Drawing Basics The Landscape And Figure - Artist's Network

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Sketching the value pattern firstLaitinen had worked out the pattern oflights and darks at left, so he approachedthe paper with confidence to create Yesterday,Today (below; watercolor, 30x22).Starting with avalue sketchWhile the thumbnailsketch usually dependson shape andline, the value sketchis an exploration of tonal arrangements. Itshows the distribution of the lights and thedarks; it’s a way of organizing your picture.• Use a sketchbook and either a pencil, a stickof charcoal, pen and ink, or gray and blackmarkers. Restrict yourself to four values: light,light midtone, dark midtone and dark.• Show the darkest area, the lightest area (usuallyrepresented by the white of the paper), andthe midtones in between those extremes.• Around your focal point should be the greatestcontrasts of values. The way you distributethe midtones should form a pattern that willlead the viewer’s eye through the painting.• Use the value sketch as a road map and a test.If the composition reads in black and white, itwill read in color.The “Funny Brush” is like nothing you’ve seen before!The famous “Funny Brush” does not conform to thestandard brush you are used to seeing; but you will hardlybelieve the amazing, fast results! Since 1973, seriousartists have been happily creating beautiful trees, foliage,grass and many other subjects. Hard to do textures are abreeze with the “Funny Brush”. It is made to be usedwith oils, acrylics, tempera, watercolors, casein, inks...or just about any media! This revolutionary painting aidbelongs in every artist’s paint box! The set of three brushesincludes one each: Regular, Small and Mini foronly $16.00 (including postage). Nevada residents pleaseadd applicable sales tax. Directions included. Check orMoney Order only. SORRY, NO COD’s.Please allow 2-3 weeks deliveryNEW LANDSCAPE VIDEOjay moorePAINTING THE WAY THE EYE SEES“For all the books I have ever read…I havenever had such important knowledgeimported in such a clear and masterful way.”C.P., Montana2 1/2 hours • Four demos • VHS $59.00/DVD $69.00 + S/HPhone orders 303.646.0156Online orders www.appleseedpublishing.comJune 2004 The Artist’s Magazine 51
Special Section ■ Drawing BasicsJuliette AristidesFigures“It was understood in earlier centuries that theartist needed to be trained thoroughly as adraftsman before moving on to painting,” saysJuliette Aristides, who has her own atelier,modeled after 19th-century French ateliers, atthe Seattle Academy of Fine Arts. The three traditionalways to achieve proficiency as a draftsmanare to copy master drawings, to drawfrom plaster casts of antique statues and tosketch the model from life. Students in Aristides’first-year class draw for at least threehours every day.Copying master drawingsDrawing is a discipline that teaches you how tosee and how to translate what you see into volumeand line. There’s no better way to get intouch with a master artist’s way of seeing andthinking than to study a drawing and endeavorto reproduce it. Among the many astonishingdraftsmen in the history of art, Rubens (Flemish,1577-1640) has a secure place. The figurestudy at bottom was reprinted from one of theartist’s sketchbooks. (Dover has reissued copiesof master artists’ sketchbooks that you maywant to check out.)The figure in motionRubens copied drawings andcartoons by Leonardo daVinci (1452-1519) for thesame reason artists copydrawings today––to penetratethe mystery of mastery.Juliette Aristides, payinghomage to that tradition,studied one of Rubens’ drawings(at left) to create herown version (above).DemonstrationLearn to draw the figureby drawing casts“Historically, art students were expected to study idealform and exquisite design before attempting their ownstudy of nature. There was no better place to turn than todraw classical sculptures; there’s no reason not to learnto draw today the same way,” says Juliette Aristides.Once you have a plaster cast, you need to learn how tolight it well and begin as follows.1 21Getting situated. It’s important that you choose acast that you find inspiring. Next, light it with formrevealinglighting (two-thirds light, one-third shadow) soyou have a simple and clear flow of light and strongshapes of shadow. Be sure to set your easel far enoughaway from the cast so that you can easily see it in its entirety.Leonardo da Vinci recommended standing backthree times the height of the object. Place several piecesof newsprint under your drawing paper so it’s wellpadded. Make sure your charcoal is very sharp. Onceyou’ve set up the cast and the lighting, your goal is tocreate the scaffolding or structure for your drawing, as Idid above. Ask yourself repeatedly: Am I making the initialrelationships as accurate as possible?2Getting the proportions. Make a line on the top andbottom to show the limits of the cast and pedestal.Drop a vertical line between them on which you will lateranchor the figure. On the vertical measure, mark thehalfway point and determine the height-to-width relationshipof the cast. This step will give you an accuratelyproportioned armature on which to build your drawing.• Your goal is to simplify the forms so that you’ll establishaccurate relationships. Ask yourself: How can I identifythe gesture of the pose using the fewest number ofangles? What are the dominant angles and how can I repeatthem?• The drawing process, in a nutshell, moves from thegeneral to the specific. The more you’re able to simplifya complex image into a few, unified lines, the stronger52 The Artist’s Magazine www.artistsmagazine.com
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