Drawing for the Absolute and Utter Beginner, Revised: 15th Anniversary Edition

167 Pages·2018·46.25 MB·English

by  Claire Watson Garcia

Drawings by students Brooke Morrell (top), Pamela McFeeley (bottom)

This book is dedicated to the memory of my father,
Winsor Hays Watson Jr., with love, admiration, and
gratitude.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
A special, heartfelt thanks to the absolute and utter beginners at Silvermine
School of Art who contributed to this revised edition, and to those who
helped create the original book as well. Thank you to all the other
beginners who passed through my studio classroom and allowed me to
teach them and learn from them over the years!
This book represents a blend of talents, with works from new
participants and contributors to the original edition. The love of my family
—especially my husband Baxter, daughter Liz, brother Win, and late
parents Jan and Win Watson—and their enthusiasm for art, has been an
invaluable source of inspiration and support for me throughout this
project.
Many thanks to my skillful, simpatico agent Marilyn Allen and to the
talented team at Ten Speed Press: my editor Patrick Barb, designers Kara
Plikaitis and Debbie Berne, copy editor Alisa Palazzo Garrison, Heather
Porter and Dan Myers from production, and Natalie Mulford and Brianna
Leahy from marketing and publicity. I appreciate the kindness, insight, and
technical skills shared with me by Carolee Ross, Nancy Moore Hulnick,
Dawn Hettrich, Janie Bronson, Marsha Antkies, Chip Keating, Jean
Devoe, and Josh Fischer. I’m grateful to the office staff at Silvermine
School of Art, and especially to the school director, Anne Connell. Thank
you to Josh Burkholder and Patricia Bolgosano, at Visual Impact in
Danbury, Connecticut, for making it all fun again!
I feel continued gratitude for the team at Watson-Guptill that helped to
create the original book: Joy Aquilino, senior acquisitions editor; Robbie
Capp, editor; Areta Buk, book designer; Sivan Earnest, cover designer; and
Hector Campbell, production manager; and to friends Debbie Beaudry,
Kari Lønning, Annie Wood, and Al Roberts, who gave me special
assistance at that time.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Claire Watson Garcia is an acclaimed artist and
instructor at the renowned Silvermine School of
Art in New Canaan, Connecticut, where her
“Absolute and Utter Beginner” courses and
workshops have been popular for more than
twenty years. She was educated at Smith College
and the University of California-Berkeley. She lives
in Ridgefield, Connecticut.
© Mary Harold
contents Notes on the 15th Anniversary Edition
Introduction
Starting Out
How to Use This Book
Supply List
1.
Seeing to Draw
Making the Lines
Exercise: Wire Drawing
Recording Shapes Upside Down
Exercise: Upside-Down Drawing
Seeing as an Artist
2.
Turning Lines Into Objects
Contour Drawing: Look Before You Leap
Exercise: Contour Drawing
Problem Solvers
Locating What Works
Your Drawing Experience Now
3.
Adding Dimension to Contour Drawings
Value Basics
Exercise: Making Value Scales
Local Values and Shadow Values
Exercise: Pencil Sampler
Identifying Shadows
Exercise: Applying Shadow Values to Your Drawing
Exercise: Adding Local Values to Your Contour Drawing
4.
Adding Accuracy
Sketching for Accuracy
Exercise: Sketching Warm-Up
Exercise: Previewing
Exercise: Horizontal and Vertical Lines
Sketching Symmetrical Shapes
Exercise: Circles
Exercise: Level Ellipse
Exercise: Oval
Exercise: Cylinder
Exercise: Bowl
Underdrawings for Symmetrical Objects
Exercise: Bottle
Exercise: Lining Up
Exercise: Relative Size
Exercise: Assessing
Exercise: Drawing Through
Rectangular Subjects: Angles
Exercise: Angles in One-Point Perspective
Exercise: Angles in Two-Point Perspective
Sketching Asymmetrical Objects
Exercise: Asymmetrical Objects
5.
Expanding Techniques: Pencil
Extended Value Range: 6b and 6h
Exercise: Pencil Sampler
Lost and Found Edges: Abbreviated Contour Lines
Creating a Pencil Study, Step-By-Step
Problem Solvers
Using Your Small Sketch Pad
6.
Expanding Techniques: Wash with Pencil and
Pen
Accenting Pencil Drawings with Wash
Exercise: Creating a Wash
Exercise: Wash Sampler
Exercise: Pencil Studies with Wash
Pen Techniques
Exercise: Pen Sampler
Accenting Pen Drawings with Wash
Exercise: Adding Wash to Pen
7.
Expanding Techniques: Charcoal
Using Charcoal
Exercise: Charcoal Sampler
Preparing to Make a Charcoal Study
Creating a Charcoal Study, Step by Step
Protecting Your Charcoal Drawing
8.
Drawing the Face, Frontal View
Studying the Frontal Face
Exercise: Start with Your Own Face
Drawing the Frontal View, Step by Step
Exercise: Stage One: Blocking in Proportions
Exercise: Stage Two, Part One: Developing Features—Underdrawing
Exercise: Stage Two, Part Two: Developing Features—Adding Detail
Exercise: Stage Three: Shaping the Face
Exercise: Stage Four: Adding Dimension
9.
Drawing the Face, Profile View
Finding Your Model and Observing the Profile View
Drawing the Profile, Step by Step
Exercise: Stage One: Blocking in Proportions
Exercise: Stage Two: Developing Features
Exercise: stage Three: Finishing Up
10.
Drawing the Face, Three-Quarter View
Studying the Three-Quarter-View Face
Exercise: First Look
Exercise: Your Face in Three-Quarter View
Find Your Model
Drawing the Three-Quarter Face, Step by Step
Exercise: Stage One: Blocking in Proportions
Exercise: Stage Two: Developing the Near Features