Artist Daily : How to Draw People

Discover the Enduring Appeal of Sketching

Courtney Jordan — Mon, 06 May 2013 03:33:00 GMT


Attitude by Patricia Hannaway, 2006, pastel sketch drawing, 21 x 12.

Human figure sketching, especially learning how to sketch from a model, is one of the most rewarding ways of practicing art because it can enhance your abilities in ways that are both practical and inspirational. It's practical in that creating figure sketch drawings develops skills that will serve you again and again as an artist—contour, shading, line, and the relationship of parts to a whole. It's inspirational in that the landscape of the human body contains almost every form, texture, shape, and curve that an artist could possibly want to recreate, and there is an endless array of ways to do so.

Sketch drawing figures is not just about drawing anatomy, though that knowledge certainly helps me recognize why the body looks the way it does and the reasons for its movements. But drawing figures is often about finding an emphatic action or gesture that animates and energizes the rendering. For artist and animator Patricia Hannaway, that means finding and accentuating the action line of a figure. “My thought process as I’m drawing is, The model is sort of doing this and kind of doing that," she says. "I become engaged with what the model is doing and mentally take the pose myself, feeling the movement in my own body. This is transferred to the page via an energized line; the drawing proceeds outward from an inward feeling."

Using a model as the stepping off point, Hannaway creates sketch drawings that emphasize pivotal moments of action where the figure is about to move or is in the act of doing so. Perfecting your ability to render the human form means practicing doing the same thing. As you get stronger in identifying the angles of motion in a figure, your skill in sketching that motion will likely increase as well, making for more productive and dynamic sketching sessions.

Drawing magazine is our top resource to help solidify your drawing skills with articles in every issue that give you insights on figure drawing, sketching, and so much more. You'll see in every issue how rendering well and seeing dynamically are two essentials every artist needs to have in order to capture the essence of his or her subject, so enjoy your subscription!

Step by Step to a Virtuosic Figure Drawing

Courtney Jordan — Fri, 03 May 2013 03:30:00 GMT

Seeing a painting or figure drawing progress from beginning to end allows the finished artwork to be understood as a series of discrete steps leading to a virtuosic whole. During a recent tour of the Grand Central Academy (GCA), in New York City, I observed instructor Joshua LaRock developing a drawing of Michelangelo's marble sculpture Dying Slave, based on a cast bust of the master's sculpture.

LaRock approached the human figure drawing as if he were sculpting on the page, striving for a trompe-l'oeil sense of form in space. He documented his progress along the way and shared his approach with us.

		When preparing the figure sketch setup of the bust, it was critical to have one isolated light source on the cast. LaRock's rule of thumb is to position the light source at a distance from the subject that is approximately two to three times the length of the subject's largest dimension. The artist sat eye level with the bust and positioned it to emphasize strong, clean lines. He also took note of the exact placement of the bust and his position in relation to it, to prevent even the slightest change in perspective from sitting to sitting.
		The artist began his figure drawing very loosely to get the general proportions of the bust and develop points of stability-the height and width of the subject and any comparative measurements that could act as visual points of reference throughout the process. LaRock then produced the "block-in," in which every element is defined, from the thin and crisp contours, form shadows and cast shadows, to loose and lightly valued plane changes.
		Once the block-in was complete, the artist stepped back to evaluate the overall hierarchy of light and dark over the form, asking himself what the brightest and darkest regions were, the second brightest and darkest regions, and so forth. LaRock points out that assigning these demarcations while drawing figures isn't guesswork but is done in direct relation to how perpendicular a particular feature of the object is to the light source, with the brightest piece being the most perpendicular to the light.
		Once the darkest and lightest areas were established, the illusion of three-dimensionality was created, and it became possible to see the full arc of light over the face of the figure. In this stage of the figure sketch, LaRock focused on preserving the spectrum between the two extremes with minute changes made with pencil and eraser.
		In the final stage of the drawing, LaRock wanted to answer one crucial question: Does this two-dimensional drawing seem to sit in space and suggest the gesture of the figure? Are the figure drawing proportions correct? He went back to his initial rationale for the drawing-a desire to accentuate the long arc of the right side of the figure's neck as it leads to the ear and continues around where the hairline meets the forehead. To accomplish this successfully without creating unnecessary distractions, LaRock went back in and played with the left side of the face, darkening certain areas so that they seemed to sit back farther in space and lightening other areas so that the right balance of volume was created. All of this involved very minor touches of graphite and also making a point on the eraser and using it as a drawing tool, hatching as you would with a pencil.

LaRock's expert drawing is based on sound understanding of light and form and skilled execution of those principles. His willingness to break down his approach to every eye-deceiving "curve" is similar to the "real life" exploration and instruction you can receive with a copy of Life Drawing: How to Portray the Figure with Accuracy and Expression. You'll gain access to thoughtful instruction on the basics of figure anatomy, proportion, and design that puts you on the road to being your artistic best. Enjoy!

350 Ways of Drawing Faces

Courtney Jordan — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 03:24:00 GMT

Can you imagine figuring out how to draw a face—the same face—350 times or more, and making each portrait drawing different and as compositionally sound and interesting as if you had made only one? Quite a task, yet Italian designer, sculptor, and painter Piero Fornasetti did just that.


Fornasetti in front of a wall filled with his plates.

Fornasetti took as his muse the Italian opera singer Lina Cavalieri, and he created a plate series with over 350 variations of the soprano's face. Looking through several images from the series, you see certain commonalities in the body of work, such as the exclusive use of black and white and the frontal presentation of Cavalieri's face. But the lasting impression the plates made on me was how significant small changes can be when drawing faces. Fornasetti's work shows that simple changes within a consistent framework (in his case, the portrait drawing of one woman) can lead to an amazing number of works that did not require him to go to square one each time he began again.

So when drawing portraits, I always try to remember that small changes count as much as big ones do. You can keep the figure's position and expression relatively the same and change something outward or add an accessory, and the entire piece takes on a new life. Each work stands alone, but there is also a common tie that connects all the pieces in a much larger context.

Fornasetti's template of Cavalieri's face gave birth to hundreds of variations.

This understanding can be applied to all the thematic explorations that we do as well. Sometimes, I feel like I have to come up with a new, bombastic idea for every artwork, but that can leave you mentally exhausted and exasperated, and what's more, it isn't even true. My experience talking to artists about their practices, researching great artists of the past, and pursuing my own work has shown me that you arrive at a strong theme by tweaking it, not in one fell swoop. Taking an idea in different directions and teasing out its essence until you find what you really want to say is the way to go. For Fornasetti, one face was inspiration enough to make a considerable number of portrait drawings. Even if we are half as inspired or relentless, we'd have an impressive number of drawings or paintings to show for it. Not bad at all!

If you are seeking the inspiration you need or the unique fine-art resources that will goad your creativity in new directions, explore the North Light Shop. There is a store-wide sale going on right now, with plenty of books, magazines, DVDs, and video downloads to send you off in whatever artistic direction you choose. Enjoy!

6 Tips on How to Draw Anything Accurately

Courtney Jordan — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 03:56:00 GMT

Drawing is a fundamental skill for artists, emphasis on "skill." That means there are basic drawing rules and approaches that work, including these six tips on how to draw anything accurately.


Delmonico Building by Charles Sheeler, 1926, lithograph drawing. Adapted from an article by M. Stephen Doherty.

1. Start by drawing shapes, not identifiable objects. You'll hear this advice over and over again in art classes and workshops. To understand what it really means, think about the way children draw faces. They know that a face has two eyes, two ears, a centered nose, and two lips. No matter how the person facing them is posed, children will insist on including all the features, even if they can only see one eye, one ear, and a protruding nose. They draw what they know, not what they see. To some extent, adults do exactly the same thing.

2. Consider the negative shapes as much as you do the positive shapes. Students often find it difficult to determine how to draw an arm that extends away from a model's body or the distance between two objects sitting on a table. The way to do that is to imagine that the "negative space," or the open space between the model's body and her arm, is a solid object with a height, width, and length. The same technique can be used when trying to determine how far one building is from another or how high a head is above a model's shoulders. It helps to deal with the negative space in the same way you deal with the positive shapes.

3. Visualize and draw the lines you can't see in order to draw the visible lines accurately. Sometimes the best way to draw something that is partially concealed from your view is to continue the lines as if you could actually see it. For example, if you want to determine the curvature of a bowl filled with fruit, draw the complete circular top as if the bowl were empty, and then erase the sections that are obstructed. And if you want to know how far a leg extends beyond a person's waistline, drop an imaginary plumb line from the waist to the floor, and then evaluate the shape of the triangle formed by the leg, floor, and plumb line.

4. Draw connected shapes, not disconnected shapes. It's very difficult to calculate how far a person's head is from the bottom of his or her feet, the distance from one ear to the other, or the distance from a far tree to one in the foreground unless you draw all the shapes in between. That is, after guessing at the total height of a standing figure and establishing a scale for the drawing so that it fits on the sheet of paper, work your way down from the head to the shoulders, from there to the waist, on to the knees, etc, so that you can judge each shape in relationship to the others.


	Boxer by Charles Demuth, drawing.

5. Draw light guidelines between shapes to better judge the distances between them. Artist Robert Liberace recommends to start by making very light, straight lines between all the component parts of the figure or still life objects to guide your hand as you begin to refine a drawing. Then gradually add more lines using Conté crayons, graphite, charcoal, or colored pencils to darken the edges of the shapes and the shadow patterns in between.

6. Start by drawing the lightest values and build to the darkest. Most artists find that it makes sense to gradually build from the lightest areas of their drawings to the darkest so they have an opportunity to make adjustments along the way without damaging the surface of the paper or creating ugly smudges where they have erased inaccurate lines.

For more drawing ideas and tips, think about adding one of Daniel Greene's DVDs, including Portrait Drawing, to your art-resource library. You'll discover this artist's unique methods on viewing your subject and creating drawings that resonate with the portrait drawings done by the Old Masters and Impressionists alike. Enjoy!

Love Them Extra Because They're Weird

Courtney Jordan — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 03:12:00 GMT

I own up to the fact that I am drawn to the portraits artist Jenny Morgan creates because they are unconventional. Yet they capture qualities of the human face and our other human qualities in ways that read very true and lifelike. I like them because they are different, but not just because they are different.


	Merging the Phantom by Jenny Morgan, oil on canvas, 42 x 32, 2012.

When learning how to draw faces, there is a lot of rote visual information to take care of--two eyes, one nose, one mouth. Yes, each face is different, but the nuts and bolts of the work are the same. This can sometimes standardize the way we work. Maybe you've seen this. Taking a portrait class, everyone's works can look the same. And this makes absolute sense in a class setting. But individual artists need to discover their own way of drawing faces and painting the human figure that is theirs and theirs alone. Morgan has, and she doesn't let the baseline of similarity implicit in all portraits (two eyes, one nose, one mouth) prevent her from articulating things through the human face in new ways.


Bunny by Jenny Morgan, oil on canvas, 37 x 32, 2012.

She uses color, shadows, angles and a collage effect of images (a profile versus a frontal portrait, for example) to create moments that are psychologically intense and visually stunning. To do this in a genre of painting that has been around for centuries, such as portrait drawing, I consider to be even more impressive.

If you've found the person or model who makes you want to start drawing faces but you want to make sure you do your subject justice with strong skills and sensitivity, Expressive Portraits: Watercolor and Mixed Media Techniques will give you the instruction you need with demonstrations in watercolor, pencil, pastel, and more, including information on using brushwork techniques and layering to give each face you draw liveliness and spirit. Enjoy!

When a Photo Can Do It Right

Courtney Jordan — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 03:43:00 GMT

Certainly, there are pitfalls to making paintings from photos. One problem occurs when an artist thinks that a photo is magic and that he or she can turn a photo into a painting with a snap of the fingers. It isn't that easy, of course. And even if it were possible to easily reproduce photos as paintings, we wouldn't be too happy with the results, because in most cases the things we love about paintings are not the qualities photos can provide, and vice versa.


A pastel painting by Marie-Elise Larene.

But going from photos to paintings can be useful. When drawing portraits from photos, even if you only look at a reference photo occasionally, it helps to remind you of your sitter's facial features and bearing. That's useful. Also, when looking at photos of constantly changing subjects--like oceans or sunsets--you are able to hold in your hand something that is finite and temporary. Yes, it is only a photographed image of the phenomenon, but such images can, again, be useful as sources of reference about color, shape, and perspective.


		A pastel painting by Marie-Elise Larene.

I've recently discovered the work of pastelist Marie-Elise Larene, which has made me realize that when I'm looking at a finished painting, I don't really care if the artist is painting from photographs. Her colors are so bold and right-on, and the texture of the pastels gives such an atmospheric appearance to her flat surface. The results are as if she put me in front of a fiery sunset or glowing day on the water and froze time. I could care less about whether she is working from photo to painting or not. So when you are deciding your working method, don't be dismissive of the tools you have at your disposal. Think of how to use them to paint something inspiring and lovely that achieves your vision. That is the only thing that matters and the highest standard you can hold yourself to.

If you want to paint seascapes and visions of the sea but you are nowhere near a coast or large body of water, you can still capture the beauty and inspiration that comes with the right combination of light, sea, and sky. The downloadable Photo Reference for Artists: Nautical Scenes with Gary Greene provides almost 500 images to ignite your seafaring imagination and puts you in the right mindset to paint the convincing nautical scenes that may not be as close as your backyard but are within your grasp. Enjoy!

The Art of Your Fingertips

Courtney Jordan — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 04:04:00 GMT

Whenever I go to the doctor and get my finger pricked, I'm always surprised at how much it hurts--at how sensitive the tips of our fingers are. Yet at the same time, they are so utilitarian. Judith Ann Braun's work uses both these qualities of fingers--their sensitivity and their strength--in her latest large-scale drawings, in which she creates symmetrical, abstract patterns with charcoal smudges made with her fingertips.


	Fingering #9 by Judith Braun, drawn with fingers dipped in charcoal on 3 panels, 80 x 26 each, 2012.

With that description alone you might imagine something messy and "hand-crafted" in a not-so-great way. But Braun's works actually have a lot of precision to them, as she darts her hands across a pristine white (or black) wall to create nimbuses, whorls, and scrolls. When I saw the drawings in person and realized that the oval marks were actually the artist's fingerprints in charcoal, I felt like I was being held in the artist's hand; enveloped by the work and the artist's presence even though she was nowhere near.

After seeing photos of Braun's process, I started to recognize what I could learn from her as a draftsman: the power of putting your whole body into a work of art. There is a fluidity to Braun's marks that wouldn't be achievable if she were sitting behind a desk or at an easel. Her motions, as she makes her marks, involve her fingers and hands but also her arms, shoulders, back, and really her entire body. That serves as a reminder to me about how stiff and still I can become when working on a drawing. Sometimes when I move, I'll ache because I've been frozen in place for so long. Braun's drawings have taught me to step back and really allow my whole body and the forces of motion of all my limbs to come into play.


Fingering #5 by Judith Braun, drawn on wall with fingers dipped in charcoal, 9 x 16, 2010.

I enjoy Braun's works because they are decorative and ornamental, but if I were choosing to create a more realistic drawing, I probably would not use my fingertips, no matter how deft I thought my touch could be. Instead, I'd reach for a pencil--and the control such an implement gives me--and probably The Art of Portrait Drawing, which covers how to draw people, heads, faces, and more. This resource gives the artist a compendium of drawing techniques and sketching lessons that are as inspiring as Braun's drawings--but with a bit more realistic appeal. Enjoy!

3 Life Drawing Tips

Courtney Jordan — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 04:26:00 GMT

I have a painter-friend who is gearing up to do a major work with figures, but she feels a bit rusty about painting a model in all his or her glory. To help prepare herself, she's set up a series of life-drawing sessions so that she can spend a bit of time drawing models before tackling her actual subject. I thought it was a really good idea, but I was super intimidated when she brought up the idea of me coming along and drawing, even though there will be several other people there sketching as well.


		Figure drawing by Degas.

I've decided that I am going to go, because I should go, and I have always liked life drawing models once I'm doing it. I just build up the tension in my head beforehand for whatever reason.

This time, I'm going in with a game plan that includes sticking to three life drawing tips, and here they are:

Start with the gesture. I always feel my eyes bulge out and careen crazily back and forth when I get in front of a model, like I need to catch every nuance or else utter failure is assured. Not true. I plan to step back, take a deep breath, and start with capturing the gesture of the model, the full-body pose, before doing anything else in my sketchbook.

Another of my life-drawing lessons is to focus on proportion. If I can get the head to be the correct size relative to the torso, arms, and legs, then I will know that I am in pretty good shape.

I also plan not to sink into the quicksand of adding too much detail too soon. In my first session, all I want to do is put down simple lines and a basic application of light and shadow on the form. I don't need to go much beyond that, and if I find myself reaching for those finer details I hope a little alarm will go off in my head. Then I'll know to go back and check my proportions, because I bet there is something I am skimming over.

For more life-drawing lessons that will give you a strong sense of what to look for when you have a live model in front of you, look into the guide, Life Drawing: How to Portray the Figure with Accuracy and Expression. It is focused solely on life drawing and includes comprehensive art instruction on the subject. Enjoy!

They Can Be Moody, Too

Courtney Jordan — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 04:12:00 GMT

I'll admit that in the past I have been guilty of thinking of colored pencil art as colorful and bright and not necessarily able to be coupled with serious subjects or moody narratives. But that was my own bias. As I've spent time looking at sketchbooks of draftsmen creating colored pencil art and figure drawings made using colored pencils, I've discovered that the medium is as diverse as any other.


	Seeds Of Memory by David Suff, colored pencil drawing, 20 x 28.

My blind spot with colored pencil drawings largely has to do with the way I've seen the implements used. I've seen drawings where the paper is literally covered with dense layers of color, which can make the surface waxy, unusable, and uninteresting.

But recently I've seen life-drawing sketches of figures made with colored pencils that show how much depth and subtlety the medium is capable of when light hatchmarks are used. Colors are built up in controlled layers of line, and the lightness of the paper underneath is allowed to shine through and illuminate the marks.


Colored pencil sketch by James Jean, detail.

In figure drawings, this is an exciting prospect. I can apply what I already know about drawing but add color into the mix, all while making the motions and marks that I love. So you can draw a dusky, moody figure with colored pencils of orange and blue and red, applying line over line to create passages that are unexpectedly complex and show a lot of depth. And, when used on paper with a lot of tooth, colored pencil art can have a truly interesting surface that dispels all of my past biases completely.

To gain more insight on colored pencil techniques--from the basics and beyond-consider Janie Gildow's newest DVDs, TK and TK. Gildow is a colored pencil drawing expert and really shows how to make the medium shine. Enjoy!

What Sets Her Apart

Courtney Jordan — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 04:25:00 GMT

Susan Lyon's figure drawings truly set her apart artistically and are the foundation and preparation for all she creates as an oil painter. If you ask her why, it is a drawing's immediacy, directness, and drama that are the ideal conduits for her creative sensibilities and in her opinion these provide the best way to capture the many facets of the human body.


Lofton by Susan Lyon, 2008, conte drawing, 16 x 14. Adapted from an article by Allison Malafronte.

Lyon's exposure to human figure drawing started with her exposure and exploration of the drawings of John Singer Sargent and Nicolai Fechin, particularly the dramatic light-and-shadow patterns in their artworks that reminded Lyon of old Hollywood movies. To hone her skills for drawing figures, the artist attended life-drawing classes and short-pose sessions during her studies at the American Academy of Art and the Palette & Chisel Academy of Fine Arts, both in Chicago.

At first, Lyon was intimidated in these situations, particularly when creating figure drawings very quickly. "I dreaded the quick-pose sessions because I couldn't get myself to slow down...it seems counter-intuitive to say that you have to slow down in a quick-sketch class, but for the first time I was being forced to really observe and think about what I was drawing before putting pencil to paper."

What she once dreaded, Lyon now views as an asset in her working method, and she encourages other artists to devote a lot of time to quick figure sketching as a result. "It really forces you to simplify and think in terms of basic shapes and values. The ideal situation would be for the model to move whenever he or she wants," she says.


	Twisted Figure by Susan Lyon 2008, conte drawing, 14 x 16.

So go grab a stopwatch or look at your phone and start drawing--anything and everything, but especially figure sketches--quickly and with a few clear details involved in the work. Remember to draw with a light touch and take your time measuring proportions, just like Lyon does, and you'll find your figure drawings improve dramatically.

For more on understanding what makes a difference when drawing figures and how to make drawing a significantly important part of your process, consider a subscription to Drawing magazine. Every issue is cover-to-cover resource that I find myself referring to again and again. I hope it is the same for you! Enjoy your subscription!

4 Tips for Drawing People

Courtney Jordan — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 04:42:00 GMT

I was recently on the train with a friend who caught the attention of an artist sitting across from us. She started drawing my pal. We were thrilled! It was an exciting moment as we watched my friend's face appear on the paper in front of us. As the artist went about her work, I observed her in action--and then went home and did a little more research to pull together these tips on how to draw people that might be useful.


		Self Portrait by Jon deMartin, 2011, chalk drawing on toned paper, 17 x 14.

Different lines are essential when drawing people--denoting volume and light and dark means remembering the diversity of line. It can be thick or thin, jagged or smooth-edged, dabbed and dotted or unbroken. Figuring out how to draw someone's face with just line is a lesson in itself in how useful and dynamic lines really are.

Move your hand--and the paper. I was initially surprised at how often the artist drawing my friend would move around. But in hindsight, this makes perfect sense. The gesture of our hand when staying in one place can only change so much, so altering the position of the hand or the surface we are drawing upon can help you get the marks you want.

You are not connecting the dots. My impulse is always to draw people starting with a bold outline that goes all around their body or face. But that's an elementary urge, and in reality I don't need a rigid enclosed outline to create dynamic drawings of people. I can use intermittent lines, marking the nose or the hand for example, and the viewer's eye will often fill in the rest.


Julie in Profile by Jon deMartin, 2009, chalk drawing on toned paper, 24 x 18.

Crosshatching is never extreme. When I first learned about crosshatching, my teacher reinforced again and again that it should never be too crossed. What I mean is that the two lines of the mark should not be drawn perpendicular to each other so you have a true "+." Instead, the lines of a crosshatch are usually at a much more acute angle to each other.

This is only the tip of the iceberg of what it takes to learn how to draw a person, but it's definitely a place to start. For more in-depth instruction on drawing people, consider Dan Thompson's DVDs, Figure Drawing: Anatomy of the Head and Figure Drawing: The Gesture. As a bundle, the two DVDs are available to you for $65. Enjoy!

The Foundation of Figurative Art Is...

Courtney Jordan — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 04:29:00 GMT

In figure drawing and painting, knowing the ins and outs of the human body is essential. There's no way around that fact, and honing our skills with anatomy drawing helps us understand and truly see the body more accurately than any other endeavor.


Drawing by Stephen Schultz.

I was flipping through one of my eye-candy books, The Perception of Appearance: A Decade of Contemporary American Figure Drawing, trying to figure out a way to convey the importance of human anatomy for artists. As I thumbed through the book, I saw so many different interpretations of the body. Some sketches, such as those by Stephen Schultz and Don Southard, were crudely drawn; others, by such artists as Kent Bellows and Stephen Assael, were more fully realized.

Some sketches were developed solely with line and contour as in the work of Charles Cajori while others from Fred Dalkey were hewn with gradation and shading and seemed to be carved out of the very paper they were drawn upon. But each drawing, no matter how it was rendered, belonged in the book because they all exhibited a strong knowledge of how to draw a human body.


		Model Looking at the Light by Fred Dalkey, 2011, silver point drawing with sgrafitto, 9 5/16 x 7.

That kind of skill can, of course, be interpreted differently--which the book clearly demonstrated--but if you don't have it, it shows. So as I sit here and wonder what I am gearing up for in 2013, know that learning more and more about drawing anatomy is foremost in my mind. There's no substitute for it and after seeing many skilled drawings of the human body, I realize that anatomy isn't just a linear subject to learn like a mathematical equation. It is a faceted key that fits many doors of artistic expression--and I want to walk through those doors with my own art and explore different ways of drawing and painting. We should never feel limited in terms of our creativity, and for an artist, knowing anatomy is a way of assuring that doesn't happen.

The DVD Anatomy for Artists: The Human Form Revealed is a great place to start your explorations of how to draw a human body or to brush up on your knowledge of human anatomy for artists. It takes on an essential area of art from the artist's perspective and makes exploring anatomy drawing a focused endeavor as you strengthen your skills. Enjoy!

He Leaves Traces of Skin Everywhere

Courtney Jordan — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 04:26:00 GMT

That sounds gross, but in the hands of contemporary painter Alex Kanevsky, it's not. As a classically trained artist, Kanevsky's painting techniques and skills are strong. But the way he chooses to paint--in patches and broad swaths that lend a visual vibration to every inch of canvas--is not just about presenting forms realistically.

R.W. by Alex Kanevsky, 24 x 24, oil painting on wood, 2011.

In Kanevsky's hands, paint practically pulses with life. If he's drawing a figure, for example, he'll depict the model, the wall behind where he or she sits, the floor, and what the model is wearing and sort of leave traces of them everywhere with his painting brush. A nude figure in front of a blue wall has dabs of that same blue on her thighs and around her hands. A figure clutching a brown coat to her chest is surrounded by that same brown color, as if the coat spilled itself all over the floor. The paint texture varies on the surfaces from slick to scraped and smeared, further complicating where one depicted object ends and another begins. It's bizarre and really, really cool at the same time.

J.F.H. as an Island by Alex Kanevsky, 36 x 36, oil painting on wood.

Motion or energy supersedes more traditional preoccupations of light and shadow in Kanevsky's fine art. Patches of shadow and sections of light on a figure's back or face are not realistic but they are refined-and he's aware of this. He is just not allowing what he sees to overtake how he wants to present what he sees, which is a lesson all of us should take to heart if we want to paint in a style that is truly our own. After all, the style with which an artist handles paint and wields the painting brush is what makes them unique.

At Artist's Network University, there are dozens of instructors who paint in many different ways, and we're lucky to have access to them all. Consider treating yourself to an Artist's Network University gift card or give it to that special painter or draftsman in your life so they (or you!) can find art instruction in the style and from the artist that most inspires them. Enjoy!

Avoid These 5 Mistakes When Drawing Faces

Courtney Jordan — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 04:32:00 GMT

I've always been an ardent fan of the profile portrait drawing. It reminds me of antique cameos, the profiles of emperors stamped on Roman coins, and 18^th-century silhouettes. But learning how to draw a face in profile does come with its share of possible missteps, so here are a few portrait-drawing tips to keep in mind.


		Virginia Wolfe by Jeremy Mann, charcoal drawing on paper, 18 x 24.

Misplaced ear. When drawing faces, be sure not to place the ear too close to the eye. It is usually equal to the distance between the chin and the corner of the eye.

Shrunken skull. Facial features are not the only important parts of a portrait. Make sure not to cut off the skull above the forehead and to fully shape the back of the head and neck.

Nose to eyes. Take note of how small the visible part of the eye is relative to the size and structure of the nose.

Just two angles. When starting your profile portrait drawing, take note of the angles between the forehead and the tip of the nose, and the tip of the nose to the chin. This will help you build the "envelope" for your face drawing.


Taquia by Gregory Mortenson, graphite drawing on paper, 11 x 14, 2007.

Eye it. When drawing eyes, note the thickness of the eyelid, which often isn't as noticeable when you're drawing faces straight on. Also take the time to register the angle of the upper eyelid in relation to the lower one.

I hope these tips help when it comes time to draw faces and portrait drawings of your own. This is one of the most exciting ways to hone our skills because we get to interact with people while practicing techniques that carry over to so many other aspects of drawing and painting. For more on drawing faces--from any angle--there are two eBooks that I recommend: Secrets of Drawing and Expressive Portraits. Take a look and see if these give you the insights and instruction you need. If you like them both and want access to more information, we have an eBook Subscription package that you may want to consider. Enjoy!

Her Face Is Round--But in a Good Way!

Courtney Jordan — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 04:22:00 GMT

Figuring out how to draw people is often a matter of breaking the body down into geometric shapes. When it comes to drawing people--specifically faces--you have to think of the sphere and the ovoid. Now, I'm not really a fan of looking at drawings of shapes. Booooooring. Instead, I study this concept by looking at how contemporary artists draw people.


		Young Girl from Kilimanjaro by Susan Lyon, conte drawing, 18 x 15.

Susan Lyon is a great example of an artist who really understands the roundness of the face. This doesn't mean she just draws people with full cheeks. Rather, Lyon is able to evolve the ovoid from a geometric form to a shape with the curving depth that mimics a face.

Lyon uses two devices really well to accomplish this. First, she knows how to subtly tilt the egg shape of the head to make it seem like it occupies three-dimensional space. Rarely does Lyon draw people straight on without any tilt to the head, because such straight, frontal drawings can diminish the illusion of three dimensions, especially when you haven't yet mastered rendering a likeness.

The artist is also incredibly consistent in making sure that the features of the face follow the construction lines of the ovoid when the head is seen from different perspectives. What I mean by this is that the invisible construction line that runs across a person's face--from the tip of the ear, over the eyes, to the tip of the other ear--bends up or down depending on the tilt of the face, but it always moves or curves as one. Lyon shows this to great effect.


A portrait drawing by Susan Lyon.

Susan also strengthens her people drawings by constantly moving around the work while she draws and never staying in one place for too long. It's made me really mindful of how I progress through my sketches as I am learning to draw people with more skill.

It was mesmerizing to watch Susan's Mastering Portrait Drawing DVD, and it's where I got the great tips that I shared here. I hope you find the resources that give you these same kinds of informative takeaways, or that you decide to delve into Mastering Portrait Drawing for more great techniques. Either way, enjoy!