The Importance of Contour Drawing
June 3, 2015 § Leave a comment
Here are a pair of contours or line drawings of the sculpture of Persephone. Contour drawing lies at the heart of my teaching of drawing. It allows you as the artist to envision your composition; thinking all the way out to the edges. It provides the sense of a light source giving your subjects form or a three dimensional nature, But most importantly, by drawing blind and not keeping one’s head buried in the paper and instead on the subject, it reveals your personality. The hand becomes a tool of the eye and the contour becomes truly unique to you!!
The Power of Telling our Stories
April 28, 2015 § 2 Comments
I am showing you a contour of a still life consisting of garlic. This tool does much of the work for you, It is revealing of form by demonstrating the light source, laying out your composition, and letting your personality pour out onto the page. This contour is part of a two drawing series that merely looks at a changing light source. Here are the gradations that were based on informative contour. We can begin to say more about our subject material when we examine ways to say something different about it. Here, we keep the placement of the still life the same and change the light source.
Garlic Still Life
April 8, 2015 § 2 Comments
I’m showing the informative nature of the contour as it provides the framework for the finished gradation of garlic and cloves. 
Notice how the contour allows you to reveal your thought process of compositional considerations, the light source, area of emphasis. Once you have determined those elements, you are free to keep your eye on the subject and allow your personality to flow out onto the page. At this point, I keep my eye on the subject, let my hand become an extension of the eye, and rarely look at the surface of the paper. The contour line moves from light to dark describing the three dimensional nature of the subject, the light source, and the storyline you have set forth. Notice how my contour is curvilinear in nature. Yours will be very different. You can find examples such as these in my book The Little Book of Drawing; a Friendly Approach. My teaching style is encouraging in nature and allows you to try different media, techniques, and to find your own personal style of story telling through drawing. 
Lauren in the Looking Glass
November 16, 2014 § Leave a comment
A drawing of Lauren when she was young peering into a mirror on a music cabinet. Notice how the value spectrum really opens up to include whites to very darks leading you as the viewer into the looking glass.
Anna and Clare at Play
November 5, 2014 § Leave a comment
At last, the final drawing of a three part series of Anna and Clare in a tunnel at the playground. The first shows them contemplating things, the second; beginning to move, and now, they are in full motion. Whee!! Again, I’m showing the contour or line drawing with the finished gradation. Serial imagery allows you to take full advantage of a train of thought.
Second in a Series of Anna and Clare at Play
October 28, 2014 § Leave a comment
This is the second of a three drawing series depicting Anna and Clare at play. The first drawing showed the two little ones thinking about their next moves and now they’re beginning to interact. The tunnel at the playground allows their imagination to run wild! The contour or line drawing does most of the work for you by laying out the framework of composition, form revealed through a light source, and your personality. Serial imagery allows your storyline to go further than what you see in just one work.
Anna and Clare
October 22, 2014 § Leave a comment
This is the first of a three drawing series of my grand daughter Anna and her friend Clare when they were very little. This scene depicts the two resting and thinking in a play tunnel while planning their next moves. I’m showing both the contour or line drawing with the finished gradation.
