At some point in each series of Crealde Urban Sketching classes we cover contour drawing. A contour drawing is done by staring at the subject and moving the line on the page slowly and deliberately as the eye moves along the edge of the subject. It is possible to do a drawing this way without ever glancing down at the page. The slower a drawing is done, the better. The hardest thing is to get students to take the leap of faith. Things tend to get wonky but there are always passages of highly well observed line work. It is easy to see if a student was glancing at the paper and judging themselves while sketching since shapes are carefully closed off.
This drawing of students was done with contour and I would glance at the page only when I needed to re-position the pencil. I like the way a pencil digs into the paper causing resistance. You can feel yourself creating the lines. I only put a couple of watercolor washes over the sketch since I wanted to focus my attention on helping the students.
I love sketching students as they create. Every artist has their own distinctive gesture as they draw. I also miss the days when people would responsibly wear masks. It meant I didn’t have to sketch noses or lips.
