Expressive Drawing - Repetition

Repetition of a Motif
Expressive Drawing - Chapter 6 - Play 1
Mixed Media on Paper
59.4cm x 84.1cm (23.4" x 33.1")

Chapter 6 of Expressive Drawing by Steven Aimone is about Repetition. Steven defines repetition as the recurring appearance or presence of a visual element such as a line, mark, shape, texture, tone, colour, directionality, etc. He argues that drawings that feature repletion naturally hold together.

Repetition of a Motif
Expressive Drawing - Chapter 6 - Play 1
Charcoal and Graphite on Paper
59.4cm x 84.1cm (23.4" x 33.1")

Repetition is one of the five principles of composition identified by Arthur Wesley Dow in his work on Composition (see Repetition).

Repetition of Multiple Motifs
Expressive Drawing - Chapter 6 - Build 1
Charcoal and Graphite on Paper
59.4cm x 84.1cm (23.4" x 33.1")

The Play and Build exercises in this chapter involve creating drawings with one or more repeating motifs. The exercises employ the approach common to most exercises in the early part of the book: draw, observe, absorb, repeat, (undoing, covering up or veiling as necessary).

Repetition of a Motif
Expressive Drawing - Chapter 6 - Play 1
Mixed Media on Paper
28cm x 38cm (11" x 15")

I haven’t been doing much painting recently, and it’s years since I’ve painted in acrylics. As an experiment I painted over some of the drawings from these exercises.

Shape Motif Repetition
Expressive Drawing - Chapter 6 - Build 2
Charcoal on Paper
59.4cm x 84.1cm (23.4" x 33.1")

Work has been really busy recently, but I am beginning to get back into the habit of (and enjoying) more regular drawing and painting.