72
LINEAR AND TONAL DRAWING USING
GRAPHITE AND PLASTIC ERASER
This is a line and tone drawing of the female
nude, but it is a very different in concept to
the last drawing. Whereas the last drawing
was based in the analytical observation of
light and how it falls on the form, this
drawing is more of an expressive metaphor
of the reality we are seeing.
1/ In stage one of the examples we are
drawing with a continuous line. That line is
made by not taking your graphite off the
paper until that section of the drawing is
finished. This line is trying to establish the
idea of form by following the contours of the
form just as if you were actually drawing over
the body itself and leaving a trace. You can
also see from the illustration that the line is a
free-roving type of line and it doesn’t follow
any predictable track.
2/ Gestural tone is now placed over the
linear drawing. This tonal application is
based in observation so the model should be
illuminated from a particular direction to
give a definite sense of light and dark over
the subject. The tone is applied in a quick
gestured manner so as not to leave too much
time to dwell on the consequences of the
action. A gestured drawing is a drawing that
is based in a response to what you are
drawing rather than a calculated
observation.
3/This stage may seem odd, as what we are
about to do is to use an eraser to work over
the whole drawing to take it back. Use the
eraser in a diagonal direction and work it
over all the drawing. This has the effect of
bringing an atmospheric feel to the work and
it sends the drawing back into the surface of
the paper.4/We can now begin to re-establish some of
the tone and the line over the last section..
This gives the drawing a sense of
atmosphere, drama, space and above all an
expressive nature that holds the drawing
together very cleverly as an expressive
metaphor. There are examples of artists
who work like this when drawing, artists like
Aubach, Giacometti, and Rembrandt.Part One – THE PENCIL
1.