Are drawings
only rough drafts?
Many artists
begin their work through a
series of preparatory drawings
(studies), but some create
highly refined drawings as
finished works of art. Drawings
reveal an artist's raw creative
process — and as a result, they
provide the most direct insight
into how an artist thinks. They
also showcase an artist's
ability to capture mood and form
without fancy materials or
techniques. Whether they're
finished works or studies,
drawings are highly prized by
collectors.
Those
enlightened
Neanderthals
Long ago —
before there were art supply
stores — there were cave
dwellers scratching with one
stone on another, rubbing a
burned stick on a wall, or
tracing a finger in the dirt.
Those Neanderthals had it right:
All you need to make a drawing
is a tool, a surface, and a
vision. In this respect, drawing
is perhaps the most democratic
art technique. Unlike sculpture,
painting, printmaking and
photography, drawing does not
require fancy equipment or
materials — although within the
medium there are plenty of
opportunities to use specialized
materials and techniques.
Private
viewing
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While we know
drawing as an important fine art
medium on its own, it began and
still is the most important
preliminary process for other
media. Painting, sculpture,
architecture, and printmaking
all begin with drawings. In this
regard, drawing is a private art
form; preparatory sketches are
usually made by the artist for
the artist, and not necessarily
for the public eye. Artists like
Raphael and Michelangelo made
red and black chalk drawings for
their projects in painting,
fresco, sculpture, and
architecture, and these came to
be recognized as elegant works
of art and revealing documents
of their creative genius.
Generally speaking, however,
these works were never intended
to be seen by an audience.
Going public
Renaissance
painters realized the potential
public appeal of drawings, and
brought the medium out of the
private realm of the studio and
into the public realm of patrons
and customers. They made
presentation drawings, which
were shown to the patron for
final approval before beginning
the actual painting. These
highly finished works involved
multiple techniques and media —
such as colored paper, pencil,
chalk and colored washes.
Presentation drawings initiated
the now common practice of
making, selling and collecting
drawings as independent, fully
realized works of art.
Raw talent
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Although
drawings can look a lot like
paintings in their use of
shading and color, they are
built from lines. There is no
better showcase of an artist's
skill than a simple line
drawing; only a very skilled
artist can capture the essence
of form and mood with a few
indicative lines. For this
reason, traditional training in
the arts often focuses on
drawing. Knowledgeable
collectors buy drawings because
they reveal the raw talent of an
artist — and because are usually
less expensive than the same
artist's work in other media.
Drawing
conclusions
Drawings are
classified according to the
materials used on paper. Each
material has its own qualities
of hardness, texture and color
that give the drawing a
distinctive appeal.
Next:
Printmaking
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