Right Brain Exercises for Artists -- Examples of Taking a Line for a Walk

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Right Brain Exercises for Artists: Examples of Taking a Line for a Walk

Examples of capturing the essence of a subject through quick, gestural marks or scribbling across a page.

These drawings are examples of the right brain exercise Taking a Line for a Walk. They were done as exercises not with the intention of making a final, saleable work. None is the 'perfect' work and each have their own problems and successes.

Right Brain Exercises for Artists - take a line for a walk

This drawing was done in 20 minutes using a black pen. It very much follows the 'outline' of the figure and her clothing. The right thigh is the only spot where the volume of the body has been captured, rather than simply the outline. You can see on the face how the line was adjusted to get a better proportion. Her hands are definitely too small (a hand is the same size as your face).

This drawing was done in five minutes also in a black pen. It was done towards the end of a three-hour workshop, so I was feeling quite 'in the flow of things' and thus able to get a lot more down in a short time. It's beginning to show not just contour, but also the volume of the body. A good example of this is the left leg, where the lines go over the thigh and show a knee cap. You can see on the left leg how the initial drawing to capture the whole figure was amended, to get a more accurate drawing.

A standing pose can be quite difficult for a model to move without moving, which is why she's leaning on her knee. She also had her watch on the floor just in front of her foot so she could see how long she still had to hold the pose.

This drawing was done in 20 minutes using a medium black pen. I put in the surface the model was sitting on and some background because the model felt as if she were floating; the marks make a pleasing contrast to those on the figure. If I'd spent the time on the model instead, maybe her right leg wouldn't be so flat. There's also a strange 'empty' triangle under her leg. To me the most pleasing areas are her left leg (though it gets a bit thin towards the knee and is possibly a bit short, even though it's foreshortened) and stomach.

Read about the Taking a Line for a Walk right brain exercise.

Have you tested whether your right brain or left brain is dominant with the Right Brain / Left Brain Quiz yet?

Marion Boddy-Evans
Painting Guide

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