ERASERS
Usually our first encounter with an eraser is
when we use it to remove a mistake. Our
sole aim with it is to obliterate the
offending area so that we can get back to
the business of progressing with our
drawing. Because the eraser is associated
with mistakes, a lot of negative feelings
about it and its function are directed at it.
The poor old eraser is seen as a necessary
evil, and the more dilapidated it becomes
with use the greater become our feelings of
inadequacy. It really is time for a re-
assessment of the eraser and its role in our
work. Used effectively it can be one of the
most positive tools at our disposal. But first
we need to remove the idea that mistakes
are always bad. They are not, and can be
used as a positive element in your work
from which you can learn.
Many artists make decisions about where
things go, or how things should look, in a
piece of work. In the first instance these
statements are usually wrong and have to be
adjusted as the work develops. This has
happened to us all - even great artists like
Leonardo da Vinci and Rembrandt. Re-
thinking is very much a part of the creative
process and is evidenced in many works,
particularly in drawings where the artists are
working out their initial ideas and
intentions.
One of the major errors that beginners
make is to erase mistakes as they arise and
then start again. This puts them in a position
of making more mistakes or repeating the
same ones, thus creating a feeling of utter
frustration and failure. When you make a
correction, over-draw and don’t rub out the
original lines until you are happy with your
re-drawing and unless you feel they don’t
add anything to your drawing. My personal
advice would be to leave a ghost of the
correction and not to erase it completely, as
this shows the evidence of your thinking
and your development.Other positive ways of using the eraser are
to bring back the areas of light in a tonal
drawing which have been worked over with
graphite, charcoal or ink. Erasers can also be
used to make expressive statements and
emphasize textural marks - powerful
examples of this approach can be seen in
the drawings of Frank Auerbach. The
technique known as ‘tonking’, in which a
cloth is used in a beating motion to knock
back charcoal marks, is a superbly
atmospheric form of eraser use.There are many forms of eraser on the
market which purport to remove all sorts of
media from the surface being worked upon.
Listed below are common types of eraser
and some explanation of how they function.·
Putty rubber. Usually used for charcoal
and pastel, it is also suitable for other
materials such as pencil. The chief
advantage of a putty eraser is that it can be
kneaded into any form to erase in a
particular manner. This is very useful for a
positive approach to drawing and seeing the
eraser as a tool which brings something to a
drawing rather than merely taking
something away.·
Plastic rubber. This type is designed
particularly for erasing very dense graphic
markings, and will also remove charcoal,
pastel and pencil. It can be used to createMaterials and examples of marks19