FOCUS: TDS DRAWING PROGRAM

The core mission of The Drawing Studio is founded on drawing as a language both necessary and accessible to everyone. This approach questions the practice throughout Western history of situating art as an esoteric study available only to specialists. In our own time, the demands of a global technological culture require a level of visual intelligence best learned through studio practice. Below, through brief commentary and their own and their students’ drawings, some of our Drawing Fundamentals teaching artists give eloquent testimony about the process of acquiring the skills to communicate visually.

Andrew Rush

demonstration drawing by Andrew Rush	drawing done in class by student Tom Scarborough

Following the Drawing Fundamentals foundation courses, we offer an intermediate course that introduces the new drawer to a wider range of tools, along with exercises in observation that show what each new skill can achieve.

These two drawings are recent examples of drawing directly ¬– and from the start – with a brush, using a still-life as subject. The (top/left) is my demonstration drawing done in class. The (top/right) drawing is by Tom Scarborough, a student. Although this shows Tom’s first effort at drawing with a brush, his drawing eye is soundly in place, ready to build on with new skills.

Katie Cooper

drawing by Katie Cooper	drawings by Katie's students

The discipline and lessons of my very first drawing class laid the foundation for a way of seeing that has enriched my life ever since. That class gave me the tools to perceive and a language to describe accurately, at first, the amazing wonder of the physical world and then later any subject or experiment I might want to try.

It is my joy to pass along that gift of discovery to as many others as possible, in any class I teach.

Betina Fink

drawing by Bettina Fink	drawing by student Joan Brundage

While I was exposed as a university student to Bauhaus theories of color and design, inside the ‘serious’ studio courses, no foundation in color was given. As a painter, however, my use of color has always been intuitive.

Today, my philosophy is that, while your color use must be intuitive, you must also learn to manipulate color so that color doesn’t manipulate you – by taking over or canceling itself out (as when colors turn to ‘mud’). In the sample here, student Joan Brundage uses pastel pencil to achieve a ‘primary triad chord’ made up of tints, tones and shades of red, blue and yellow. My own drawings demonstrate the importance of contrast (light and dark) as it works with color harmonies.

By learning to think of color in terms of chords and harmonies, you will achieve a greater range of color in your work. Find this out for yourself in any of the TDS Drawing with Color classes.

Meredith Milstead

drawing by Meredith Milstead	drawing by student Gay Scheibl

Studio classes here are devoid of the “fast-track” environment found too often in art schools and universities. We are therefore free to encourage each other, exchange information and share revelations. This exchange happens all in the context of learning to observe the visual world, which can and should become a lifelong practice.

In my Drawing Fundamentals class, students are encouraged to develop their skills by using tools that can result in miraculous shifts in perception and adeptness.

Paul Mohr

drawing by Paul Mohr, charcoal on paper	drawing by artist/student Genii Pell, charcoal on paper

While it would seem on the surface that portraiture is an extension of drawing from life, it has an added component: the presence of a conscious personality that animates the subject from moment to moment. To be successful at portraiture calls for a much more complex training and extensive practice than one might expect at first. The artist must develop an extremely quiet way of looking deeply, which includes being able to set aside one’s own personality in order to be up to the opportunity. Genii Pell, the artist and student whose two studies are shown here, has been studying with me for about two years.

Deborah Steinberg

drawing by Deborah Steinberg, ink on matboard	drawing by artist/student Joe Theobald, ink on matboard

I love dried plants because their brittleness encourages a sensitivity of line that is especially expressive in ink. Whenever possible, I like to show students an example of how I handle the subject and then encourage them to develop their own ideas in their drawings.

For the study shown here, student Joe Theobald made a conscious choice to work more slowly than he had in the past. He played line and wash against each other to a very pleasing effect. The whitegouache in the background served to “punch up” the plant, which was sinking into the dark background, and to cover up a couple of ink spills. Both Joe and I are very happy with the result. And I’m always gratified when I like a student’s work more than my own!