Sketch Book for the Artist

ANIMALS

Capturing Character

GEESE ARE EXCELLENT SUBJECTS to draw when practicing the

first use of pen and ink. It happens that goose feathers also

provide artists with the best type of quills. That said, there

is no obligation to prepare a quill; steel nibs are fine. Geese

are nosy birds, so pick a spot where other people can keep

them entertained. Study them before drawing. Watch their

heavy feathered bodies flap, waddle, and bellyflop off the

waterside. Dip your pen in ink, touch the bottle's rim to

drain the excess, and boldly plunge into your drawing.

Focus on the geese, not on your drawing. Attempt

with a loose hand to capture their posture and

outline. Quick drawing trains you to see what is most

important about a subject and to mark only its most

essential expression. It teaches confidence and focus

through intensive repetition. Illustrating this exercise on

Oxford Port Meadow, I covered eleven sheets in sixty quick

drawings—in less than an hour.

Experiment, test your limits, and be brave. You cannot

break the nib, and there is no "wrong." If you don't like a

stroke, make another one. Cover your drawing book pages

in speedy responses to the geese and try to capture each

bird in as few lines as possible.

MATERIALS NEEDED

Pack plenty of tissue around a bottle of calligraphy or acrylic

ink, to absorb blots when drawing. Take a cup and water for

diluting a range of tones, and a large drawing book or plenty

of paper Use masking tape to secure pages against the wind.

Posture

Look for a bird expressing a simple posture.

Focus on it. Try to hold the whole posture

in your mind's eye, and quickly draw around it

using only three or four strokes. Empathize, draw

what the bird is doing, be bold and press firmly,

Take no more than ten seconds to draw each

one and make lots of drawings. Cover a sheet.