Cross Hatching Final

Contour drawings

Perspective Interior and Exterior

Planar Still Life and Planar Portrait

Planar Fruit

Final Thoughts and Musings

Here I am finishing up my first semester at Memphis college of Art.  This was the first class I’ve had focused on drawing.  In high school the art classes covered everything without going into depth on any subject.  We didn’t have to document our work, just turning it in, and we never had a peer or teacher critiques.   

Conté sticks were new to me as were the sharp sticks and bamboo brushes with India ink. 

Crosshatching must have been invented by orthopedic surgeons to beef up their carpal tunnel patients but it looks great when you stand back and look. 

Techniques like finished to unfinished and controlled contouring are not completely new to me but knowing the names is a new addition to my knowledge.  Now I have technique names to put to drawings I see.

I enjoyed focusing on perspective. My Mom taught me a little about perspective in a relaxed and organic way when I was very young but I hadn’t had the chance before to really study it in a formal setting with tips and pointers on how to keep the proper perspective when drawing.

Line weight and depth are two areas I plan to continue to explore. I felt like I was beginning to get the hang of it. Understanding and strengthening my ability to use line weight will help me because I want to try to capture depth with just using lines.

Looking at the semester’s work in this drawing class, I feel I have improved over the semester, learned new techniques, explored new media, and know a lot more about types of paper now.

I am looking forward to Drawing 2 where I can learn more about lines and move into texture. 

I had a blast in my first drawing class at Memphis College of Art.

Amanda M.

Contour Drawing

Contour drawing, is an artistic technique used in the field of art in which the artist sketches the contour of a subject by drawing lines that result in a drawing that is essentially an outline. The purpose of contour drawing is to emphasize the mass and volume of the subject rather than the detail; the focus is on the outlined shape of the subject and not the minor details. However, because contour can convey a three-dimensional perspective, length and width as well as thickness and depth are important; not all contours exist along the outlines of a subject.This technique is manifested in different styles and practiced in the honor of drawing development.
The purpose of drawing blindingly is to force the artist’s eye to move along the contour of the subject as his or her pencil moves along the paper. Initially, this type of drawing may be difficult and slow, but an artist will find that with practice, it is an effective way of defining observation skills such as identifying and underlying the structure of the subject, relating forms, and conveying the sensual experience of the subject; he/she will be skilled at drawing anything quickly and successively

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contour_drawing

Ian Sklarsky

Abstract portraits from a blind contour artist

When Brooklyn-based artist Ian Sklarsky isn't directing music videos like Luciana's Betty White-inspired dance track "I'm Still Hot", he can be found staring peacefully at the subjects of his abstract blind contour drawings. Originally from Chicago, Sklarsky became interested in the traditional method during a high school art class. Blind contours require the artist to trace his subject's silhouette without looking down at the paper, and for Sklarsky this means becoming completely zen and allowing his hand to be his guide.

http://www.coolhunting.com/design/ina-sklarsky.php