Gesture drawing in Grade 11 — Issue 6

Acquiring artistic techniques requires exploration and a willingness to embrace the challenges of new materials and ways of seeing.

Gesture drawing of the human form using charcoal is hugely beneficial, as it encourages artists to remain loose and let go of control. Too much anticipated control does not allow for feeling, movement, and the ability to forgive mistakes when trying to draw shape and form. It’s a common error to want to perfect realism two-dimensionally based on what we see in 3-D. It’s the sketchiness of the drawing and the charcoal smudging that help the student artist feel the three dimensions of the human form, in our case, by observing wooden mannequins.

The Grade 11 classes are working on loosening up their drawing techniques through 3-D observation.