Keys to Drawing – Chapter 7

Keys to Drawing - Exercise 7F
60 Minutes
16 February 2014
Graphite Pencil on Paper
34cm x 28cm (13.5" x 11")

Chapter 7 of Keys to Drawing by Bert Dodson is called Pattern and Design. It is about the skills of composing a picture rather than drawing techniques.

The central theme is to consider a drawing as a collection of abstract shapes to be organised on the paper rather than focusing on the objects they represent.

Dodson says

Sketching is concerned with things. Design or composition is concerned with the relationships between things.

There is some overlap between the material in this chapter and the material in Composition by Arthur Wesley Dow.

The first part of the chapter is about identifying shapes and patterns. Dodson then goes on to discuss good composition.

There are 6 exercises

7A - Simplified Landscapes. The first exercise is to draw three simplified landscapes in which all the shapes are either black or white. The purpose of this and the following exercises is to start thinking in terms of shapes.

Keys to Drawing - Exercise 7A
10 Minutes
2 February 2014
Graphite Pencil on Paper
15cm x10cm (6" x 4")

Keys to Drawing - Exercise 7A
10 Minutes
2 February 2014
Graphite Pencil on Paper
15cm x10cm (6" x 4")

Keys to Drawing - Exercise 7A
10 Minutes
2 February 2014
Graphite Pencil on Paper
10cm x15cm (4" x 6")

7B - Simplified Portraits. This is similar to the previous exercise, but with faces instead of places. The idea is to trace over three photographs and to simplify the features into black and white shapes.

Keys to Drawing - Exercise 7B
10 Minutes
3 February 2014
Ink on Tracing Paper
13cm x19cm (5" x 7.5")

Keys to Drawing - Exercise 7B
10 Minutes
3 February 2014
Ink on Tracing Paper
17cm x13cm (6.75" x 5")

Keys to Drawing - Exercise 7B
10 Minutes
3 February 2014
Ink on Tracing Paper
15cm x19cm (6" x 9.5")

7C - A Pattern in Reverse. The concept for this exercise is to depict a subject by drawing what can be seen in the gaps while leaving the main shape empty. I misread the instructions and did not realise this was supposed to be another exercise in pure black and white. Additionally, I should have removed the outline around the scissors.

Keys to Drawing - Exercise 7C
60 Minutes
5 February 2014
Graphite Pencil on Paper
23cm x 32cm (9" x 12.5")

7D - Compositional Studies. This exercise explores four different compositions for a still-life containing two objects. These are pictures of my office desk with Salty the Seadog by Joanne Cooke and a pot of pens.

Keys to Drawing - Exercise 7D - Landscape
10 Minutes
11 February 2014
Graphite Pencil on Paper
15cm x 10cm (6" x 4")

Keys to Drawing - Exercise 7D - Portait
10 Minutes
11 February 2014
Graphite Pencil on Paper
10cm x 15cm (4" x 6")

Keys to Drawing - Exercise 7D - Close Up
10 Minutes
11 February 2014
Graphite Pencil on Paper
10cm x 15cm (4" x 6")

Keys to Drawing - Exercise 7D - Long Shot
10 Minutes
11 February 2014
Graphite Pencil on Paper
10cm x 15cm (4" x 6")

7E - Clarity and Ambiguity. The aim of this exercise is to create a picture in which a complex subject is not immediately recognizable. I intentionally chose a difficult subject, but fell into the trap of messing up the perspective. I used most of the exercise time trying to correct the underlying structure instead of concentrating on the balance between clarity and ambiguity.

Keys to Drawing - Exercise 7E
80 Minutes
16 February 2014
Graphite Pencil on Paper
28cm x 23cm (11" x 9")

7F - Balancing Extreme Compositions. This challenge of this exercise is to go against convention and to create a composition in which the focal point is either in the centre of the page or close to the edge.

These exercisers are challenging, but rewarding. I gained a lot more from them this time than when I first tried them in 2009. I will definitely repeat them in the near future.