural drawing. This is achieved when a drawing conveys a focused, single motion that allows the object to be perceived as a whole, rather than as a series of unrelated pieces.  Essentially, this brings together all of the parts and assembles them into a harmonious, cohesive statement.  Fluidity can be achieved in a number of different ways. The manner in which marks are created on the surface of the page can play a major role in attaining fluidity. Marks that continually flow and move into each other will tend to behave as a whole. An emphasis on the relationships of the big shapes, examining how they transition into each other can also be highly effective.

Student gesture drawing

4 steps on how to make a gesture drawing:

1) Start with very light, loose, and sketchy marks. 
Keep a sensitive touch with your drawing tool, initially drawing so lightly that you are barely making physical contact with the paper as you draw. Staying light will allow for more flexibility as you continue working on the drawing. Working without an eraser will also allow you to work more fluidly, continually move forward, and accept and deal with your mistakes, rather than backtracking all the time with an eraser.

2) Draw with one very light, continuous line that never leaves the surface of the paper.
Concentrate on seeing the whole shape all at once. This will allow you to work with more fluidity, as opposed to chopping up your marks into disconnected parts. Remember that your first lines will not be “right”, this initial stage is only about getting something on the paper at first. You have to draw it wrong before you can draw it right.

3) Focus the drawing on first blocking in the largest shapes.  
Eventually move consecutively towards medium and small shapes. Leave out the details in these early stages of the drawing and concentrate solely on the big shapes. Look for how one large shape transition into each other, and stay focused on the relationships between these shapes.

4) Engage with the entire image all at once.
All areas of the drawing need to be given equal treatment and attention. Don’t allow for one area to be ignored or for another to be finished before the others. All of the parts of the drawing should be developed at the same level of completion at all times. Keep your eye alert and active while physically moving your hand around the page.

What are your tips for gesture drawing? What is a gesture drawing to you?

Related articles:
“What is the best way to practice my drawing skills?”
“How do you learn the basics?”
“How can I learn to shade objects in my drawings?”
“Is drawing considered an innate talent or a craft, which can be learned by anyone?”

Student gesture drawing

Crit Wall #1

Welcome to “Crit Wall“, where I offer online critiques of individual art pieces.  To submit, send me a link to one image by commenting here, or by emailing the link to me at clara(at)claralieu.com. Please, NO ATTACHMENTS. Include the media, size, and title if you have one. Only submit original, finished works, no works in progress or sketches. Artwork created for a RISD degree program course is not eligible. You’ll receive notification if your piece is selected to be critiqued. Only one submission per person please, and know that I will not be able to critique every single work due to the volume of submissions. All images will be posted anonymously.

Pastel and white charcoal pencil on black paper
40″ x 36″

What immediately captures my attention about this work is the overall fluid quality in the gesture of the figure. The two strongest compositional forces in this drawing are the hair and the folds in the clothing.  Both move across the page beautifully and have a looseness to them that is confident and strong.  The transition from the direction of the hair into the movement of the clothing is nicely achieved as well.

Probably the most impressive area of the drawing is the lower right hand corner where the pattern of the clothing is overlaid on top of the volume of the clothing folds. It’s difficult to show pattern and volume at the same time, and here its highly convincing the way both have been rendered. The attention to detail in this area far surpasses any of the other areas in the drawing.

Watch out for the proportional relationship between the hand and the head, specifically, the hand feels too small compared to the head. The feet seem fine proportionally, especially since it’s implied that the feet likely belong to another figure. The profile of the head could be much more refined, right now it feels too generalized and ends up looking stiff and geometric. A more organic quality to the form would help the profile of the head appear more lifelike.

In general the transitions in the drawing could be improved. The area where the neck ends and the feet begin feels awkward and choppy, as if the feet were simply collaged on top.  The feet are off to a good start, but they could use more anatomical structure, suggesting the presence of bones which are quite prominent in feet. The hand is a good beginning, the knuckles could be emphasized more to show the structure of the hand more effectively.

In terms of the use of the white charcoal pencil on the black paper, the white marks could be beefed up quite a bit.  The presence of the black paper still feels too dominant, and the white marks.seem too pale and thin in many areas. Pump up the richness of the whites so that they feel more brilliant and present.  The one exception to this is the area with the clothing folds, where the white marks are significantly more substantial and seem to be more volumetric.

Ask the Art Professor: Is drawing considered an innate talent or a craft, which can be learned by anyone?

Welcome to “Ask the Art Professor“! Essentially an advice column for visual artists, this is your chance to ask me your questions about being an artist, the creative process, career advice, a technical question about a material, etc.  Anything from the smallest technical question to the large and philosophical is welcome. I’ll do my best to provide a thorough, comprehensive answer to your question. Submit your question by emailing me at clara(at)claralieu.com, or by posting here on this blog. All questions will be posted anonymously. Read an archive of past articles here.

Here’s today’s question:

“Is drawing considered an innate talent or a craft, which can be learned by anyone?”

Personally, I believe that natural talent exists. The reason I believe in natural talent is because I’ve met too many people who have exhibited truly remarkable drawing abilities to believe otherwise. Many of them can run circles around me in terms of their drawing skills, and they seem to possess an effortless command of drawing that seems to transcend age and/or experience. Take a look for example, at this drawing done by a 13 year old Durer:

Self-Portrait at 13 by Durer

At the same time though, all of the talent in the world won’t get you anywhere if you aren’t willing to work hard, push yourself, and try new approaches. I’ve encountered people who were amazingly talented, but who were lazy. One of my peers in art school was such a scatter brain that he was never able to make a professional career as an artist for himself because he could never keep a continuous thought together.  I’ve had students who had dazzling drawing skills, but who were so enamored with their style of drawing that they never wanted to try anything new.

In the beginning of my career when I was teaching high school, I once had a 15 year old student who demonstrated some of the most extraordinary drawing skills I have ever seen.  Everything he drew was breathtaking, and he was worshiped by the other students for his incredible drawing skills.  However, all of his drawings looked the same, all the time. The drawings he did at the beginning of the semester looked exactly the same as the drawings he did at the end of the semester.   Even though all of his drawings were aesthetically beautiful, his progress was completely static and his work never evolved.  There was nothing artistic about the way he applied his drawing skills.

Natural talent aside, I also believe that if you are passionate enough, and willing to invest in hard labor and intense dedication, you can absolutely acquire the drawing skills you seek. I’ve had a number of students over the years in my classes at RISD who came into my drawing class with almost no drawing experience at all.  One would think that lack of experience would set them back, and that having previous drawing experience would be an automatic asset. Actually, many of the students with no experience frequently end up being some of the top students in the class because of their fierce commitment to learning and their ability to experiment and take risks.  Many students have remarked to me that their previous drawing experience was actually a hindrance, and that they wished they could have started from scratch. A good portion of the semester for many of these students is often spent getting rid of bad habits, which in many ways is much tougher than starting with nothing.

Remember though, that even the greatest talent and drawing skills will only take you so far.  In the end, it’s the creativity and ideas that matter.  Artists have to think and make choices in their work-this is what distinguishes an artist from someone who is simply technical adept.

Do you believe that natural talent exists?  Can drawing be learned?

Related articles:
“How can I draw what I see in my head?”
“What is the best way to practice my drawing skills?”

Ask the Art Professor: What is the best way to practice my drawing skills?

Welcome to “Ask the Art Professor“! Essentially an advice column for visual artists, this is your chance to ask me your questions about being an artist, the creative process, career advice, a technical question about a material, etc.  Anything from the smallest technical question to the large and philosophical is welcome. I’ll do my best to provide a thorough, comprehensive answer to your question. Submit your question by emailing me at clara(at)claralieu.com, or by posting here on this blog. All questions will be posted anonymously. Read an archive of past articles here.

Here’s today’s question:

“What is the best way to practice my drawing skills in traditional media? I draw with colored pencils and I also paint with acrylics and I am sort of okay at it , but I really want to become better.”

Drawing is a highly complex beast which involves so many different elements at the various skill levels. Rather than get into all of those details, I’m going to boil it down to four fundamental directives that will help improve your drawing skills across all skill levels and media.

1) Draw from direct observation. This sounds so simple, and yet I’m appalled at how many artists don’t work from direct observation when they are looking to improve their drawing skills. Photographs may be convenient and easier to work from, but they’re a cheap shortcut that will lead to the development of all sorts of bad habits.The amount of information that a photograph has pales in comparison to seeing a subject in real life.  This is not to say that one should never ever in their lifetime work from a photograph; I work from photographs all the time now. However, I’m able to do this because I’ve developed skills based on many, many years of working from direct observation.

When you work from life, you experience your subject matter in way that a photograph could never allow you to:  you can touch your subject, smell it, walk around it, and see the subject within the context of its environment. This overall sensory experience is vital towards your understanding of your subject matter and will always translate into your drawing. Drawing is as much about learning how to see as it is about the marks that you put on the page.  Experiencing your subject in real life will teach you how to hone your skills in observation. The skills that you will gain from working from direct observation will tremendously inform and support your ability to work from all sorts of other references.

2) Practice daily.  Drawing is very similar to athletics.  If you were an athlete, you would have a rigid schedule of training set up that you would adhere to. Drawing is the same way: it requires serious focus, rigorous training, and intense physical stamina. Every time you sit down to draw, it’s an opportunity to sharpen your eye, and become more proficient in coordinating your mind and eye with the physical movements of your arm and hand.   Many people get impatient with drawing and expect results right away.    You have to be committed, and be able to recognize that improvement is a slow and gradual process. One would never expect to be an Olympic level skier after one week of training, the same way you can’t expect to be a master of drawing after working for a few days.

3) Practice gesture drawing.  If you can do strong gesture drawings, you’ve already won half the battle. Gesture drawings are the core of any drawing, they capture the essence of what a drawing is trying to say in just a few strokes, in just a few minutes. The first 2 minutes of a drawing are critical in that they lay the foundation for the rest of the drawing. It doesn’t matter how polished your drawing is if the initial gesture isn’t there to begin with.

Gesture drawing by Rembrandt

Ideally, one should practice gesture drawing from a nude model, but if you don’t have access to a model, there are plenty of other options.  You can go to a local cafe and sketch people sitting in the cafe, or draw a bunch of friends who are sitting around.   One of my friends always liked going to the beach to draw  because people sit still and they’re practically naked anyway.  I had a peer in art school who used to go to college parties and draw all of the drunk people sitting around. Get creative and find as many contexts as possible where you can practice your gesture drawing.

To create a strong gesture gesture, it’s important to keep your arm moving and circulating throughout the page, moving from top to bottom, side to side, very quickly. Start very, very light with marks that barely show on the page.  This allows you to make lots of mistakes that will not show later because they’ll be so light. Develop all of the parts of the drawing together so that you don’t neglect any area.   Try to aim for continuous movements and fluid lines rather than fragmenting your lines into choppy marks. Look at your subject more than you look at your drawing; your subject is where the information is. Keep your gesture drawings about 2-5 minutes in length, any longer than that it’s too easy to get lazy and fall back into bad habits.

4) Look at historical drawings. Go to the library and check out books that feature drawings by historical artists. (avoid the internet, you won’t get nearly the range or selection of drawings) The drawings that you’ll learn the most from are gesture drawings and quick sketches done in sketchbooks.  In these quick sketches you’ll get to see all of the visual evidence: you get to see all of the mistakes, all of the troubleshooting that happens in an artist’s drawing process. This is what is so unique about drawing that you won’t see in other media like painting and sculpture- the opportunity to see traces of an artist’s process in a drawing.   Investigate and analyze what kinds of strategies these artists take in their drawing process and try to use them in your own.

Related articles:
“How do you develop an idea from a sketch to a finished work?”
“How can I draw what I see in my head?”

Sketches by Raphael