Drawing Summer 2017

Find Great Drawing Instruction Instructi on

 Reclining

Figur ure e Dra Drawin wing g Mas Master ter Cla Class ss Nude by Dan Gheno, from Fig

Figure Figur e Dr Drawi awing ng Mas Maste terr Cl Clas asss By Dan Gheno ISBN: 9781440339943 Learn to train your hand and mind to represent the human figure in Figure Drawing Master Class . This take-home course covers everything you need to know to put you on the fast-track to successful figure drawings. Author Dan Gheno guides you through the basics with gesture drawing lessons, how to draw heads and hands, and how to accurately compose your figures. With the historical references and the drawing instruction in this book, you will learn the critical skills needed to successfully draw figures.

$29. $2 9.99 99 • T4 T448 489 9

Available at your favorite f avorite bookseller. bookseller. To To learn more about the full range of ArtistsNetwork products, including North Light books, visit ArtistsNetwork.com.

Find Great Drawing Instruction Instructi on

 Reclining

Figur ure e Dra Drawin wing g Mas Master ter Cla Class ss Nude by Dan Gheno, from Fig

Figure Figur e Dr Drawi awing ng Mas Maste terr Cl Clas asss By Dan Gheno ISBN: 9781440339943 Learn to train your hand and mind to represent the human figure in Figure Drawing Master Class . This take-home course covers everything you need to know to put you on the fast-track to successful figure drawings. Author Dan Gheno guides you through the basics with gesture drawing lessons, how to draw heads and hands, and how to accurately compose your figures. With the historical references and the drawing instruction in this book, you will learn the critical skills needed to successfully draw figures.

$29. $2 9.99 99 • T4 T448 489 9

Available at your favorite f avorite bookseller. bookseller. To To learn more about the full range of ArtistsNetwork products, including North Light books, visit ArtistsNetwork.com.

Te Best in Drawing Instruction

Drawing Atelier: The Figure By Jon deMartin ISBN: 9781440342851 $32.99 • T8751

Big Book of Drawing Animals By T. Beaudenon and P. Rodriguez ISBN: 9781440350719 $22.99 • R4439

The Urban Sketcher By Marc Taro Holmes ISBN: 9781440334719 $26.99 • T0004

Figure Drawing in Proporti Proportion on By Michael Massen ISBN: 9781440337567 $24.99 • T2894

These and many other North Light products are available at your favorite art & craft retailer or bookstore. You can also order online at NorthLightShop.com NorthLightShop.com or or by phone at 1-800-258-09 1-800-258-0929. 29. Online prices may differ on listed titles; prices are as marked on store pages in the North Light Shop. an imprint of F+W Media, Inc.

TABLE OF CONTENTS SUMMER 2017

24 FEATURES 24

32

Chamber Pieces Peri Schwartz's Schwart z's subtle explorations of shape, light and color.

32

Cases in Ballpo Bal lpoint int The stunning ballpoint artwork of Guno Park, Nicolas V. Sanchez and Joo Lee Kang.

44

Poussin, Claude and Beyond: French Drawing in the Grande Siècle Tracing the evolution of art in 17 th -century France.

54

Magic Wand: The Power of the Ballpoint Pen The pen's do-or-die nature nat ure can help liberate your powers of expression.

60

Drawing Fundamentals: Expressi Ex pressions ons of the Face We learn the essentials of six widely recognizable facial expressions.

70

Curator's Choice: The Los Angeles County Museum of Art A tour of inspiring drawings ranging from Mannerist Italy to 1960s America.

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60 COLUMNS Material World

14

14

Finding the Right Pen for You

20

Makea Pen From Scratch

How to Make a Pen From Scratch

24

Drawing Interiors

New & Notable

32

Full-Color Portraits

44

Masterpieces of Classical France

Ballpoint Basics 20

80

ON THE COVER

First Marks

Ben Sack

DEPARTMENTS 4

Editor’s Note

5

Contributors

6

Frontispiece

8

Sketchbook

60

Capturing Facial Expressions

70

Cézanne, Van Gogh and More

80

Imaginary Cities in Pen-and-Ink

COVER IMAGE Ape (detail) by Guno Park, 2014, ballpoint pen, 65 x 45. Private collection.

20 Copyright © 2017 by F+W Media, Inc., all rights reserved. The contents of this publication may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the consent of the copyright owner, F+W Media, Inc. Drawing (ISSN 2161-5373 (print), ISSN 2330- 0949 (online) USPS 001-780 Issue #54) is published quarterly by F+W Media, Inc. $9.99 a copy U.S.A. and $11.99 a copy Canada. Yearly subscriptions in U.S.A and Possessions: $23.95; in Canada: $27.95; and in all other countries: $30.95. Payment in US funds only. Periodicals postage paid at Fort Collins, CO, and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: Drawing, P.O. Box 433289, Palm Coast, FL 32143. Subscriber Services: U.S. and Canada (866) 917-3888, International (386) 246-0105, E-mail [email protected].

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Drawing / Summer

2017

3

EDITOR’S NOTE

Drawing VOLUME 14 • ISSUE 54

SENIOR EDITOR

Austin R. Williams EDITORS

Holly Davis McKenzie Graham Anne Hevener

Belle of the Ballpoint

O

ne of the many joys drawing offers is the chance to work with materials that have been around for a long, long time. Graphite, for instance, has been used by artists for centuries, and it pales in comparison to charcoal, which has been used for millennia. In this issue, however, we celebrate a medium that is much younger�and that is associated less with art than with writing. It wasn’t until after World War II that the ballpoint pen began to be produced in a form similar to what we use today. Artists have adopted it somewhat gradually, but ballpoint art is now flourishing, and we explore the work of three artists who use ballpoint to produce very different but equally stunning work: Joo Lee Kang, Guno Park and Nicolas V. Sanchez (page 32). Sherry Camhy introduces us to the most common varieties of ballpoint pens (page 14), and Jason Franz discusses how his use of ballpoint evolved to become the bedrock of his figure drawing (page 54). Margaret Davidson looks at another form of ink drawing, explaining how to make your own stick pens (page 20). Elsewhere, we talk with Peri Schwartz, who finds endless inspiration in her own studio (page 24). John A. Parks takes us on a grand tour of drawings from the French classical age, featuring such masters as Poussin, Claude and Le Brun (page 44). In our “Drawing Fundamentals” series, Jon deMartin offers advice for drawing common facial expressions (page 60). To close things out, we’re treated to highlights from the collection of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (page 70). And that’s all she drew. I wish you the best of luck with your art in these remaining summer months and beyond. Keep drawing, keep learning and follow that pen (or pencil, or charcoal, or chalk, or silverpoint) line wherever it takes you.

Jennifer Smith Beth Williams Michael Woodson CONTENT STRATEGIST

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4 Drawing / Summer 2017

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N I L R E B N E B Y B O T O H P

CONTRIBUTORS S H E R R Y C A M H Y (“Material World”) is a faculty member of

J O N D E M A R T I N (“Drawing Fundamentals”) is the author of

the Art Students League of New York, the School of Visual Arts and New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. She is the author of Art of the Pencil: A Revolutionar y Look at Drawing, Painting and the Pencil . For more information, visit sherrycamhy.com.

Drawing Atelier: The Figure. He teaches at schools including Studio Incamminati and Grand Central Atelier, and he also teaches workshops at locations across the country. To view his work and to learn about upcoming workshops and classes, visit jondemar tin.net.

M A R G A R E T D A V I D S ON (“First Marks”) is an artist, illustrator

J O H N A . P A R K S (“Poussin, Claude and Beyond”) is an artist

and former teacher at the Gage Academy of Art, in Seattle. She is the author of Contemporary Drawing: Key Concepts and Techniques. For more information, visit margaretdavidson.com.

represented by 532 Gallery Thomas Jaeckel. He is also a teacher at the School of Visual Arts, in New York City, and a frequent contributor to Drawing, as well as the author of Universal Principles of Art. View his work at johnaparks.com.

J A S O N F R A N Z (“Magic Wand: The Power of the Ballpoint Pen”)

is a Cincinnati-based artist, educator, curator and founding director of the nonprofit arts organization Manifest Creative Research Gallery and Drawing Center. He has taught at the Art Academy of Cincinnati, Xavier University and the University of Cincinnati in the fields of both art and design. For more information, visit jasonfranz.com.

A U S T I N R . W I L L I A M S (“Sketchbook,” “Chamber Pieces,”

“Cases in Ballpoint,” “Curator’s Choice” and “New and Notable”) is the senior editor of Drawing.

FRONTISPIECE Cottage Near the Entrance to a Wood by Rembrandt van Rijn 1644, pen-and-ink and brown wash, corrected in white with touches of red chalk, 11 3 /4 x 17 5 /16 . Collection The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York.

Much of this issue explores drawings created in ink, so let’s start with a great example of this tradition. Here we see the largest surviving landscape drawing by Rembrandt, created near the height of his career. As in many of the artist’s landscapes, a rustic cottage features prominently. At its door we find a lone, stooping figure. Rembrandt indicates the architecture and the surrounding earth and foliage through his signature fluid pen line, applying it very lightly in places. He supplements his line with abundant washes, ranging in tone from light to deep brown.


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Drawing / Summer

2017

7

The Book on Ballpoint

B A L L P OI N T A R T by Trent Morse Laurence King Publishing 176 pages $24.95

Artists have experimented with ballpoint pens since almost the moment they hit the market, but as Trent Morse’s book Ballpoint Art reveals, in recent years the practice of ballpoint drawing has �ourished around the world. Call it what you will—a surge, an awakening, a renaissance—ballpoint pens are coming into their own as a tool for making art. “The lowly ballpoint has become an important tool for a range of artists


who appreciate both its formal qualities and its conceptual implications,” writes Morse, who has contributed articles to ARTnews and Art+Auction, among other publications. “Such creators mention the layering capability of ballpoint ink, its thick consistency, its sheen, its everydayness and its reluctance to be erased as reasons to love the medium.” Morse begins the book by presenting a “condensed history” of ballpoint artwork, including early ballpoint drawings by such major 20th-century artists as Lucio Fontana, Alberto Giacometti, Cy Twombly and Andy Warhol. The bulk of Ballpoint Art is then given to short chapters devoted to some 30 contemporary artists, a

ABOVE

Two pages from Ballpoint Art, showing the 2014 drawing Untitled by Thomas Müller.

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mixture of established and emerging talents. A signi�cant number of the artists included can be considered “outsider artists” in one sense or another. “The ballpoint’s wide availability has made it a go-to tool for outsider artists—from the intense layering of Kentuckian Beverly Baker to the masklike faces of Iranian-born Mehrdad Rashidi,” Morse writes. “There are so many talented outsider ballpointists, in fact, that this book could have been devoted entirely to them.” Among the American artists included are Dawn Clements and Butt Johnson—whose names will be familiar to loyal readers of Drawing —as well as Bill Adams, Rebecca Chamberlain, Lori Ellison and C. J. Pyle. The international portion of the roster includes the South Korean artist Il Lee, referred to as the “godfather of ballpoint art”; Nigeria’s Toyin Odutola; the Philippines’ Renato Orara; and Germany’s Thomas Müller, one of whose wavy, untitled drawings graces the book’s cover.

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RIGHT

Untitled

by Renato Orara, 2011, ballpoint pen, 11 x 10½. From the series Ten Thousand Things That Breathe.

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Drawing / Summer

2017

9

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South Carolina Silhouettes THROUGH SEPTEMBER 10 Greenville County Museum of Art Greenville, South Carolina (864) 271-7570 gcma.org

A native of the South Carolina Lowcountry, Carew Rice (1899–1971) discovered the art of cutting silhouettes when he was a student in Tennessee and pursued the practice from the Depression era until 1970. His work can currently be seen in the exhibition “Carew Rice” at the Greenville County Museum of Art, in Greenville, South Carolina, through September 10. “Rice subtly challenged viewers with reductive renditions of Old South nostalgia,” the museum writes in a statement. “His cautionary tales were grounded in conservative values, but he liberally embraced the �eld hands, chain gangs and working- class lifestyles of marginalized minorities.” Rice became known as a portraitist, creating cut-paper portraits of politicians and members of European royalty, in addition to ordinary men and women. Other subjects include Lowcountry landscapes, architecture and wildlife.

Carew Rice (1899–1971). ABOVE RIGHT

Uncle Gabriel Lance, Sandy Island, South Carolina by Carew Rice, 1936, hand-cut paper. RIGHT

Gate of the Swords, Charleston, South Carolina by Carew Rice, 1933, hand-cut paper.


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The Birth of Pastel THROUGH DECEMBER 17 The J. Paul Getty Museum Los Angeles, California (310) 440-7330 getty.edu

Artists since the Renaissance have worked with dry colored media—natural chalks or fabricated versions consisting of powdered pigment and a binder. In the 18 th century, pastels became extremely popular, especially for portraiture. Sold in countless colors, these sticks offered a promising new alternative to oil paints. They enabled artists to work quickly and spontaneously, with re�ned results. “The Birth of Pastel,” an exhibition on view at the Getty Museum, in Los Angeles, provides a look into the origins and evolution of the medium. Among the artists included are Rosalba Carriera, Maurice-Quentin de La Tour, Simon Vouet and Charles Le Brun. (You can learn more about the careers of Vouet and Le Brun later in this issue, beginning on page 44.)

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A Muse

by Rosalba Carriera, mid-1720s, pastel on blue laid paper, 12 3 ⁄ 16 x 10¼. Collection J. Paul Getty Museum, Los A ngeles, California.

Colored Pencil Call

Entries: September 15 to November 15, 2017

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Drawing Instruction from Mau Kun Yim & Iris Yim

 Yu

Qing by Mau Kun Yim, from Lessons in Masterful Portrait Drawing

Lessons in Masterful Portrait Drawing By Mau Kun Yim and Iris Yim ISBN: 9781440349768 Mau-Kun Yim learned to draw as the Old Masters did and stresses to students that to render the essence of life in portrait drawing, one must continue to pursue the old ways. It’s a unique philosophy and methodology in today’s world and relies on a holistic approach of observation, analysis and critical-thinking honed through time and patience.

$29.99 • R3417

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Unleash Your Full Potential

Keys to Drawing with Imagination By Bert Dodson ISBN: 9781440350733 This ten-year edition of Keys to Drawing with Imagination is a course for artists in how to take something, do something to it and make something new. In every section, Bert Dodson offers you basic guidelines that help you channel your creative energies in the right direction. Before you know it, you’ll lose yourself in the process, enjoying the experience as you create something gratifying and worthwhile.

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Perspective for the Absolute Beginner By Mark and Mary Willenbrink ISBN: 9781440343681 Perspective is arguably the most important element of drawing and also one of the most difficult to master. It’s what gives drawings dimension and is the key to realistic drawing. Now the best-selling authors of Drawing for the Absolute Beginner are here to demystify perspective, simplify concepts such as vanishing points and multi-point perspective, and make it easy for you to experience success... and have fun while you’re doing it.

$22.99 • S3149

These and many other North Light products are available at your favorite art & craft retailer or bookstore. You can also order online at NorthLightShop.com or by phone at 1-800-258-0929. Online prices may differ on listed titles; prices are as marked on store pages in the North Light Shop. an imprint of F+W Media, Inc.

MATERIAL WORLD

Getting the most out of drawing media BY SHERRY CAMHY

Ballpoint Basics

B

allpoint pens may have been invented for writing, but why not draw with them? These days, more and more artists are deciding to do so. Ballpoint is a fairly young medium, dating back only to the 1880s, when John J. Loud, an American tanner, patented a crude pen with a rotating ball at its tip that could make marks only on rough surfaces such as leather. Some 50 years later László Bíró, a Hungarian journalist, improved Loud’s invention using quick-drying newspaper ink and a better ball at its tip. When held perpendicular to its surface, Bíró’s pen could write smoothly on paper. In the 1950s the Frenchman Baron Marcel Bich purchased Bíró’s patent and devised a leak-proof capillary tube to hold the ink, and the Bic Cristal pen was born. It was durable and could write when held at any angle, even upside down. Although the ballpoint pen’s consistently even line was at first denounced as heralding the death of beautiful handwriting, the neat and inexpensive pens quickly became ubiquitous, replacing more expensive and inflexible fountain pens. The hexagonal, transparent Bic Cristal was considered such a remarkably designed product that one is held in the collection of The Museum of Modern Art, in New York.

BALLPOINT IN ART Ballpoint drawings are all about line and what an artist can create with it. In the 1970s the critic Walter Koschatzky dismissed the possibility that ballpoint had any potential for serious artists on precisely this basis. “Pressing the point of the pen down produces no change in the thickness of the line,” he wrote. “[Therefore] its use in art is virtually nil. Drawings done with a


ballpoint pen always exhibit a deadness of line.” Artists, however, already had begun to prove Koschatzky wrong, with such prominent figures as Alberto Giacometti, Joseph Beuys, Andy Warhol and Cy Twombly adopting ballpoint for various manners of drawing.

JH

by Janet Cook, 2016, pink and purpl e ballpoint pen with acrylic wash, 11 x 9.

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Israel Sketch From Bus by Angela Barbalace, 2017, ballpoint pen with watercolor wash, 3 x 10.

Odyssey’s Cyclops by Charles Winthrop Norton, 2014, ballpoint pen, 19½ x 16.

Ballpoint pens offer some serious advantages to artists who work with them. To start, many artists and collectors disagree entirely with Koschatzky’s disparaging view of ballpoint’s line, finding the consistent width and tone of ballpoint lines to be aesthetically pleasing. Ballpoint drawings can be composed of dense dashes, slow contour lines, crosshatches or rambling scribbles. Placing marks adjacent to one another can create carefully modulated areas of tone. And if you desire some variation in line width, you can in fact achieve it, either by adjusting the pressure you apply to the pen or by simply switching between several pens of different thickness. Some are less than half a millimeter wide and can be used for the most delicate details. Among ballpoint’s other virtues: They never need to be sharpened; they’re lightweight, nontoxic and odorless; and many modern ballpoints are archival. Ballpoint pens glide quicker than most other drawing media, making them perfect for quick sketches. They move smoothly in all directions and can change direction abruptly. They can be used on many surfaces other than paper, including gesso panels and illustration boards. The contemporary artist Jack Dillhunt is known for drawing with ballpoint on bedsheets. Black and blue may be the most common, but ballpoints come in countless tempting colors. Further colors can be made by using a crosshatching technique, layering varying values and colors to create subtle

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optical combinations. Working on colored surfaces adds even more possibilities in this regard. Although erasable ballpoints exist, most pens aren’t erasable. Once a line is made, it’s permanent, and for

artists this can be daunting but also quite rewarding. “Mistakes” can be left alone or corrected by incorporating them into an image with a darker value or another color, exposing the artist’s creative process.

Drawing / Summer

2017

15

MATERIAL WORLD

BALLPOINT PEN VARIETIES Ballpoints range from inexpensive disposable pens to more expensive refillable models and high-end collectible pens. Some artists simply buy refills and use them without any holders at all. Ballpoint pens can be capped or retractable, single-colored or multicolored. Some include a stylus t ip compatible with touchscreens on smartphones and tablets. There are so many ballpoint pens available that choosing among them can be perplexing, and to muddy things further, the nomenclature is confusing. We can group the pens into three main categories. Pens in the first category are usually simply called “ballpoint pens,” but to distinguish them from the other varieties, here we’ll call them standard ballpoint pens. The second category is rollerball pens, and the third is gel pens. These three varieties have basic mechanical qualities in common, but each differs in certain characteristics and uses a different kind of ink.

ABOVE

Ballpoint pens in 20 colors. All photos of materials in this article by Sherry Camhy.

LEFT

Bic Cristal ballpoint pen; dual-purpose Stylus pen with touchscreencompatible rubber tip; retractable ballpoint pen and refill.

STANDARD BALLPOINT PENS

Standard ballpoint pens are filled with ink that’s viscous, oil-based, permanent and quick-drying. It’s designed not to smear or bleed. Altering pressure on the point creates a slight variation of values. Filling an area solidly with standard-ballpoint ink creates a uniquely leather-like texture.


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The ink supply in standard ballpoints tends to last longer than those of rollerball and gel pens. Because the ink in standard ballpoints is permanent and quick-drying, watercolor and ink washes can be added easily to these drawings without losing the original marks. ROLLERBALL PENS

Rollerball pens have water-soluble liquid ink similar to that used in fountain pens, but unlike fountain pens the ink is held in a self-contained compartment that is in contact with a rolling ball at the tip. Rollerball ink dries slower and is more likely to bleed and smear than standard ballpoint ink. Rollerball allows for more variation in line width than standard ballpoint. Slow strokes can make thicker lines, especially on soft, spongy surfaces. The

Ballpoint pen with retractable points in four colors.

ink is so fluid that a momentary pause can cause it to puddle. This can cause disaster, although with practice the problem can be turned into an advantage, with artists using these puddles deliberately to add dark accents.

GEL PENS

Gel pens contain a pigmented fusion of oil- and water-based gels that doesn’t often bleed or fade. Gel pens generally are associated with writing, illustration, scrapbook and

craft projects, but they can be used in fine art as well. Gel pens require a steadier, more controlled pressure than standard ballpoints, but some are capable of more calligraphic strokes. Thinner lines dry faster than wide ones and are less likely to smear. Gels come in many colors, ranging from intense opaque pigments to f luorescent, metallic and glittery colors, many of which stand out boldly on dark surfaces. Note that a gel pen’s ink supply can harden if a pen isn’t properly capped or retracted. allpoint has something to offer many art ists. Those who incline toward careful observation may thrive on the intense concentration it demands if accuracy is the goal. Artists who revel in the feeling of freedom may enjoy the playful sense of having nothing to lose that ballpoint can grant. However you use them, you’ll find ballpoint pens have a quality of line not obtainable from any other  medium.

B

Untitled No. 50

by Joanne Greenbaum, 2014, ballpoint pen, 11½ x 8½.

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1992 (colored pencil on paper) by Tanja Gant, Two Cats, On a Cold Day (pastel on paper) by Yael Maimon, Arabesque (digital) by Nikolai Aleksander, NOLA Beetle (watercolor on paper) by Matthew Bird

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9 5 0 1 8

FIRST MARKS

Introductory lessons in drawing BY MARGARET DAVIDSON

How to Make a Pen From Scratch

by Vincent van Gogh, ca. 18 88, reed pen, quill and ink over chalk on wove paper, 9 9 /16 x 12½. Collection The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York.

Three finished pens. The two on the outside are forsythia; the one in the middle is bamboo.

Pen-and-ink drawing is one of the world’s oldest art forms. Ink drawings were produced in ancient Egypt, ancient China and the Maya civilization. In medieval Europe they formed parts of illuminated manuscripts. This manner of drawing has continued without pause to the present day. For many centuries artists made their own pens from materials such as bird feathers and reeds. In t he 19th century steel-nib pens were introduced, and they quickly came to dominate the market, causing artists to buy pens rather than make them. But it’s still possible to make your own pens—making pens from sticks is especially easy—and there’s something splendid and satisfying about drawing

aree about as big around as my ring �nger, with a 1 hollow llow core about ⁄ ⁄ 8" in diameter. I cut the sticks off near the ground with pruners, and then trim them to the desired length when I get back to the studio. Forsythia is a common ornamental shrub here, although only some varieties have cores hollow enough to be useful. I usually cut several stems to see if I can find what I need. Forsythia isn’t as hard as bamboo, so it’s easier to cut and shape, and you can work it into a pen weeks after you’ve cut it. Its point wears out faster, however, and needs to be reshaped more often. Bamboo is nice and hollow, and it’s a wonderful material to draw

Street in Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer


with a pen you made from scratch. In this article we’ll learn how to make a pen from a stick using simple tools. You can use a very similar method to make a pen from a hollow reed, but wild reeds don’t grow too readily near my home in the Northwest, so I use materials I can find easily.

CHOOSING A STICK There are two main considerations when looking for a stick to turn into a pen: It needs a hollow shaft, and it must be soft enough to cut with a knife. Reed has these qualities, as do forsythia and bamboo, which grow in more northerly climates. When harvesting I look for bamboo or forsythia sticks that

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Materials for making a stick pen. From lef t to right: pruners, knife, mat k nife, scissors and a piece of a pop can. If you don’t have a knife like the one pictured here, you can try to use your mat knife for carving; it should work as l ong as your sticks are fresh. Do not use an X-Acto knife or a mat knife that has a snap-blade, which can break and cut you.

with. It can get very hard to cut as it ages, so use younger branches that are still green if you can find them. Bamboo also hardens very quickly after being cut, so carve your pens right after you collect your sticks.

MAKING THE PEN TOOLS

To make your pen, in addition to the stick itself you will need: pruners • a knife (you can use a jackknife, • although I find it easier and safer to work with a blade that isn’t inclined to fold up in my hand) a mat knife • scissors • a piece of thin aluminum, for • example a section of a pop can STEP 1

Make sure the hollow core in your cut 1 8" in diameter. Trim branch is about ⁄ the stick to your desired length. STEP 2

Using the pruners, cut one end off at an angle. STEP 3

Using either knife, shave the angle to the drawing tip that you want—either a blunt end or a pointed one. This also thins the wood slightly. If you’re using forsythia, you may want to shave the bark away from the end, as well. STEP 4

Pens need a split tip, which causes the tip to spread when pressed down, allowing the ink to �ow smoothly.

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The best tool for splitting a stick’s tip is a straight blade. A mat knife works perfectly. Lay your stick on a t able with the longer, pointed side at t he bottom

and the tip flush with the edge of the table. Push straight down with the mat knife to cut a straight slit in the middle of the tip. Try to split the tip right in the middle. This can be tricky,

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FIRST MARKS and if you don’t get it quite right, you can further trim the tip with your knife until the split falls in the middle. STEP 5

Next, you need to make an ink regulator —a tiny but tremendously important component that will regulate the ink �ow, enabling your pen to lay down even lines without

gushing blobs at the beginning of every stroke. With your scissors, cut a st rip from the pop can that ’s narrow enough to �t into the hollow core of your stick. T his should be at least 1" long but can be longer. Bend this str ip into a “J” shape by running the strip between your thumb and index �nger as you do with curling ribbon. STEP 6

Insert the regulator into the hollow core of the stick in such a way that the curved part is inside the pen and the top of the J rests against the pen tip but doesn’t stick up beyond it. Once the regulator is in place, you’re ready to draw. Dip your pen in a jar of ink, grab a pad of drawing or watercolor paper, and get to work. When the point of your pen starts to wear out, soften or split, simply cut the soft part away and shape a new tip on the same stick.

DRAWING WITH STICK PENS You’ll quickly �nd that different types of pens have their own personalities and produce different kinds of lines. A stick pen lets you be freer than any steel-nib or quill pen can, as the stick will move in any direction without snagging and will curve and zigzag and stop on a dime. Stick

NOTE: I drew the illustrations for the above sequence of steps using a pen with a metal nib. Look closely and you can see how the line produced by a steelnib pen differs from the line produced by a stick pen, as seen in my drawings Basket and Boots.

Basket

2017, pen-and-ink, 10 x 13. For this drawing I used a stick pen and black Chinese ink on rag paper. Note the heavy lines of the drawing—stick pens dish out more ink per stroke than steel-nib or quill pens do. I recommend using thick, heavy paper for drawing with pen-and-ink, which can absorb all the liquid of the ink without warping.


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Drawing by Adam Vinson

Boots

2002, pen-and-ink, 15 x 11. This drawing was done with a stick pen and brown peat-based ink on 300-lb watercolor paper. The rough texture of the paper interacted with the pen to make broken, interrupted marks that add a sketchy quality to the drawing.

pens make broader and heavier marks than do pens with steel nibs, even when the tip is carved to a �ne point. This kind of mark has its own joy—strong, rough and eager to be seen. The contrast is high and vivid, and when the pen runs low of ink you get wonderful broken, scruffy strokes. Stick pens are excellent for landscape drawing, as you can see in Van Gogh’s Street in Saintes-Mariesde-la-Mer (page 20). For still life drawing I find they work best on things that aren’t delicate. I probably wouldn’t draw a lace doily with a stick pen, but heavier cloth and wooden objects work out just fine. You can use almost any ink with a stick pen. Some of my favorites are Pelikan black drawing ink and Pro Art India ink. I mix my own brown ink from dried peat-based crystals that I buy from the Paper & Ink Arts website, but any ink you buy in the art store will work just fine. Enough talk from me—start carving! Summer is an excellent time to make a handful of pens and then draw  with them all year.

GRAPHIC Great pencil drawings start with a great graphite pencil. e Derwent Graphic pencils offer a wide choice of degrees from the popular HB pencil, to the fine and crisp 9H and soft smudgy 9B. Whether you're doing fine detailed illustrations or adding shading and texture to your drawing, Derwent has the right pencil for you.

www.DerwentArt.com

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CHAMBER pieces For Peri Schwartz the studio is a stage where she can arrange furniture and other ordinary objects to form subtle explorations of shape, light and color. INTERVIEW BY AUSTIN R. WILLIAMS

he drawings and paintings of Peri Schwartz reveal a mind intensely engaged with questions of composition and representation. In her studio scenes and still lifes, the artist plays shapes off one another to create a sort of quiet visual tension. She works exclusively from life, meticulously matching her setup to her vision for an image, even if it means repainting parts of her studio. Drawing recently spoke with the artist about her process, her inspirations and the importance of taking the time to create unhurried, carefully considered work.

T

DRAWING: Hello Peri. Let’s begin by talking about the

relationship between drawing and painting in your art. Are most of your drawings related to a specific painting? PERI SCHWARTZ: In the studio series, which I began 15 years ago, a drawing would start as a study for a painting. It was the most direct way for me to get the composition down and figure out what size canvas I needed. Inevitably, I became more involved with the drawing, loving the darks and lights, erasing and moving objects as the work developed. The drawing took on a life of its own, and it was no longer just a study for the painting. I’ve continued this practice and can spend weeks working on a drawing.


Studio No. 23

2017, charcoal and Conté, 53 x 40. Courtesy Gallery NAGA, Boston, Massachusetts.

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Studio XLIV

2017, oil on canvas, 48 x 38. Courtesy Page Bond Gallery, Richmond, Virginia.

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DR: Where is your studio? What

about it inspires you to make it such a central part of your work? PS: My studio is in an office building in downtown New Rochelle, New York, where many of the tenants are lawyers and accountants. It’s a corner office on the 10th floor with beautiful light and expansive views. When I first moved in I was working on still lifes and self-portraits. After completing a series of abstract self-portraits I wanted to return to something more realistic. That was when I started drawing books and seeing my studio as a subject. What I like about the studio is that there are certain things I physically can’t change, like the placement of the window. Then there are all the things I can change: the wall color, the size of the tabletop, the books. I don’t think what I’m doing now fits into the category of studio paintings done by artists like Giacometti or Matisse. My setups are more like very large still lifes or stage sets that I work from—I’m making the studio look a certain way; I’m painting the boards; I’m adjusting the size of the table. The objects on the surfaces aren’t just the objects that happen to be in my studio but things I’ve selected because they work for the composition. DR: Your drawings may show your

studio or a row of mason jars, but to me they seem in a sense to be more about things like perception, space and light. What formal elements are you most interested in exploring? PS: Color, light and composition are the most important elements in my work. I want to create a real space that works as a two-dimensional composition. In the studio paintings the foreground books are large abstract shapes that wouldn’t make spatial sense if they weren’t connected to other objects in the studio. In the Bottles & Jars series I want the bottles to have both weight and luminosity.


DR: Tell me about the books. How

did they become such prominent players in your images? PS: After posing for many self-portraits, I felt I had exhausted myself as a subject. In searching for a new idea, I noticed art books haphazardly piled on my work stools. I began to draw them and realized this subject excited me. I loved the abstract shapes they made, and although I didn’t identify the artists’ names on the books, the fact that the books were about artists I had studied was meaningful to me.

Seated Self-Portrait

2001, charcoal, 41 x 30. Courtesy Gallery NAGA, Boston, Massachusetts.

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DR: You mix the colored liquids

in the glasses to produce your desired color, correct? If you want a warmer red in a certain bottle in your painting, you’ll mix a warmer-red liquid to put in the real bottle? PS: Yes. Initially I was using different bottles of oil that were around the studio. When I began adding more bottles, I moved on to red-wine vinegar and Windex, often diluting the color until I found what I wanted. And for about a year now I’ve shifted my palette to cooler colors made from liquid soaps, and I often mix two liquids to get what I want.

space. It often takes me several tries to get the angles right. DR: Walk me through the course

of a typical drawing. How does the initial idea take shape, and what are your first marks on the surface? PS: It takes several days to arrange the setup. Once I have things somewhat in place, I draw a pencil line in the middle of the paper. I’ll proceed to �nd the midpoint in the setup and draw a charcoal line on the wall. The line on the wall will be moved an inch or so to the left or right many

Studio XII

2006, oil on canvas, 54 x 42. Private collection.

DR: Traces of a grid are visible in

many of your images, for instance the drawing Studio No. 13 [page 31] and the painting Studio XII [at right]. What role do these grids play in the creation of your work? PS: The grid has become so integral to my work that I can’t imagine working without it. When I was in art school at Boston University [BU] we were taught to hold up a straight edge vertically and horizontally to line things up. It was also a way to measure the verticals in relation to the horizontals. I became obsessed with this way of drawing, and the grid lines are really an extension of my measuring. I don’t just draw a grid on either the wall or my drawing. I look, measure, draw, look again, measure again, move something and then draw, so none of the lines are done uniformly. They develop as the drawing develops. DR: So you actually paint grid

lines onto the books and tables in your studio? PS: Yes, although the grid lines on the setup aren’t paint—I’ll use black tape or charcoal. And the grid only works from the one position where I’m sitting. The lines on the books have to connect to the table and the wall. The vertical lines are actually diagonals going back into

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Studio VI

2011, charcoal, 55 x 35. Private collection.


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Studio XXX

2011, oil on canvas, 48 x 38. Courtesy Page Bond Gallery, Richmond, Virginia.

times as the drawing develops, but the pencil line in my drawing stays in the middle. Once I’m feeling con�dent that I have found the midpoint, I will draw soft tones in with willow charcoal. It’s important that I begin with soft marks that can be easily removed with a kneaded eraser. I know from experience that once I’ve made a darker line, it’s much harder to erase. I’ll continue making compositional decisions, moving the books or bottles around until I’m happy. I draw something, erase it, move it and draw it again. This leaves quite a lot of tone on the drawing. Once I’m feeling con�dent, I go into the drawing with compressed charcoal and Conté crayon. The truth is I end up wanting to erase the darker lines, too. Sometimes, when even a plastic eraser doesn’t work, I’ll use white pastel. For the last few years I’ve been drawing on Mylar, and I’ve become very attached to that as a surface. It seems to erase better than paper, and some of the blacks can get very velvety. DR: You often paint over areas in

your paintings, and you once said, “A lot of my painting is about what’s underneath.” Is a similar effect at work in your drawings? PS: I do think that shows up in the drawings, too. In a painting, I may start with a red shape, then two days later change it to orange. Some of that red will creep through into the orange, and it will look beautiful. This also happens when I’m drawing and the history of how I moved things around comes through. Many of the paintings I love most are ones where I feel this kind of struggle and see how the artist kept changing things. Take Richard Diebenkorn. Over and again in his work you’ll see places where a color shows through from underneath and he had the presence of mind to leave it.

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DR: Is Diebenkorn a favorite

of yours? PS: De�nitely. He was an amazing draftsman and did exquisite drawings from life. My favorite period is his Berkeley years, when he had returned to �gurative work but was pushing the abstraction. In the paintings, these large �elds of color and sense of space are most exciting to me. DR: With all the bottles and

jars, your work brings Giorgio Morandi’s still lifes to mind. Do you think your work is in dialogue with his in some way? PS: I love the relationships of the objects in Morandi’s still lifes. Like Diebenkorn, he pushed the abstraction in his �gurative work. The personality of every object Morandi painted and how they relate to each other feels like a metaphor for family relationships. That thought occurs to me as I arrange and rearrange the simple bottles and jars I use.

Self-Portrait

2003, charcoal, 23 x 16. Collection Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock, Arkansas.

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DR: I know you’re a fan of classical

music. Does that inform your art at all? PS: Yes. I go to chamber music concerts regularly and see many commonalities between what those musicians do and my work. A theme is picked up in one instrument and then handed over to another; a silence is like a negative shape, as important as a sound or a color. DR: When you teach drawing, is

there any advice you constantly find yourself giving to student after student? PS: I think students expect results too quickly. I try to slow them down and make them think about where their subject is going to sit on the page. Going back to my days at BU, I encourage my students to hold up a ruler and line up the verticals and horizontals. By going slower, there are more opportunities to discover relationships they hadn’t seen initially. I also recommend doing studies from paintings by artists like Vermeer,


Degas, Cézanne and Matisse. Looking at a painting is not the same as getting out your sketchbook in a museum and drawing from it. It slows down the process and makes you much more aware of the brushstrokes, the composition and the color. Copying was an important part of my development, and I would recommend that any artist do it throughout their life.

TO P

Bottles & Jars No. 6

2012, watercolor, 15 x 22. Private collection.

ABOVE

Bottles & Jars IV

2012, charcoal on Mylar, 20 x 30. Courtesy Gallery NAGA, Boston, Massachusetts.

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Studio No. 13

2012, Conté crayon and ink wash on Mylar, 38½ x 28½. Private collection.

DR: What recommendations would you make to aspiring artists from a

career perspective? PS: You have to be very hardened to rejection, because you’re going to get rejected a lot. And I think you do have to be willing to sell yourself. There is somebody out there who is going to like your work, and you have to �nd that person and connect with them. They’re not going to �nd you. That process can also inform you. You might come across somebody—a dealer, a curator, a friend—who will point out something you haven’t noticed in your own work. It could be good or bad. But it’s important to just get out there  and get feedback.

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ABOUTTHEARTIST Peri Schwartz’s work is found in

numerous private and public collections, including those of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, in New York; the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; and the Portland Art Museum, in Oregon. The artist lives and works in New Rochelle, New York. For more information, visit perischwartz.com.

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Cases in

BALLPOINT Guno Park , Nicolas V. Sanchez and Joo Lee Kang discuss how they create their stunning artwork using ballpoint pens. BY AUSTIN R. WILLIAMS

Bloody Angle by Guno Park, 2014, ballpoint pen, 17 x 22. Private collection. Cover art for the album Doyers by the band Live Footage.


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ABOVE LEFT

GUNO PARK In most of his drawings, Guno Park takes a monochromatic approach, working in one of the “traditional” ballpoint colors of black, blue or red. His varied subjects include portra its of passengers sleeping on public transit, dramatic depictions of animals and detailpacked views of city streets. He sets many of his subjects against stark white backgrounds, causing them seemingly to jump off the page. Park has been drawing with ballpoint since he was young. “Even as a kid, before I started drawing more intensely, I was using the pen quite a bit,” he says. “As I learned more and more, I stuck with it. The pen was always in my pocket, and it became this very comfortable medium to draw with. I use other media as well, but I think that the pen creates a type of tone that no other writing or drawing tool makes. The ink has a sheen and a glow that I enjoy.” Park notes that no two models of pen are quite the same. “It’s really interesting to navigate the various types of pens and see how the consistency and tone of the ink are a little different in each,” he says. Park acknowledges that the familiarity of ballpoint can be an obstacle. “The pen is just like any tool, but the funny thing about it is that people are so familiar with it,” he says. “The challenge comes in separating yourself from the idea that this is a tool you’ve used to jot down notes and sign checks. But as I draw, I don’t really think about the pen itself too much. It’s a refreshing and satisfying feeling not to think about the tool that I’m using and only think about the image that I’m making.”

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Underwater Plants by Guno Park, 2015, ballpoint pen, 21 x 21. Private collection. ABOVE RIGHT

Ape by Guno Park, 2014, ballpoint pen, 65 x 45. Private collection.

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Zocalo—Mexico City by Guno Park, 2014, ballpoint pen and watercolor, 15 x 37. Private collection.

Park is an inveterate sketcher, drawing in a sketchbook during his commute and other spare moments. For his larger drawings, he works from a mix of sketches, photos and mental images. “Sometimes I’ll use one type of reference more than another,” he says. “If I’m working under a deadline I’ll rely more on a photo reference. If I’m freely drawing for myself I’ll have the reference there, but more than anything else I’ll look at what I’ve drawn and bounce off what I’ve already put down.” For the most part he plans his compositions in his head. “I develop a kind of stamp of the image in my mind,” he says. “This gives me a very good idea of, say, how big the head should be or where it should be placed to look satisfying in the composition. I don’t do any underdrawing; I just start from one point that I think signifies an anchor. I draw a few lines that define that anchor, and the rest of the drawing sort of drapes and falls according to those first marks.” While he’s drawing, Park’s two most important considerations are form and light. “I think about form initially because I have to understand the three-dimensional shape, which consists of all these different planes,” he says. “In a way, I draw that form without thinking about the light and then add the light to it; I look at the direction and intensity of the light and wrap that around the form I’ve created.” Park is careful to note, however, that it’s not simply a two-step process, with form coming first and light second. “It all happens simultaneously,” he


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says. “I have to juggle all these things every time I put down a mark or a patch of hatches. If I don’t, the drawing won’ won’tt be believable.” Park works with a variety of pens. Some of his favorites are made by Muji, Tombow and Zebra. He generally draws on watercolor paper, which offers a little tooth, but lately has also been working on printmaking paper. “Printmaking papers are tougher and able to take more pressure,” he says. “With them, I’ve been able to do some very ver y deep, heavily rendered areas.” a reas.” To keep his backgrounds pristine, Park keeps a clean piece of paper between his hand and the drawing. For very large drawings, he’ll use a mahlstick. “I just keep track of where my hand is and make sure the ink is dry even before I put the guard paper down,” he says. “After “After many failures, it’s become this sharp instinct.” When asked what advice he would share with aspiring artists, Park stresses the importance import ance of practice. “Just draw more,” he says. “Students often feel that going to c lass and drawing for three hours there is enough, but it’s not. Practicing on a regular basis is the most important thing a ny artist can ca n do, even if it’s 15 or 30 minutes a day doodling in a sketchbook. Big projects are great, and thinking about composition is great, but all that stuff happens in your brain anyway when you’re doodling. And I think the best ideas come to you when you’re you’re in the act of creating.”

LEFT

MIDDLE

RIGHT

MTA Postman

MTA Rider After the Gym

MTA Sleeper

by Guno Park, 2015, ballpoint pen, 12 x 12. Private collection.

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NICOLAS V. SANCHEZ

Argenis by Nicolas V. Sanchez, 2015, ballpoint pen on toned paper, 3½ x 5½. Private collection.

Drawing / / Summer 2017 36 Drawing

Using ballpoint in an array of colors, Nicolas V. Sanchez crafts strikingly realistic portraits of people and animals. Pen has been the artist’s medium of choice for as long as he can remember. “I’ve always been drawing a nd sketching,” he says. “My dad taught me how to draw when I was very young, young , and he always had a pen in his shirt pocket. I didn’t really recognize that as an influence at the time, but having a pen on hand found its way into my routine. I figured that sketching was simply the best way to spend my commute throughout New York York City, and now I draw on the train, t rain, in tax taxis, is, on planes, et cetera.” Ballpoint eventually became Sanchez’s primary medium for finished work as well. “It allows me to draw wit h tone and with a range in value,” va lue,” he says. “With ballpoint, I can draw lightly or create heavy lines. That’s very different from Micron pens, for example, which create only f ine lines.” Much of Sanchez’s practice is devoted to portraiture, with his subjects ranging from adults to children to pets. Many of these drawings share an overall look. On warm, cream-toned paper we see a person from the shoulders up, centered on the page, often in full profile. The subjects wear neutral expressions and look straight ahead. Any clues as to their lives and personalities are subtle, indicated through posture, clothing or hairstyle.

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ABOVE

Midwest Grass by Nicolas V. Sanchez, 2015, ballpoint pen on toned paper, 6 x 8. Private collection.

LEFT

Dizzy by Nicolas V. Sanchez, 2015, ballpoint pen on toned paper, 8 x 10. Private collection.

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TO P

Magnus by Nicolas V. Sanchez, 2016, ballpoint pen on toned paper, 5 x 7. Private collection.

Drawing / / Summer 2017 38 Drawing

ABOVE

A drawing from Sanchez’s sketchbook.

“There is always something that inspires me about every profile I draw, whether it be someone’s hair, the zigzagg ing composition of their posture, the way they look through their eyes or their awareness of the moment,” Sanchez says. “And every drawing allows a llows me to learn as much about the medium as about the unique qualities of the person.” The artist also enjoys the play of historical contexts at work in these drawings. Portraiture is one of the most traditional of genres—so much so that a tightly rendered portrait drawing can seem out of place in many corners of the contemporary art world. As a further twist, the tool being used is decidedly modern—something that wasn’t available even 100 years ago. Sanchez’s portrait drawings are time-consuming, and the artist works largely from f rom photographs that he shoots himself. “It’s very difficult to find people who can sit for the hours it takes ta kes me to draw them from life,” he says. “My training from years of life drawing allows me to work comfortably from photo references. In the end I use a combination of photos, memory and what I know about proport ions.” He doesn’t do much in the way of preliminary sketching or drawing, diving right in to the finished work. “Every drawing has its own unique entrance,” he says. “I don’t start with the same color every time. I hope the approach to each drawing can be parallel to the unique soul of each piece.” Sanchez employs many pens and colors over the course of a drawing, generally using a small group of pens for a given area. “I can draw a nose with a few colors and then draw the eyes with a different set of colors,” he says. “Then I may use just one pen in one color for something simpler, like the chin.”

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Marlene

by Nicolas V. Sanchez, 2016, ballpoint pen on toned paper, 5 x 7. Private collection.

The delicately rendered skin and hair tones Sanchez achieves can surprise viewers who are used to seeing ballpoint used for monochromatic drawings with tone created primarily through crosshatching. “My approach to skin and hair with ballpoint is no different from any traditional method for painting skin and hair with oil or acrylic,” the artist says. “I apply basic color theory and my knowledge about skin tones to each portrait. Everyone has a unique color range in their skin, so I try to remain sensitive to the individuality of each person. This keeps me away from step-by-step processes and formulas —which can be reliable but stale—and makes room for more life in each portrait.” Sanchez encourages other artists to give ballpoint a try. “Drawing directly with ballpoint pen, from beginning to end, has developed my draftsmanship faster than any other medium,” he says. “It’s best to jump right into it. Avoid preliminary sketches in pencil. If you’re just starting with the medium you’ll make a lot of mistakes—it doesn’t matter. Don’t allow the permanence of each mark to cause hesitation. Let it give you the sense of freedom to continue developing your ideas, imperfect ions and all.”

JOO LEE KANG The drawings of Joo Lee Kang take us to a strange realm where mutated flora and fauna run rampant over what appear to be decaying still life tableaux. Her images feel simultaneously modern and steeped in art history—in particular the work of Dutch still life painters of the 16th and 17th centuries. Kang says that she’s attracted to still life in par t for how the images have been used to reflect the aspirations of people in different cultures and historical per iods. “A still life is often a representation of a person’s wishes,” she says. “I want my drawings to have that qual ity. I also want them to look realistic at first, but once you get closer, you find something else—something kind of g rotesque. You realize it’s not exactly what was wished for.” Like many artists who work in ballpoint, Kang adopted the medium in part for reasons of convenience. She worked primarily with oil and acrylic paint while in college in Korea and then graduate school in Boston. But those materials were hard to transport when she would leave school for breaks, and Kang began to leave them behind and reduce her equipment. She first switched from working on canvas to paper, then from painting in oil and acrylic to watercolor. Finally she switched her focus to drawing, eventually settling on ballpoint. “I like ballpoint pen for three reasons,” she says. The first has to do with ease of access—she can buy ballpoint pens anywhere and carry them easily. Her second reason relates to crosshatching. “My inspiration comes from my study of art history and European painting, so I keep my drawing very traditional,” she says. “This means I use a lot of crosshatching, which


TOP

ABOVE

Wreath No. 4

Chandelier No. 1

by Joo Lee Kang, 2 017, ballpoint pen, 26 x 26. Courtesy Gallery NAGA, Boston, Massachusetts.

by Joo Lee Kang, 2017, ballpoint pen, 26 x 33. Courtesy Gallery NAGA, Boston, Massachusetts.

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is a traditional method—usually it’s used for etching and printmaking. It means layering lots of very short lines to create the three- dimensional form. I’ve tried crosshatching with many penci ls and pens, and ballpoint is my ideal. With it, I can create the ful lest range of brightness to darkness.” The third thing Kang loves about ballpoint is its lack of erasability. “Once I grab my pen, I just go and go and go,” she says. “I want to never give up or erase, so the pen being non-erasable is very important for me.” Kang’s process for a drawing begins with a period of research, during which she collects several types of reference material and visual inspiration, which she refers to as her “data.” Paintings by historical artists, especially the Dutch masters, are one source. Images from newspapers, scientific magazines and the internet are another. She notes that the animals and f lowers in her drawings derive not from imagination but from research into things that exist today in nature. With her research complete, Kang mentally “reassembles” these materials into an original composition. She then starts to draw, avoiding any preliminary sketching. She lets her hand and her eye guide her, describing her process as “almost like a sort of meditation. And all the drawings are different. Sometimes I start and finish right away. Other times I’ll do

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Still Life With Insects No. 9


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TO P

ABOVE

Still Life No. 3

Still Life With Rabbit


by Joo Lee Kang , 2017, ballpoint pen, 15½ x 15½. Courtesy Gallery NAGA, Boston, Massachusetts.


90 percent of a drawing, then leave it aside—maybe for a few hours, maybe for a year—and finish it later.” Kang usually draws with Bic ballpoint pens, which she prefers in part because they’re available the world over. “The other brands that are available in Korea I can’t find when traveling,” she says. But even t he classic Bic pen, it turns out, isn’t exactly t he same everywhere. “In Asia and Europe, they sell a Bic with a 0.7mm tip,” Kang says. “But in the U.S., 1.0mm is the sharpest they sell—everything is bigger in the U.S.! That makes a real difference for me, so now when I travel from Korea to the U.S., I always carry some 0.7mm pens. One time I was carrying a suitcase full of them, and the security guard at the airport was pretty c urious about my occupation.” For her surface, Kang uses printmaking paper, alternating between smoother hot-pressed paper and rougher cold-pressed paper. She notes that she often prefers smoother paper for drawings in black or blue pen and rougher paper for drawings in red. In addition to her drawings, Kang

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ABOUTTHEARTISTS creates three-dimensional paper installations, and cur rently she’s at work on an installation relating to the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). “The DMZ is a very interesting area for me, since all my artwork starts with nature,” she says. “After the war, people left the DMZ, and now it’s home to a third of all Korea’s animals and plants and half of its endangered animals. Doing the research on that has been amazing. With every proj ect, I want to push myself further.”

Guno Park was born in Seoul, South Korea, raised in Toronto, Ontario, and lives in Brooklyn, New York. He studied at schools including the New York Academy of Art, where he now teaches drawing. He also teaches at the New York Film Academy. For more information, visit gunopark.com.

Nicolas V. Sanchez lives in New York City. He studied at Kendall College of Art and Design, in Michigan; and the New York Academy of Art. He has been selected for artist residencies in China, the Dominican Republic and Italy. For more information, visit nicolasvsanchez.com.

Joo Lee Kang received her B.F.A. from Duksung Women’s University, in South Korea, and her M.F.A. from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University, in Boston. She has participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions. She’s active in b oth the United States and Korea and is represented by Gallery NAGA, in Boston. For more information, visit gallerynaga.com.

Chaos No. 10 by Joo Lee Kang, 2015, mixed media. Installation at Jonathan Ferrara Gallery, New Orleans, Louisiana, 2015.

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The Angel Appearing to St. Joseph in the Carpenter’s Shop, the Virgin Reading Beyond by Jacques Stella, ca. 1640, pen-and-brown-ink and gray wash over black chalk. All artwork this article c ollection The Morgan Library & Museum, New York, New York.


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POUSSIN , CLAUDE

BEYOND: D N A

French Drawing in the Grande Siècle Over the course of the 17th century, France evolved from an artistic backwater to an epicenter of refined painting and drawing. BY JOHN A. PARKS

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E

arly in the 17th century, two young French artists of humble origins made their separate ways to Rome. Both would immerse themselves in Italian art, and both would eventually become artistic giants whose work would influence painters for centuries to come. Nicolas Poussin (1594–1665) and Claude Lorrain (ca. 1600 –1682) knew each other in Rome, where they were steeped in the same artistic environment and enjoyed patronage from some of the same clients, yet their work is very different. Poussin became a maker of exacting figure paintings in which he re-created scenes from antiquity in highly ordered narratives. His clarity of form, mastery of gesture, concern for historical authenticity and elegance of composition earned him the right to remark, “I have neglected nothing.” Claude, on the other hand, became a painter of landscapes that embody an Arcadian vision, an idea that had been popular since Renaissance intellectuals rediscovered the poetry of Virgil. Embracing a new interest in naturalism, Claude made many studies directly from nature, and then in his paintings transformed the world into a vision of golden and wistful tranquility infused by a light t hat seems truly divine. Both Poussin and Claude were consummate draftsmen for whom drawing was central to their practice, and it is their drawings that form the focus of the exhibition “Poussin, Claude and French Drawing in the Classical A ge” at The Morgan Library & Museum, in New York City. As the title suggests, t he exhibition expands beyond those two masters to tell the story of the development of French art though the 17th century, an era that is known in France as “Le Grande Siècle,” meaning “the great age.”

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Procris and Cephalus by Maître de Flore, ca. second half of 16 th century, brush-and-brown-wash and pen-and-brown-ink heightened with white gouache over black chalk, with touches of red chalk.


The story begins at the end of the 16th century when Italian art held sway in much of Europe. One work from this per iod included in the exhibition is Procris and Cephalus, a drawing attributed to an artist known as the Maître de Flore, or “Master of Flora.” The artist sensually retells a somewhat obscure classical myth in which Procris, seeking to discover an infidelity on the part of her quite innocent husband Cephalus, is shot and killed by him when he mistakes her for a deer. “I think this is probably the most important 16th -century French drawing in America—and one of the most beautiful,” says Jennifer Tonkovich, the Eugene and Clare Thaw Curator of Drawings and Prints at The Morgan. “We know it’s probably a drawing from the second school of Fontainebleau [then the location of the French Court], but we’re not sure if the artist was French or Italian, as there were so many Italians there. It has a decorative approach, and it really represents that moment of elegant Mannerism that gives way by the middle of the 17 th century to a greater naturalism, moving away from a courtly style as the Age of Reason appears.”

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Orion Carrying Diana on His Shoulders by Jacques Bellange, 1613–1616, pen-and-brown-ink and wash.

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F

Death of Hippolytus by Nicolas Poussin, 1645, pen-and-brown-ink and wash over black chalk.


or all the activity in France, Italy remained the center of the artistic world at the opening of the 17 th century, and Poussin and Claude’s removal to Rome was more or less a necessity for young ar tists at the time. “If you look at the period before 1648, when the French Royal Academy was founded, there really wasn’t the training system set up in Paris,” Tonkovich says. “The activity was in Florence, in Rome and at the ducal court of Nancy—great centers employing a lot of artists. It’s natural for intellectuals and artists to make a pilgrimage to places where they can study and obtain patronage.” Poussin is represented in the show by a group of drawings that display his prowess at composition and design. Death of Hippolytus is a brilliantly orchestrated telling of a mythical incident in which Hippolytus, a son of Theseus, is killed when Poseidon sends a sea monster to terrify the horses pulling his chariot. Poussin masses the tones in the landscape on the left to silhouette the frightened horses, and then emphasizes the downward diagonal coming in from the right to accentuate the movement of the tumbling chariot. Claude is represented both by studio compositions and drawings done straight from nature. A Hilly Landscape With Bare Trees appears to be a straightforward study from life, with the artist using layers of brown wash over black chalk to create a sense of illumination and depth. Two other drawings by Claude are much more elaborate. The Sermon on the Mount lays out the composition

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The Sermon on the Mount by Claude Lorrain, 1655, pen-and-brown-ink and wash over black chalk.

that serves as the basis for a finished painting of the same subject, now in The Frick Collection, in New York. This is probably a study for the painting, although Claude did sometimes work in the reverse order and make drawings from his finished paintings, using them as a record of pictures that had been sold. A third Claude drawing in the exhibition, Apollo Watching the Herds of Admetus (page 51), is a highly finished work. Brown washes have been heightened with white gouache to achieve rich and delicate rendering, and the whole is suffused with the artist’s signature divine light.

A Hilly Landscape With Bare Trees, by Claude Lorrain, 1639–1641, brush-andbrown-wash over black chalk.

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y the second half of the 17th century things had changed radically for artists seeking a career in France. Tonkovich points out that French power abroad expanded vastly during the period, and power within France consolidated around the monarchy. Under Louis XIII (1601–1643) and his famous chief minister, Cardinal Richelieu (1585–1642), huge programs of building were undertaken, including the lavish PalaisCardinal, now known as the Palais Royal. Later in the century Louis XIV (1638–1715) moved the court to the greatly expanded palace at Versailles, where he lived in such splendor that he became known as the Sun King. Art, artifice, theatre and music formed an integral part of court life, serving to aggrandize the monarchy, assert the independence of French culture and provide entertainment for a privileged aristocracy. All of this activity provided employment for a considerable number of artists, and as the exhibition proceeds we come across artists whose careers brought them back to France after their early years in Rome, along with others who trained in the latter half of the century at the newly established Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture. “Over the century, Paris starts emerging as a major artistic and cultural capital,” Tonkovich says. “You now have a system established for training French artists, and Louis XIII also calls artists back from Rome. You have artists coming back and finding work, not only with the king but also with the aristocracy and even some private collectors.” Among the most influential artists recalled from Rome was Simon Vouet (1590–1649). Vouet had travelled widely in Italy, absorbing the elements of the new Baroque style, a highly polished combination of Renaissance classicism, Mannerist adventure, Caravaggesque lighting and the naturalism of the Carracci brothers. Vouet had become immensely successful in Rome, and on returning to France in 1627 he was appointed first painter to the king and put his talents to work in a multitude of decorative schemes, altarpieces and private commissions. He established a large studio where a whole new generation of artists was to receive training and experience. Vouet’s mastery and elegance is on view in Study of a Woman Seated on a Step With Another Study of Her Right Hand , in which a figure, posed in a way that is both dynamic and natural, is rendered with a beautifully controlled chalk line. Among the painters who trained with Vouet was Charles Le Brun (1619– 1690), who went on to become the most established and successful painter of his day. After spending some time in Rome, where he worked under Poussin, he returned to France, where he co-founded the Royal Academy in 1648. Appointed first painter to Louis XIV, he became responsible for almost every aspect of the many grandiose artistic projects that the Sun King undertook. Among his most famous commissions were the ceiling painti ngs for the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles. Le Brun’s style was more rhetorical t han Vouet’s and

B

A Caryatid by Charles Le Brun, 1641, black chalk and gray wash, incised for transfer.


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Apollo Watching the Herds of Admetus by Claude Lorrain, 1663, pen-and-brown-ink and wash, heightened with white gouache, over black chalk.

well-suited to the lavish official narratives required of him. The current exhibition includes A Caryatid , which shows off the artist’s perfect mastery of form and the cool elegance at the heart of the Classical Baroque. Tonkovich acknowledges that for many viewers today, Le Brun is a difficult artist to love. “It’s true that responding to the subject matter of these obscure, aggrandizing historical scenes can be a bit tough,” she says. “His drawings are a little easier to warm up to. And then you realize that through these drawings he had a huge impact because he was training the next generation of artists. Even if he’s not beloved, he is an important teacher, and he felt that drawing was at the core of artistic practice.”

Study of a Woman Seated on a Step With Another Study of Her Right Hand by Simon Vouet, ca. 16 30–1635, black and white chalk on light-brown paper.

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The Holy Family on the Steps by Nicolas Poussin, 1646–1648, pen-and-brown-ink with brown and gray wash over black chalk.


A

nother artist recalled to France by Louis XIII was Jacques Stella (1596–1657), a close acquaintance of Poussin. (Poussin himself was recalled to France in 1640 but left after two years to live out his life in Rome.) Stella’s art takes on that master’s rigor of composition, design and storytelling. In The Angel Appearing to St. Joseph in the Carpenter’s Shop, the Virgin Reading Beyond (page 44), he negotiates the realm between classical idealism, naturalist observation and religious sentiment. We see the care Stella takes with the historical detail in the accoutrements of the car penter’s workshop, alongside the classical refinement of the angel and the naturalistic pose of Joseph. “I love that Stella is really t hinking hard,” Tonkovich says. “He’s reading the biblical text, he’s making the connection to antiquity, he’s thinking about antique dress and what the workshop would look like. There’s a historical awareness that really informs this rigorous classicism. It’s a kind of art that can leave some people cool, but there’s such a control and beauty in this composition, as well as a sincerity that I find appealing.” Among the many other superb works in the exhibition is a splendid portrait drawing by Daniel Dumonstier (1574–1646), a minor artist who specialized in portraiture, for which there was a fad at the French court. With its exquisite, exacting line and sensitive tonal control, this drawing seems influenced by a more northern tradition of the previous century, putting one in mind of Holbein or Goltzius. Yet it also incorporates something of both sensual, courtly Mannerism and a more contemporary naturalism. Dumonstier’s drawing points to the complexity involved in sorting out influences and styles. “When you are trying to tell the story of this century, you have to grasp that there are these multiple strains of thought that are not mutually exclusive,” Tonkovich says. “I think when you first study

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art history you find it useful to learn these categories—painterly, linear, classical, baroque and so on. But you quickly discover that the world is more nuanced than that.” Certainly the wealth and breadth of the drawings on display suggest a vast interplay of ideas, as well as a large roster of talented artists. The best of them reached beyond the styles of the day to achieve highly personal and persuasive visions of the world that would resonate down through the centuries. Claude’s influence extended all the way to Turner, the Hudson River School, and the Impressionists. Poussin inf luenced figurative painting for centuries, and at the end of t he 19th century Cézanne famously announced his intention to “do Poussin over again from Nature.” Few artists have ever  enjoyed such a lasting legacy.

Portrait of a Gentleman of the French Court by Daniel Dumonstier, 1628, black, red,yellow andwhitechalk.

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION

“Poussin, Claude, and French Drawing in the Classical Age” is on view at The Morgan Library & Museum, in New York City, through October 15. Other current and upcoming exhibitions are devoted to ancient Mesopotamian sculpture and to the writers Henry James and Henry David Thoreau. For more information, visit themorgan.org.

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Magic Wand:

THE POWER OF THE BALLPOINT PEN The ballpoint pen, with its do-or-die nature, can inspire confidence and liberate an artist’s powers of observation and expression. BY JASON FRANZ

M

any artists and designers favor the ballpoint pen as a go-to tool. Some are seduced by the rich surface and delicately modulated values it can produce. Others, especially designers, use it as much for its ubiquity as for its dynamic range of line weight. For line drawing it allows for everything from ghostly soft to unyieldingly graphic marks. Meanwhile the blue color of the common pen’s ink serves as a badge of membership in a distinct ive circle. And there is something really compelling about the idea of making a work of ar t or concept design using an object that can be found on just about any offi ce desk in the world. The ballpoint pen is a source of power lying in wait wherever you look. These are all good reasons to work in ballpoint, but for me the medium has come to embody something greater—an entire way of making art and relating to the world. Here I’ll explain how using ballpoint has helped my students gain con�dence and skill, and I’ll share a few pointers for working with this rewarding and surprisingly versatile implement.

2015_6_30 by Jason Franz, 2015, ballpoint pen.


ABOVE

Freshman Analytical Drawing by Edward Harris, 2009, ballpoint pen. All student artwork made as coursework in the University of Cincinnati’s School of Design. RIGHT

Sophomore Graphic Design Analytical Drawing by Christina Coobatis, 2012, ballpoint pen.

A TOOL FOR CONQUERING FEAR My own use of ballpoint pen as a favored tool arose out of my teaching. One obstacle for many would-be artists is their inherent fear—of the media, of the subject, of not being talented. If you don’t let go of fear, you’ll never discover what you can really do. I’ve taught drawing to college design students for many years, and combating this sort of fear, especially in �rst-year students, is a signi�cant challenge. To do so, I developed a simple strategy for encouraging students to revel in mistakes and uncertainty and turn those mistakes into assets in their search for quality. This strategy involves requiring students to draw with media that are not easily erased. Erasing is, in one sense, a safety belt that protects the artist, but it can also be a crutch that impedes him or her. I start by having students use waxbased colored pencils, assigning them to complete line drawings of simple objects in three layers.

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TOP LEFT

Freshman Analytical Drawing by Kathryn Levy, 2009, ballpoint pen. LEFT

Freshman Analytical Drawing by Elli Matejka, 200 9, ballpoint pen.

Each layer will have a different value—�rst light, then medium and �nally dark. I also instruct them to undertake each layer of line work with a different mindset—�rst searching, then con�rming and �nally punctuating. The idea is that the �rst layer, no matter how inaccurate it is, can only be so dominant, by virtue of its light value. It can only do so much damage.


My students soon learned they could make a mess in their �rst layer with a light yellow pencil, and as soon as they applied a mid-value orange, that light yellow would seem to sink away into the paper, giving way to the more con�dent—and usually more accurate—second layer. Layer after layer, good drawings emerged from messes. As a bonus, the combination of layered colors

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ADVICE FOR ARTISTS:

CHOOSING AND USING BALLPOINT PENS • The right pen for you might be one designed especially for fine artists, or it might be the cheapest bulk-rate ballpoint you can find. Choose a pen for its color, for how it feels in your hand and for how the line feels on the paper.

• With a good pen you shouldn’t have to press too hard to get a clear line, nor should ink blob out at a light touch. Look for a pen that can make light but clear lines when handled gently and very dark lines under more pressure. When you change the pressure, the corresponding change in line weight should be clear and consistent.

• Retractable ballpoints are available in different “weights,” each with different sizes of ink balls, as well as in many different colors.

• Consider wiping the pen tip from time to time to eliminate the accumulation of ink and paper fibers that can smear or become blotches on the paper.

• Experiment with different kinds of paper, from simple recycled printer paper to drawing paper, Bristol paper, high-quality matte inkjet paper, et cetera.

• Remember that ballpoint ink may fade over time when exposed to air and light, and it can even change color. Scan or photograph high-quality images of your finished drawings, and save the files in a safe place.

Sophomore Graphic Design Analytical Drawing by Jessa Strayer, 2011, ballpoint pen.

proved aesthetically rich, energizing the drawings. Most powerful was my students’ newfound enthusiasm for and deliberate engagement in an honest, focused process. Encouraged by these results, I soon expanded my students’ options to similar media, such as grayscale markers and ballpoint pens. The governing factor is that these media are not erasable and are available in varying values. With ballpoint, the artist can produce multiple layers with a single pen, as different values can be achieved by adjusting the pressure. These lessons served a few purposes. First and foremost, they helped dispel students’ unconscious assumption that good artwork just happens through sheer talent. And by forcing the process into several layers, the exercise

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provided a slow-motion view of what really happens in the design and execution of a drawing, showing students that they could achieve good results without self-conscious hesitation. Unable to rely on erasing, my students had become fearless. The fact that they also learned t hat a simple, inexpensive ballpoint pen could be a tool for ar t was, for me, a satisfying bonus.

PHILOSOPHY AND PERFORMANCE As I worked through these simple ways of opening eyes and training hands, I began to realize there was more to this than just basic instruction. The layering of a restrictive and nonremovable medium began to feel like practicing

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a philosophy—a way of seeing and being in the world. An ink mark is like a minute or a day in one’s life—it is a done deal that cannot be erased, and it builds into a greater whole. I decided that in order to fully understand this mode of working, I would have to do it myself and do it often, so I began using ballpoint as my primary medium for drawing the �gure. Using ballpoint causes me to have a heightened awareness of what’s going on in the drawing. I take neither the model, my time nor the paper for granted. Every mark needs to be �uid and freely made but not haphazard. I’ve found that this brings my creative impulse into closer alignment with my mind’s eye that is constantly judging the drawing, resulting in greater precision, energy and intentionality. Meanwhile, ballpoint’s �uidity and the dynamic range of line weights it can achieve enable me to alternate as needed between a gestural and a highly technical approach, which together can give a drawing a richness of detail, subtlety and expression. I consider this process somewhat like that of a juggler who, knowing that a ball might drop at any moment, must be con�dent and at peace with t he potential of


incorporating that accident into the performance. In this way my drawings are as much performances as they are depictions. With ballpoint there is not the safety net of an eraser, so the meaning of every mark is magni�ed. Making a drawing under a time limit (usually 90 minutes, for me) intensi�es this even further. It has always been my goal to teach students a level of virtuosity and to create for them an unhindered pathway for the processes of discovery and expression through drawing. Working with ballpoint pen became the epitome of that goal. A special sort of creative liberation is possible when one recognizes the things with which one can work magic, especially when they’re so ordinary as a commonplace office pen. Such virtuosity is not so much about skill or talent as it is a frame of mind, a willingness to know what can be done and then doing it.

THE BEAUTY OF IMPERFECTION Japanese ensō painting—the Zen Buddhist practice of painting calligraphic ink circles—is said to reveal the nature of the artist and the context of its own making,

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which occurs in a brief, unbroken period of time. This is related to wabi-sabi, the notion of the beauty of imperfection. I’ve found ballpoint to function in a similar fashion. More than any other medium, it allows my drawings to simultaneously evoke the energy of both the living subject and the living artist, imperfections and all. Ballpoint �gure drawings and ensō circles may involve different tools and different types of ink, but they share a role. Both practices simultaneously represent the contemplated and the revealed. We like to imagine a time when magic was possible. Movies, books and video games all re�ect this innate human appreciation for the supernatural and magical. The irony is that magic is, in truth, already around us waiting to happen. All we need to do is learn to see, choose our magic wa nd and use it with con�dence and grace. The nature of the ballpoint pen and the ink’s unique range and ability to layer make it a �ne choice for those embarking on a life of creative discovery, expression  and magic.

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Expressions

OF THE FACE

DRAWING FUNDAMENTALS We examine six widely recognizable facial expressions, along with the all-important muscles responsible for creating them. BY JON DEMARTIN

Portrait of Isabella Brant

by Peter Paul Rubens, ca. 1621–1622, black and red chalk with brown wash, heightened with white, on lig ht gray-brown paper, 15 x 11½. Collection British Museum, London, England.


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T

he face is our main source of information about emotion, and facial ex pressions act as universal signals of what’s going on inside a person’s mind. The American psychologist Paul Ekman, a pioneer in the study of facial expressions, traveled to remote parts of the world carrying photographs of men and women making a variety of distinctive expressions. To his amazement, everywhere he went people agreed on what those ex pressions meant. In art, the face is where feelings are expressed most effectively. The previous installment of Drawing Fundamentals discussed how to construct the main forms of the head and face, and in this article we’ll go deeper to explore facial expressions and the primary muscles responsible for creating them.

LEFT

ILLUSTRATION 2

Calmness, Sadness and Happiness by David Pierre Giottino Humbert de Superville, 1870, engraving. Printed in Grammaire des arts du dessin, by Charles Blanc.

BELOW

ILLUSTRATION 3

Six Universal Emotions by Eliot Goldfinger, ca. 1991, from his book Human Anatomy for Artists : The Eleme nts of Form . For a more comprehensive analysis of the subjects discussed in this article, I highly recommend Goldfinger’s book.

RECOGNIZABLE EXPRESSIONS

ILLUSTRATION 1

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Everyone knows that the iconic “smiley face” immediately conveys happiness, which is the most easily recognized emotion. (See Illustration 1.) Like a child’s drawing of a simple round face with a smile, it a lways makes a positive impression. In Illustration 2 we see a diagram of three schematic faces drawn by the th 19 -century Dutch artist Humbert de Superville. Each face contains only four lines within the contour of the head: one for each eye, one for the nose and one for the mouth. In the face at left, all four of these lines are horizontal, resulting in a face that expresses calmness and constancy. In the middle drawing the four lines are inclined downward and outward, producing impressions of sadness and pain. In the third face the four lines are inclined upward and outward, giving an impression of levity and happiness. These faces may be highly simplified, but it’s remarkable that de Superville is able to create these expressions using only four lines.

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Illustration 3, by the artist and anatomist Eliot Goldfinger, features a series of six schematic faces. According to Goldfinger’s book Human Anatomy for Artists: The Elements of Form, these represent the six universal facial expressions. Each emotion is so evident that you probably don’t even need to read the label below to identif y it. As representational artists, however, it’s not enough for us to know which simple lines convey a given expression. We’ve got to go deeper and understand the “why” behind the expressions. Key to this is anatomy. Don’t worry—we don’t need to memorize every last muscle of the head. But we do need to know the important muscles that are pr imarily responsible for the six basic expressions shown above. Having this understanding will make the difference between guesswork and authority when drawin g the face.

SUPERFICIAL SIDE

ILLUSTRATI ON 4

Muscles Primarily Responsible for Creating Facial Expressions by Jon deMartin, 2014, black and white chalk on toned paper, 14 x 11. After an écorché by Eliot Goldfinger.

DEEP SIDE

Frontalis (Medial Portion)

Frontalis (Lateral Portion)

Levator Labii Superioris Alaeque Nasi

Corrugator Supercilii

Levator Palpebrae Superioris

Levator Labii Superioris

Zygomaticus Major

Nodular Platysma

Depressor Anguli Oris


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ILLUSTRATION 5

Neutral Expression by Jon deMartin, 2017, red and white chalk on toned paper, 14 x 11.

MAJOR MUSCLES The facial muscles can produce an almost infinite number of expressions as they contract or relax. Some expressions are emphatic, others subtle. True expressions are involuntary and convey the emotions a person is feeling. False expressions do not; they can be used as a mask or cover. You can become familiar with facial expression by using a mirror to look for the action of the muscles on your own face. Many cartoonists keep a mirror handy so that they can assume any expression they want when illustrating their characters. When the facial muscles contract, they change the forms of the face in countless ways. They move the features, such as the mouth, the eyebrows and the chin. They also create wrinkles, furrows and ridges in the skin, which usually run perpendicular to the muscle’s fibers. Expressions may be symmetrical or asymmetrical. The latter happens when the muscles do not contract in unison. Think of a sneer by Clint Eastwood or Elvis—or notice the asymmetrical mouth in the self-portrait by Nicolas Poussin. (See Illustration 21 on page 68.) Illustration 4 indicates the muscles that are most responsible for creating facial expressions. Knowing their specific locations and functions gives our work clarity and authority. For example, when I was drawing t he model Christophe for the subsequent illustrations and wanted a happy expression, it wasn’t enough to ask him to “look happy.” To create “happy,” we identified a specific muscle: zygomaticus major. I asked him to contract it, and presto—he looked happy. We followed the same procedure with all the other expressions that I drew, identifying and activating each appropriate set of muscles.

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I had to work quickly and effectively, so any advantage was helpful, both in my understanding of the muscles’ function and in my use of three-dimensional line. (For more information on this last topic, see the Drawing Fundamentals article in the Spring 2016 issue of Drawing.)

SIX ESSENTIAL FACIAL EXPRESSIONS To illustrate the most common facial expressions, I created several drawings of Christophe, a model who has a unique ability to transform his face. Each drawing is paired with a diagram showing the most important muscles at work in conveying that emotion. I first drew Christophe in a neutral state, with no facial muscle contractions or discernible expression. (See Illustration 5.) We can compare this neutral face to the subsequent expressive faces to determine what actions and movements have taken place.

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1

HAPPINESS

I L L U S T R A T I O N 6

Happiness by Jon deMartin, 2017, red and white chalk on toned paper, 14 x 11.

When we express happiness, the corners of the mouth are pulled up, out and back. (See Illustration 6.) Additionally, the nasolabial furrow —the furrow of skin that passes from the top of the wing of the nose down to the corner of the mouth— is pulled in the same direction as the mouth and is deepened. The fronts of the cheeks are raised and puffed, producing wrinkles under the lower eyelid. The eyes narrow, and the lower face is widened and lifted. The primary muscle of happiness is the zygomaticus major. (See Illustration 7.) When it contracts, it pulls the corners of the mouth up and out. Dimples can appear when this muscle contracts. For a great example, check out the dimples in Rubens’ drawing of Isabella Brant. (See page 60.)

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ILLUSTRATION 7

The Primary Muscles of Happiness 1: Zygomaticus Major

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ILLUSTRATION 8

Sadness by Jon deMartin, 2017, red and white chalk on toned paper, 14 x 11.

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ILLUSTRATION 9

The Primary Muscles of Sadness

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1: Frontalis (Medial Portion) 2: Corrugator Supercilii 3: Depressor Anguli Oris

SADNESS

When we express sadness, the inner ends of the eyebrows are raised and drawn together, which usually inclines the eyebrow. (See Illustration 8.) Horizontal skin wrinkles develop on the center of the forehead only. The medial ends of the folds covering the eye—that is, the ends nearer to the middle of the face— are pulled up. The lateral parts of those folds, closer to the edges of the face, are pulled down. The angles of the mouth are pulled down at the corners, lengthening the “long face” of sadness. There are several primary muscles for expressing sadness. (See Illustration 9.) The inner ends of the eyebrows are raised by the medial portions of the frontalis, a muscle that covers much of the forehead. The corrugator supercilii pulls the inner ends of the eyebrows together, which can express grief or suffering but also reflection, concentration, curiosity or confusion. Finally, the depressor anguli oris pulls the ends of the mouth down and out, expressing sorrow, depression or disgust. DRAWINGMAGAZINE.COM

ILLUSTRATION 10

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Surprise by Jon deMartin, 2017, red and white chalk on toned paper, 14 x 11.

1B

1 A

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SURPRISE

When our faces show surprise, the brows are raised straight up and arched. (See Illustration 10.) The upper eyelids are raised in more intense versions of surprise, and the white above the iris shows. The lower jaw drops with the mouth open, the lips relax, and the face lengthens. The frontalis is the essential muscle for expressing surprise. (See Illustration 11.) Both the medial and lateral portions of the frontalis pull together and raise the entire eyebrow.

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ILLUSTRATION 11

The Primary Muscles of Surprise 1A: Frontalis (Medial Portion) 1B: Frontalis (Lateral Portion) Note: Jaw drops, mouth opens, lips relax.

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FEAR

In fear, the brows are raised and drawn together; they become straight and horizontal, with a kink at the medial ends near the center of the face. (See Illustration 12.) Wrinkles develop across the entire forehead. The mouth is usually open. The entire lower face widens and flattens, producing high, rigid folds on the front and sides of the neck. The essential muscles governing the fear expression are the corrugator supercilii and the frontalis (both the medial and the lateral portions), which raise the eyebrows. (See Illustration 13.) Meanwhile, the levator palpebrae superioris raises the upper eyelid above its normal position, creating a sense of surprise or terror. And near the bottom of the face, the nodular platysma contracts, pulling the corners of the mouth out and slightly down.

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ILLUSTRATION 12

Fear by Jon deMartin, 2017, red and white chalk on toned paper, 14 x 11.

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ILLUSTRATION 13

The Primary Muscles of Fear

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1: Frontalis (Medial and Lateral Portions) 2: Corrugator Supercilii 3: Levator Palpebrae Superioris 4: Nodular Platysma

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5

ANGER

ILLUSTRATION 14

Anger by Jon deMartin, 2017, red and white chalk on toned paper, 14 x 11.

When our muscles express anger, the medial ends of the eyebrows are pulled down and drawn together. (See Illustration 14.) The nostrils flare; the mouth squares, exposing the teeth; the lips tense; and the neck becomes engorged. Among the muscles that cause this expression is the corrugator supercilii, which pulls the eyebrows down and together. (See Illustration 15.) Also at work is the levator palpebrae superioris, which raises the upper eyelid, giving the eye a bulged, intense, staring quality.

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ILLUSTRATION 15

The Primary Muscles of Anger 1: Corrugator Supercilii 2: Levator Palpebrae Superioris Note: Mouth closes tightly; or opens and squares off.

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ILLUSTRATION 16

Disgust by Jon deMartin, 2017, red and white chalk on toned paper, 14 x 11.

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ILLUSTRATION 17

The Primary Muscles of Disgust 1: Levator Labii Superioris 2: Levator Labii Superioris Alaeque Nasi


DISGUST

The last emotion we’ll study here is disgust. In this expression, the middle portion of each side of the upper lip is pulled up, and the skin on the bridge of the nose becomes wrinkled. (See Illustration 16.) The front of the cheeks rise and bulge, and wrinkles develop below the lower eyelid. Because the lower eyelid is pushed upward by the rising cheek, the eye opening becomes narrower. Extreme contraction of these muscles will part the lips, exposing the upper teeth. The levator labii superioris raises the center of each lip, producing a sneer, which expresses disgust, disdain and contempt. (See Illustration 17.) The levator labii superioris alaeque nasi raises the posterior ends of the wings of the nose and also raises the middle portion of the upper lip slightly.

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ILLUSTRATION 18

Terrour or Fright by Charles Le Brun, 17th century, engraving, 11¼ x 7¼.

LEARNING FROM THE OLD MASTERS The representation of human emotions through facial expressions has interested Western artists since antiquity, and for centuries the study of facial expressions was a key component of artistic training in academies across Europe. We can learn much by studying the Old Masters’ approaches to facial expressions. In Illustration 18 we see an engraving by Charles Le Brun (1619–1690) that shows terror. This expression can convey intense rage, because the upper eyelids are pulled up, the inner ends of the eyebrows are pulled down, and the mouth is open. Le Brun was an influential artist in this area, and he delivered a lecture to the French Academy on the subject of facial expressions that became a lasting influence on European artists.

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Self-Portrait With Beret, Wide Eyed is one of many studies Rembrandt (1606–1669) made of facial ex pressions. (See Illustration 19.) His face here may express surprise, wonder or astonishment, with possibly some sadness or anxiety. The depiction of feelings and emotions played a particularly important role in biblical, mythological and allegorical scenes, and this drawing could have been a study for Rembrandt’s Raising of Lazarus. Violent anger can be seen in Damned Soul , a drawing attributed to Michelangelo (1475–1564). (See Illustration 20.) The drawing expresses anger through the extreme contraction of the eyebrows, the f lared nostrils, the mouth exposing the teeth and the tensed neck. Sometimes drawings don’t depict one single emotion but show a mixture of several, as seen in our final example, Poussin’s (1594–1665) Self-Portrait, drawn in red chalk. (See Illustration 21.) Poussin’s drawing depicts a strong feeling of disgust, with some sadness, particularly in the lower face. The eyes, however, have a look of concern.

ABOVE

ILLUSTRATION 19

Self-Portrait With Beret, Wide-Eyed by Rembrandt van Rijn, 1630, etching, 2 x 1¾. Collection Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.


BELOW

ILLUSTRATION 20

Damned Soul attributed to Michelangelo, ca. 1525, black chalk, 11 5 ⁄ 8 x 8. Collection Uffizi Gallery, Florence, Italy.

RIGHT

ILLUSTRATION 21

Self-Portrait attributed to Nicolas Poussin, ca. 1630, red chalk, 10 x 7¾. Collection British Museum, London, England.

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THE REPRESENTATION OF HUMAN EMOTIONS THROUGH FACIAL EXPRESSIONS HAS INTERESTED WESTERN ARTISTS SINCE ANTIQUITY, AND FOR CENTURIES THE STUDY OF FACIAL EXPRESSIONS WAS A KEY COMPONENT OF ARTISTIC TRAINING IN ACADEMIES ACROSS EUROPE.

F

acial expressions, like figure gestures, are fleeting. But with knowledge of the underlying muscles and plenty of thoughtful practice, we can draw them with conviction, widen our creative horizons and convey the  entire spectrum of human emotion.

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ILLUSTRATION 2 2

Drawing From a Plaster Cast Made From a Cadaver by Jon deMartin, 2015, black and white chalk, 18 x 24.

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Curator’s Choice

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) contains one of the richest bodies of drawings in the Western United States. We asked Leslie Jones, the museum’s curator of prints and drawings, to share several of her favorite works from the collection. Her choices take us from Mannerist Italy to the bold experiments of 1960s America.

BY AUSTIN R . WILLI AMS


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Study of a Cabbage by François Boucher

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ca. 1735, black chalk with white heightening on blue paper, 9⅞ x 14¼.

The Rococo artist François Boucher (1703–1770) specialized in ref ined and luxurious subjects, but for this drawing he applied his talents to the humblest of objects. “He’s an artist associated with t he French royal court, and here he is drawing a cabbage,” Jones says. “But he portrays it with such a delicate and animated hand. He gives this r ustic table vegetable the same sort of treatment he would have given Madame de Pompadour’s skirt. T hey’re given equal treatment in the eye of the artist, and you get a real sense of his love of drawing.”

1 Virgin of the Annunciation by Livio Agresti ca. 1559, black chalk with touches of blue wash, squared for transfer, 9⅝ x 7⅛. All artwork this article collection Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, California. All photos © Museum Associates/LACMA unless otherwise indicated.

The name of the Italian Mannerist artist Livio Agresti (1508–1580) will probably be unfamiliar to most readers, but you don’t need to know anything about the artist to appreciate this stately drawi ng. “I love this work for the way it illustrates the life of a drawing,” says Leslie Jones. “It has the unintentional cropping that can happen with Old Master drawings, which are often cut up and taken from larger sheets. The Virgin’s hand just touches the left edge, and her toe touches the bottom corner. Her halo is also cropped at the top—something that would never have been done at the time in the final rendering. We don’t know who did the cropping or how it happened, but to me

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it’s a fascinating result. It causes a certain consciousness of the frame, which appeals to my modernist sensibility. And the overlaying grid, which would have been used to transfer the image to a wall or panel, also has the effect of calling attention to the surface of the paper, in contrast to the suggestion of depth and volume in the drawing of the figure.” The artwork boasts a collector’s mark, reminding us of the drawing’s long provenance. And then there’s the curious signature “M. Angelo” in the bottom-left corner. “Some owner along the line wanted to pass it off as a Michelangelo,” Jones explains. “It’s not, but there are similarities in the approach to drawing—you have this monumental mass of the Virgin and the great clinging drapery you see in Michelangelo’s drawings. All these traces of previous ownership have left their mark on the drawing and become part of it. That’s something you don’t necessarily see in paintings or in sculptures from this period, because those are so finished and precious in a way, whereas drawings were working material.”

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Study of Nudes Diving by Paul Cézanne ca. 1863–1866, gr aphite and white gouache on yellowish paper, 7⅛ x 10⅝.

“This drawing fascinates me,” says Jones of this early work by Cézanne (1839–1906). “It’s a great rendering of figures, done with a combination of contour line and animated hatch marks. In addit ion, it demonstrates the particula r role of paper as space in drawing. In general, in drawing, paper reads as space and potentiality. When I’m looking at a painting and I see exposed canvas, it often reads as unfinished, but with drawings I don’t sense that. The paper is so much of what drawing is—it doesn’t have to be fil led to feel complete. In this case the paper is lightly coated with gouache, so we know Cézanne wanted it to be read as part of a composition.” It’s also a quirky drawing in several ways. Both divers are missing hands and feet, and they’re not in a position any diver would naturally assume. “The figures weren’t diving when Cézanne drew them, nor was photography used,” Jones says. “They were lying on the floor of his studio, stretched out with their heads raised. That makes me like the drawing even more, as a glimpse into the artist’s studio practice.”


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4 Two Studies of a Right Hand by Adolph von Menzel 1884, carpenter’s pencil with stumping, 7⅛ x 4⅜.

“Drawing often lets us see an artist’s decision-making process, and that’s especially true in studies like this one,” Jones says. This sheet was drawn in preparation for Menzel’s (1815–1905) large painting Piazza dÉrbe in Verona (Marketplace in Verona), which now hangs at the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, in Germany. “Menzel was trying to figure out how to portray the hand of a woman carrying a basket,” Jones says. “The two grasps are slightly different—in one it’s contorted and uncomfortable, in the other firm and secure. Menzel was a realist. He wanted to get it right. We see that too with the marks along the edge of the drawing, which look like marks for scaling—the artist has created his own ruler and is measuring everything out. And he did all this with a broad carpenter’s pencil.”

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5 The Postman Joseph Roulin by Vincent van Gogh 1888, brown ink over graphite, 20¼ x 16⅝.

“This choice is probably not a surprise—it’s certainly one of our masterworks,” says Jones. “But I decided to include it not only because it’s a great drawing or because it’s by Van Gogh [1853–1890] but because it’s an example of drawing that relates to a painting but is not preparatory.” For years this drawing was thought to be a study for a painting that now hangs in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. In fact Van Gogh created the drawing after he had finished painting, in order to illustrate for his brother Theo, who lived in Paris, what he was working on at the time in the south of France. “It was more cost effective for Van Gogh to make a drawing than to send the painting up to Paris,” Jones says. “It points to how drawing can be used as a means of communication, as a diagram. We forget about that in this day and age when we can just snap a photo of anything. “But when you look at the drawing in comparison to the painting, it’s clearly its own work of art,” Jones continues. “In the painting you don’t see the individual marks that make up the coat and the tufts of hair— those are all blended. In the drawing you see them all, and they are quintessential Van Gogh marks.”

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Untitled by Lee Bontecou 1958, soot on paper, 39 x 27. © Lee Bontecou, 1958.

Starting in the late 1950s, Lee Bontecou (1931–) created a series of drawings in the unusual medium of soot. “She was working with a welding torch,” says Jones, “and she realized that if she turned off the flame, the torch would breathe out soot. I love the fact that this takes us back to the origins of drawing—carbon was one of the first drawing media. It also points to the very experimental nature of drawing—you can use anything to make a drawing, even a welding torch.”

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8 L.A. by Ed Ruscha 1970, gunpowder and pastel, 11½ x 29. © Ed Ruscha.

LACMA owns a deep body of work by the Los Angeles-based Ruscha (1937–). “This is another masterwork of our collection,” Jones says. “It was made with an untraditional material. The artist used gunpowder, which takes us back to the idea that any medium can be used for drawing. Ruscha loves to exploit that. In the 1970s especially, he made works using gunpowder, PeptoBismol, chocolate syrup or anyt hing else just because he liked how it worked on the paper. Here he applied gunpowder with cotton balls and Q-Tips and mixed in a little pastel for the color. It’s drawing as both graphic precision and  pure innovation, where anything goes.”

7 TIDDLY WINKS by Frederick Hammersley 1969, computer-generated drawing, 11 x 14¾. © Frederick Hammersley Foundation. Photo courtesy L.A. Louver.

“This is a computer-generated drawing, and it raises the question of where you draw the line about what drawing is,” says Jones, noting that this work is technically a print, having been created in a printer. “But in the end I think these were very much drawings to Hammersley [1919– 2009], because they were exploratory and open-ended,” she says. “He was going into a new domain, working with a computer and using a program. He didn’t know what would come out at the end; he didn’t have control over it.”

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ABOUT THE MUSEUM With a collection of more than 130,000 objects, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), located in the Miracle Mile area of Los Angeles, is one of the largest art museums in the Western United States. Among the collection’s strengths are Asian art, Latin American art ranging from preColumbian to modern and contemporary, and Islamic art. Among this year’s programs are an exhibition of Marc Chagall’s creations for the stage and five exhibitions presented as part of “Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA,” a multi-venue series exploring Latin American and Latino art in dialogue with Los Angeles. For more information, visit lacma.org.

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EARLY-BIRD DEADLINE:

SEPTEMBER 5

We’re looking for artists age 60+ working in two dimensions in all art media. Submit your work and you could see it featured in The Artist’s Magazine!

10 winners — $250 each 10 winners will be prominently featured in the magazine and will receive $250 each in cash prizes.

For complete guidelines and to enter, visit artistsnetwork.com/competitions/ over-60-art-competition Vase with Flowers V by Kristin Herzog (acrylic on canvas, 36x36); photo by Peter Toth

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NEW & NOTABLE

Ben Sack WHY NEW? Virginia artist Ben Sack earned a B.F.A. at Virginia Commonwealth University in 2011 and has since held several solo exhibitions, most recently 2016’s “Atlas of Thought” at Emory & Henry College, in Virginia. He also has served three times as an artistin-residence aboard the MS Amsterdam cruise ship on its circumnavigations of the world.

WHY NOTABLE? Sack’s playful but ambitious ink drawings blur representation and abstraction to form a sort of fantastical cartography, showing us impossibly vast cities and landscapes in exhaustive detail. At times they evoke not traditional maps or cityscapes so much as geometrical abstraction and Beaux-Arts motifs.

IF YOU LIKE IT…

Cosmoglyph 2015, pen-andink, 68 x 60. Private collection.

See more of the artist’s work at bensackart.com.

Infinite Caprice 2016, pen-and-ink, 71 x 71. P rivate collection.


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SHOW OFF YOUR VIBRANCY IN BLACK & WHITE.

Stickley at Rest , by Janet Evander. Third-place winner, 2016 Shades of Gray Competition

Shed your colors and enter your best black, white and gray drawing in the Shades of Gray competition, presented by Drawing magazine. You could gain a lot by working with the power of black, white and gray, including $1,000 in cash, an appearance in Drawing magazine and national recognition.

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EARLY-BIRD DEADLINE: SEPTEMBER 8, 2017 For the full list of prizes and rules, visit

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Drawing Summer 2017

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