Don't Plan, Just Respond

completed sketches in charcoal

This is an exercise I tried recently from the book Drawing and Painting People – A Fresh Approach by Emily Ball. When I first browsed through this book a couple of years ago, the attraction wasn’t immediate – I thought the images were a little primitive and childlike, yet at the same time I was intrigued and after reading a few pages my  perception was beginning to change. From the start I couldn’t help but be fascinated by the unconventional approach to drawing and painting the human figure, which for someone who’s approach has tended towards constraint and over-finishing, was very liberating, yet not easy to get used to.

The point of this particular exercise is about just responding to the pose of the model without thinking, so as to help remove fears and encourage spontaneity.  In short, the instructions began by dividing the A2 paper into 16 equal sized portions, or use 16 x A6 pieces of paper. This was to enable drawing a different pose in each section. Next  to try out the model’s pose for yourself before attempting to draw - very important. Begin  by rubbing some charcoal dust into the first section, carefully but quickly following the movement and form. Then draw the pose without looking at the paper or attempting to be tidy. From start to finish, without rushing, each drawing should only take between 30 seconds and a minute. Although I have only tried 3 or 4 of the exercises in the book so far, I’ve found them all so motivating that I intend to return to the book repeatedly in the future. Hopefully if I continue on this path my drawing (and painting) in general will improve the way I want it to. I will have to perservere…