Art and Gesture

Art and Gesture:  Language in Action

"Your signature is never the same twice, but it is always unmistakable because it has a characteristic gesture." Kimon.

　

Drawing is the basis of many other arts.

The drawing exercise is a way for the student to look at people and objects so as to get the most knowledge for the experience.

The student should only think of one thing at a time.

When you exercise you are not concerned with the "product" but the experience of drawing. Just as scales are not music, and breathing exercises are not a song, so these exercises are not about the picture; they are about learning how to draw.

Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. If you aren’t making mistakes you are learning much too slowly.

You must have lots of experience and experiences. Artists and writers must have a source of material. They must have contact with actual objects and situations.

Draw yourself looking in the Mirror. Do it again and again. It is the experience, not the subject that is important.

Don’t look at the paper too much.

If you don’t feel as the model does, you have only a schematic.

Focus on the entire figure. Work on the whole thing at one time. When drawing gesture you should feel the movement in your own body: in your entire body. You must feel as if you are the model.

Within a few seconds you should have something to represent each part of the whole. Then work it out. In general, do not start with the head.

Rely on sensation rather than though, especially for gesture. Your muscles should respond to the activity of the model as you watch. Relax. Reason with your pencil rather than your head.