Gesture Drawings
Ball Point Pen on Paper, 8.5x5"
The semester has just concluded and I have posted my grades. I am already thinking about next semester. I am teaching life drawing. I have only taught it twice before. I have been teaching beginning drawing for eleven years so the tinkering for that is minimal. Life drawing is another story. I don't have a very structured approach for that. I usually go into class with something planned but it seems I have so many deviations from the plan that the plan is moot. So much of it has to do with the group dynamic, or the needs of some individuals, that making changes quickly to meet them is required. So I am thinking about plans now hoping I can make some alterations in advance so I do not to have the feeling that I am flying by the seat of my pants.
The drawings you see above are gesture drawings. They are usually done quickly to begin every figure drawing. These were all done in three minutes or under. Sometimes they are done in seconds. The faster the better. It prevents second guessing oneself. All the necessary information is there with the model. Not having time to be self-critical allows one to draw what one sees not what we know is there. It's visual thinking not verbal/analytical thinking. Yes, the drawings can be crude, but the action is generally very well expressed despite the crudeness. It's not necessary to show what the person looks like. What that person is doing is essential. The particular characteristics of an individual are refinements which come later.
The term gesture refers to the gesture of the model (what he is doing) and to the gesture of the artist as recorded by the marks which make the drawing. Both come together to make the individuality of the drawing. This is not an academic approach which emphasizes careful proportional measurement and analysis. The quick gesture usually gets the proportions just right at the outset. As soon as one neglects to do the quick gesture, the proportions fall apart. As soon as I allow more time, students will neglect to do the gesture thinking that quick drawing is not required and their careful attention to detail is the better approach. The results generally show how unhelpful an approach it is. After all what do I know? I am only the teacher and I'm only a geezer who's been doing this for more years than I care to admit. Sooner or later they will realize that I did have some wisdom to impart.
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