Line Drawing



Sarah in Ink
Ink on Rice Paper
29cm x 21.5cm (11.5" x 8.5")

Arthur Wesley Dow recommends Japanese brushes, ink and paper for the majority of the exercises in Composition.

I’ve invested in some Japanese brushes, but I’m using bottled Indian ink instead of a Japanese ink stick. The ritual of grinding ink at the start of each practice session appeals, but I don’t have room for any more art paraphernalia – especially anything with the potential for causing ink related disasters.


Line Drawings - mainly copied from Composition
Ink on Paper
28cm x 38cm (11" x 15")

The purpose of the initial exercises is to become accustomed to the tools and to “put the hand under control of the will”.  I started by copying illustrations from the book and then (for variety) copied some of my own pencil and crayon drawings.

The picture at the top of the post is based on a drawing from a Natural Way to Draw exercise that I posted in April (Another Modelling the Straight and Curve Study).

Dow says not to spend too much time on these initial exercises, so this week I am moving on to the first exercises in composition.


Sinister Eyes
Ink on Paper
18cm x 10cm (7" x 4")

You can find more information about the exercises in the post Meditations on Line: Dow Composition Practice, Chapter Two on Paul Foxton’s Learning To See blog. This is where I first learnt about Dow’s book and was the inspiration for including it in my art education.