I came across Picasso’s animal line drawings and thought what lovely fun pictures they are. An owl, a horse, a penguin, and his own dachshund called Lump. With one or maybe two lines he has captured not just their shape, but also a certain personality. They are delightful! I thought I would have a go myself, and I found a photo I had taken of some ducks, got out a thin, fibre-tipped pen and drew the shapes. In my photo there were strong shadows cast by the bright sun that day, so I decided to include those in my drawing.
Some piglets had arrived at the farm, so I took lots of photos and then made a drawing of them using a black, fibre-tipped pen. The line drawing has a boldness about it, and it conveys energy and liveliness, even though no shading is included and no shadows connected. The positioning of the animals around the trough creates its own sense of depth. Working with a fibre-tipped pen rather than a pencil, means that every mark you make stays. At first this can make you a bit nervous because you can’t rub out a misplaced line. But you get used to that soon enough and I found it helped me to look really closely a shapes in order to draw them well, and it helped me get over a fear of getting it wrong! And a little line out of place here or there makes for a dynamic, unique piece!
For more on writing about the element of line click here: https://howtowriteaboutart.com/elements-of-art/
How to Write About Art 