Tuesday, February 21, 2017

Continuous Line Exercises

For today (started last night) I decided to work on some basic drawing exercises.  Blind contour or continuous line drawing versus continuous line drawing and looking at the paper.

I have a hard time wrapping my head around the major benefits of blind drawings.  Who does that in real life beyond a couple of seconds at a time when viewing something and wanting to capture quickly on paper?

And it doesn't matter how many times I might practice........I honestly don't see how it can help anyone with eye/hand coordination if you're working blind.  But that is just me.  The major benefit I CAN see is having fun and at times a good laugh, warming up, and what I read from another artist......... "it can help face your fears about screwing up."  Now THAT makes sense to me.  I can see it might benefit in loosening up too before going into an actual drawing......especially if you're using pen and ink and anxious about making those marks.

As for the continuous line and viewing the work along the way, I definitely can understand how that exercise can benefit people.

I started with the self portraits last night.  Now I had fun and a great laugh when viewing the results.  In fact I like them better than the one I did looking at the paper.  Today I worked on other objects.

One thing I need to work on is my need to close in all gaps which means I have to cross back over previously made marks as I work.  One of my favorite artists who works continuous line drawings is Brenda Swenson.  She leaves gaps and they look great.

Another thing I need to work on is not getting lost or confused in where to go next without skipping an area that I should have done before moving on.  Another reason for going back over previously drawn marks.



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