Sketch Book for the Artist

INTRODUCTION

Posture and Grip

To DRAW WELL, your whole relaxed body should be

involved. In this book we will look at parallels between

drawing and music. There are also parallels to dance. You

do not have to dance to draw, but you need to understand

that the expression of a line or mark originates in the body

and flows through the shoulder, arm, and hand to the

fingertips. If your body posture is well balanced and you

can move freely, your drawing will reflect this. It will also

reflect discomfort if you are in any way cramped.

How you hold your drawing materials is also important.

Examples are shown here, but it should not be forgotten

that many people make remarkable and striking works

drawing with their feet or holding their brush or pencil

in their mouths. If using an upright easel, place it on the

SPACE TO WORK

Drawing classes can be cramped

places, but wherever possible,

make sure you have enough room

to back away and view your work.

Regularly step back 6-9 ft (2-3 m)

to check your progress. From a

distance you will spot errors you

cannot see close up. Turning your

drawing sideways or upside-own

will also help reveal what is wrong.

Cramped grip. This photograph

illustrates how some people hold a

pen to write. You cannot draw like

this—your hand is locked and your

fingers can barely move. This

cramped grip tires your hand

and makes small, strangled-

looking drawings.

Relaxed fingers: Hold the pencil away

from its tip and relax your fingers. Use

the side of your little fingernail as a

support on the page. With your hand

in this position, you can draw lines freely

and achieve a significant arc of movement.

correct side: if right-handed, place it on your right, and

look to the left of it at your subject; if left-handed, place

it on your left, and look to the right. There should be an

open, flowing space between your hand, body, and subject.

Placing your easel on the wrong side folds your body

against your drawing arm. If seated on a bench easel (a

donkey), or with your drawing board angled between your

lap and a chair, don't sit too close to the paper. If your hand

twists to maneuver between the paper and your body, your

lines will distort. Accelerated perspective also occurs if you

look down the surface steeply (see pp. 116-17). Ideally, you

should be able to look

comfortably straight ahead

at your picture plane.