Jan. 24, Monday: Line: Gesture

M/W class covered Gesture Drawing approaches and methods.  After the slide discussion, we covered the following: cross-contour, continuous line, scribble gesture, line gesture and mass gesture.  We finished with making drawings that emphasized the negative space over the positive areas. For a more in depth description of the following read last Thursday's post on Line:Gesture.  Betsy Bradbury's drawing above is an example of the mass and line techniques combined.  Note that the broad, sweeping strokes of mass add weight to the form as well as a sense of light.  The line adds dimensionality and structure.  In Lorelle Ross's drawing - below Betsy's- we see the dynamism and interest a drawing can have by employing a variety of mark-making.  This is "eye-candy" for the audience.

Christine Argenio's drawing (above) and Martin Gilbertson's drawing (below) are examples of mass gesture drawings emphasizing the negative areas. By developing the whole page, Christine has created a very strong sense of space and atmosphere. Note with value, darks recede and lights advance. Martin's drawing is much more open and relies on similarity in marks and tones to establish a rhythm. Note the gourd in center/ right; the curvature and mark-making employed around the curling neck.  Using thicker lines in weighted areas and thinner lines and tonalities in lighter areas grounds the objects and gives them a sense of weight.  Remember the key to emphasizing negative space is to be "suggestive" of forms; don't over draw the forms.  Less is More.