Really?

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Comment by terry clare on January 18, 2011 at 1:21

Dear all, My love affair with lines that have attitude is not only mine. Commercial artists comic strip illustrators and impressionists are all inflicted similarly. Chinese and Japanese artists along with calligraphers also. When a beginner starts to learn drawing, they tend to curve every line this way and that. To break students of this in art schools years ago, specially for pen and ink artists. exersizes were set where everything was drawn with a series of straight lines. Later it was relaxed and you were just encouraged to use as many straight lines as possible. This usually resulted in using a bend at the beginning or end to keep the blocked look. Hence blocking in which was the starting point. I have indicated on Michelle's painting those places where I consider the lines to be straight with a flourish, although the heavy and light thickness is not obvious it exists enough for a sensitive subject. To draw like that your eye follows an imaginary line,, in front of the pencil where it is about to go. Am I off the hook yet, Terry

Comment by Michelle Bone on January 17, 2011 at 23:20

You know Patricia, I'm not sure which line it is either ;/

Over to you Terry?

 

Comment by Patricia Genever on January 17, 2011 at 22:17

Michelle, I love your watercolour painting. It speaks to me with emotion...!!

Still trying to figure out exactly where this line of attitude is that Terry mentioned. I take note of what he says, because I have learned so much from what he does and says!!

My guess is the single hair line on the left hand side that starts off straight, from below the ear line, and starts to curve from the baseline of the neck on to the blouse????

Comment by terry clare on January 15, 2011 at 0:49

Hi Michelle,  A line with attitude is my favourite type of line. It goes for a walk in a definite direction (straightish) with a flourish or curve at the beginning or the end (not both), often starting and finishing softly or finely, with a change of heavier pressure somewhere in between. You can hear the artist say "Aha" as he does it.  It's nice to know the somewhere or where you are going to put it, before you start. Not that different to a "premiere coup" brush stroke. The Chinese, Orientals and some Impressionists (Whistler was) are good at it, Terry

Comment by Michelle Bone on January 15, 2011 at 0:04

Thanks Terrry. I'm going to take your suggestions re the colours and go back and have another go with her..maybe give her a bit more 'attitude' hey? Not sure what you mean about the straight line thing....I'm a 'born again' artist remember, had a looooooooooong break! :D

Comment by terry clare on January 14, 2011 at 23:58

This is really nicely drawn Michelle. I like the way you use a straight line and give it a kink or attitude. The composition is good as well. I think you could have used a bit more colour on the figure ummm I would have tried soft green and purple shadows, mixed with skin colour or laid underneath. You may like to mix a bit of grey in as well. There is a nice greyness about this, Terry