Drawing Lessons

From Robert Genn~


Yesterday Raynald Murphy wrote from Montreal: "I'd like your
thoughts on drawing. In the drawing course I offer at a local
Museum, I have only two students registered for the fall
session. Yet all three of my watercolour courses are
overbooked. I developed the drawing course in order to help
painters. Don't they get the message that drawing is important?
My drawing course is publicized in the city's folder which
reaches 60,000, not to mention my personal publicity. What goes
here?"

Thanks, Raynald. These days drawing still suffers from the
anti-tradition sentiment that has been with us for a few
decades. Many art schools are only now getting back to teaching
the subject. You are a pioneer. Another problem is that many
collectors still don't see stand-alone drawing as a
collectible. It's unfortunate, because drawing has its own
unique delight for both the doer and the viewer. Let's face it,
drawing skills have largely fallen on hard times. A few years
ago it was nearly a dead art. Lots of folks still think they
don't need it.

While painting can often be brought back and upgraded by a
strong shot of desire, it's been my experience that drawing,
not practiced, soon becomes rusty. Ordinary drawing is okay and
useful, but above all it's an opportunity for "line style."
Expressive, searching, definitive, linear, broken, lost and
found, there's an energy in line that tone and form do not
have. In drawing, artists have to determine whether the objects
or ideas drawn are suitable for line--or would they be best
suited for mass and area. For subjects with what I call "inner
glow," such as faces and the nuances of nature, line can take
second place. Think of trying to stretch a coat hanger around a
cloud. But line is of value for its own sake and can carry its
own meaning. Paul Klee noted that "a line is a dot that went
for a walk." More creators and more collectors need to be taken
on that walk. Edgar Degas noted, "Drawing is a species of
writing: it reveals, better than does painting, an artist's
true personality." A student who sees progress in drawing gains
the greatest self-esteem. For that reason alone artists ought
to be drawing like crazy. When Michelangelo died, a note for
one of his assistants was found on the studio floor: "Draw,
Antonio, draw. Draw and do not waste time."

Best regards,

Robert

PS: "Do not fail to draw something every day, for no matter how
little, it will do you a world of good." (Cennino Cennini) "You
can never do too much drawing." (Tintoretto) "There is nothing
so delightful as drawing." (Vincent Van Gogh) "You never
graduate from drawing." (John Sloan)

Esoterica: Last Thursday night I was a guest speaker at a
retrospective for Jack Hambleton, a friend who passed away 18
years ago. Jack was a consummate professional in many mediums,
but it was in drawing that he found his greatest joy. He drew
in a distinct style--with pen, brush and palette knife. He
chose his subjects carefully--ones he could "get the tool
around." "Drawing," he said, "is a way to keep subjects fresh."
Jack found drawing suited his nature and his span of attention.
He often produced several in an afternoon. As he owned his own
gallery, he soon had them framed and on other people's walls.
"It's an absorbing way to spend your time--it's my
calligraphy," he said.