Keeping a sketchbook is very important for the burgeoning artist. Some sketchbooks should be dedicated to imaginative spontaneous drawing. Some should be dedicated to the work of learning the skill of drawing. I call this the “directive drawing” sketchbook.
At any given moment in time Søren has numerous sketchbooks floating around the house, but one is always dedicated to directive drawing. Inside this sketchbook he learns about and tries his hand at specific drawing techniques.
This week Søren has three drawings of a little glass bottle and two flowers in progress. His is exploring line and value:
Line is a fundamental element of art. Closed line creates shape while repeated line will create texture. I taught Søren long ago what I learned from Paul Klee.
“A drawing is simply a line going for a walk.”
Value is the light and dark in a drawing. The play between light and dark in a drawing gives the impression of three dimensions. Søren keeps in mind Cezanne’s wisdom,
“…light and shadow are only the relation of two tones.”
Søren was directed to draw Still Life with a Glass Bottle and Two Flowers three times, three ways and to incorporate as much detail as possible in each drawing:
The first was to use line only, no soft shading at all.
For the second drawing he was to use soft shading to create value.
And for the third drawing he was taught to stipple. Stippling is the technique of using dots or tiny “pencil touches” to imply value.