Pursuit of the Line
Back in April I wrote about my experiences of life drawing (see Life Drawing, Panic and Exploration).
After 2 excruciating terms of trying to coordinate my eye with my hand via a pencil and pad of paper, I suddenly hit upon distilling the line - rather than seek ever more detail, I decided to strip it back. It was quite an exciting discovery, marred only by the fact it was in the last session and it would be nearly 6 months before I'd get the chance to pursue the idea further.
A couple of weeks ago I completed the autumn run of sessions, where I took the opportunity to explore the flow of line. With each pose of the model, I would begin with a more formal, rough sketch, then start to try and work out where I could sweep the line in a satisfying curve. I would then keep running over the line with my pencil until the flow felt right. If there was time I would then see if I could repeat the pattern on a new sheet of paper.
Often it ended in frustration, and at least once every session I wanted to run screaming from the room and never pick up a pencil again.
But every now and again something clicked and it felt wonderful, like I was tapping into some primeval delight our ancestors must have felt creating animal representations with sticks of charcoal on cave walls.
I have no desire to abandon my photography in pursuit of the drawn line. But as another creative outlet that forces me to view the world in yet another way, I am content to continue with it.
Below are a few of my favourites from the last 10 weeks.
Feel free to click on the images for larger versions.
After 2 excruciating terms of trying to coordinate my eye with my hand via a pencil and pad of paper, I suddenly hit upon distilling the line - rather than seek ever more detail, I decided to strip it back. It was quite an exciting discovery, marred only by the fact it was in the last session and it would be nearly 6 months before I'd get the chance to pursue the idea further.
A couple of weeks ago I completed the autumn run of sessions, where I took the opportunity to explore the flow of line. With each pose of the model, I would begin with a more formal, rough sketch, then start to try and work out where I could sweep the line in a satisfying curve. I would then keep running over the line with my pencil until the flow felt right. If there was time I would then see if I could repeat the pattern on a new sheet of paper.
Often it ended in frustration, and at least once every session I wanted to run screaming from the room and never pick up a pencil again.
But every now and again something clicked and it felt wonderful, like I was tapping into some primeval delight our ancestors must have felt creating animal representations with sticks of charcoal on cave walls.
I have no desire to abandon my photography in pursuit of the drawn line. But as another creative outlet that forces me to view the world in yet another way, I am content to continue with it.
Below are a few of my favourites from the last 10 weeks.
Feel free to click on the images for larger versions.
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