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Sketching - Dictation from Life (L3/11)

Author: Larry Seiler, Contributing Editor

I explain it to my students this way:

A drawing suggests what something looks like. A gesture suggests what something is doing. A sketch attempts to take a bit of both of those with the dynamic of time as the controlling taskmaster, and put them together.

Let's look at an example. To the left, I've drawn a contour line drawing of a bow tie. It very simply states what this bow tie "looks" like.

Left: A gesture line attempts to represent an action, or in this case what the bow tie is "doing". Sure...it's just sitting there, however it exists in real time and as such is still doing, even if its "doing" amounts to stillness.

A sketch that is useful to supply the information I need captures a bit of both...what something looks like and what it is doing.
Sketching is more than just an exercise for my eye. It provides information and a better sense of correct anatomy. But more than a labor intensive drawing, sketching makes the information intimate. It becomes a "knowing".

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	I explain it to my students this way: A drawing suggests what something looks like. A gesture suggests what something is doing. A sketch attempts to take a bit of both of those with the dynamic of time as the controlling taskmaster, and put them together. Let's look at an example. To the left, I've drawn a contour line drawing of a bow tie. It very simply states what this bow tie "looks" like.
	Left: A gesture line attempts to represent an action, or in this case what the bow tie is "doing". Sure...it's just sitting there, however it exists in real time and as such is still doing, even if its "doing" amounts to stillness.
	A sketch that is useful to supply the information I need captures a bit of both...what something looks like and what it is doing. Sketching is more than just an exercise for my eye. It provides information and a better sense of correct anatomy. But more than a labor intensive drawing, sketching makes the information intimate. It becomes a "knowing".