The Art of Drawing.

Learn to Draw:

The rampant addiction of taking mobile and i-pad photos currently sweeping the world calls into question, how much detail do people notice in the world around them. All these photos destined for Facebook or twitter have approached plague proportions, do people really have the time to look, let alone examine them all.

 

What a great pity that the ancient skill of drawing seems to have vanished. A skill that started on the walls of caves by our ancestors and has been with us ever since. Practicing artists now also appear to rely on computer, digital, and other technical means to record their statements about the world.

 

To understanding anything visually around us we need to observe, and look for its detail, texture, tone, and patterns. It is the combination of these inferences that create visual memory. It is the best way to understand the world we observe daily. Yet we continual to i-pad the and hardly take time to look at our handy work.

 

John Ruskin claimed that the most important things in life are thought, and sight, not speed. Our goal should be to try to understand the wonderful world we live in by searching for the details. No postcard or momentary image will replace the skill of drawing, its not that difficulty.

Surealism, the driving force of 20th cent art movements.

Dali.

 

Surrealism:

Of all the isms of 20^th cent art Surrealism remains central. A movement that to a great extent derives it force from Sigmund Freud, not in a strictly literal way, but rather than enabling the expression of that fifty percent of our hidden consciousness. Max Ernest in his text on the meaning of surrealism rejects the clichéd suggestion that the movement merely copied pictorial dreams, rather it presents a world in which neither morality nor reason prevail, the viewer has a dynamic perception of the world hidden in the subconscious.

It is a movement that extended its tentacles into numerous artistic activities. Literature, Cinema, Theatre, Photography,.Sculpture,.and Painting. All. have felt the impact of surrealism.

                                                                   Chagall

So why has surrealisms’ influence been so profound? The obvious answer lies in the desire to create a whole new concept of art. An art no longer subjected to reason, or any moral, spiritual, or aesthetic past. The early art movements of the 20^th cent concerned themselves with problems such as colour, or geometric structure, experiments with expressionism or abstraction and so on. Only Surrealism attempted to create an artistic language of the subconscious, the random world of the imagination.A child of Dada, Surrealism did not desire to dismantle art, to create an anti-art, rather the movement sought to find an entirely new concept of art.

 

                                                             Detail. Max Ernst.

In order to build a new reality, untouched by logic the artist needed to inhabit a world free of the association of ideas. This allows the creator to peruse different direction without the limiting structure of any hard and fast rules of style. Images with illogical relationships were possible; a free association of a dream universe such as Dali’s or Magritte’s could impact on a viewer in a disturbing way.

 

                                                            Detail. Paul Delvaux.

The empty space and darkened shadows of de Chirico world moved the viewer to new levels of unknown existence. Miro and Max Ernst offered further random directions. There was no correct Surrealist style. There was no such thing, some visual artists displayed considerable academic skill, others such as Chagall preferred the world of childhood dreams. It allows the human spirit true freedom and that is what human expression is all about.

 

                                                                    de Chirio.

 

                                                                      Magritte.

Portraits, what is a true likeness?

Sketch, Vision of Sue, by Peter Kreet

 

My first example is a quick ink and wash sketch I did a number of years ago, were the main focus was to capture the personality of the girl. It is very rough, but I feel quite lively. After all who wants to see themselves as half dead.

The Love of Portrait.

What is meant by a portrait, a photographic likeness, the capture of the spirit of an individual, realistic  academic painting, impressionist rending, and so on. Everyone has their own idea, and rightly so, after all most will live with the painting assuming that they have commissioned the work. Many artists look on portrait painting as an opportunity to earn a little money. Others may shun the whole idea declaring the practice as archaic, and only undertake the task for close friends or to learn new techniques.

 

Owning a portrait of yourself, has great appeal to many people. You only have to observe the crowds who queue up at the easel of a street artist to have their likeness drawn. Many people are reluctant to sit, fearing that their inner soul will be exposed in some way, or they fall into a type of trance that results in a lifeless portrait. Some artist paint only from a photo with a rather wooden result. Personally I feel this is rather sad, both from an artistic view point and a social experience. A few year ago a good friend of mine George Davis painted my portrait over six months, during which time we not only got to know each other very well, but enjoyed the company.

 

What constitutes a satisfactory portrait? I have taken the liberty to throw up a few possible approaches realistic or otherwise. Historically only people of wealth had their likeness painted generally by an important artist. Many of these works were produced with the artist having one eye on the reaction of the patron, rather than truthfulness. Van Dyek’s portrait of Queen Henrietta Maria comes to mind, according to Prince Rupert’s sister, the lady in question was rather short with crooked shoulders, spindly arms, and teeth that stuck out of her mouth “like guns from a fort”, not that you would  know looking at it. I know artists that feel all this is fine, after all who knows what a person looks like a hundred years or so from now, The important thing is the painting itself, its’ aesthetic, and general appeal, or even in some cases the historic context of the piece.

 

 

Joshua Smith 1943 by William Dobell

 

The portrait of Joshua Smith by William Dobell was much criticised after he won the Archibald Portrait Prize in 1943. Critics claimed the work was a caricature not a portrait, no matter what its artistic merit.

                                                        Morton May by Max Beckmann

In the painting of Morton May , Max Beckmann has been more concerned with the creation of tension within the work, while presenting the uncomplicated view of America. The painting was completed a year before his death. He was sixty-five and gravely ill, he seems to have provided a protective shield in front of the sitter in defence to his own internal illness.

                                           Self-Portrait in Black 1944 by Max Beckmann


The Self-Portrait In Black  by Max Beckmann displays great interest in shape and drama, rather than concern about correct portraiture. It was painted while in exile in Amsterdam for ten long yeards during in Second World War. His endurance seems to be at an end, as he turns in the seat and hurl bitterness and scorn at the world in general. Beckmann painted some eleven self- portraits during his lifetime and to a great  extent tracks his feelings about the world.

 

                                                      Choir Boy by Haim Soutine.

Soutine’ “Choir Boy”, like the Dobell also has that sense of caricature about it. He appears to be commenting on the petit bourgeois of Parisian  life . His work at this time was somewhat influenced by Modigliani. His colours have both humour and luminosity.

                                          Lunia Czechowska 1916 by Amedeo Modigliani

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       The Modigliani portrait has everything one would desire in a painting. Bold colour, formal design, while pushing the boundaries of restrictive art practice. It has all the qualities of good portraiture, tone, tension ,texture , balance and aesthetic appeal.

                                                     Thomas Carlyle by Whistler.

The last example Whistler’s portrait of Thomas Carlyle allows us to see howl portrait painting has evolved over recent years. Although this work could not be described as a standard portrait, it never the less embodies the conventions of 19^th cent. traditions.

                                                   Self-Portrait by Peter Kreet.

 

Finally another quick sketch, a likeness  captured with a limited amount of means. The idea was to capture the essence with as little detail as possible.

The artist's life Model

Quick ink drawing.

 

 

The Life Model’

 People have all sorts of extraordinary ideas about what takes place in a life drawing class, when in reality a naked body is a fairly impersonal thing. Even with young unscared ones, as the artist is totally focus on the problem of reducing the image to a series of lines, planes, and tones. Every person is unique with or without cloths, and even if they are very beautiful, the erotic is very much of a secondary consideration.

 Many art students at some point in their careers will be asked to pose, often the model has failed to show up, and the group must improvise. Some are only to happy to undress others not so, depending on their background, but this has nothing to do with prudishness. One of the most difficult tasks is to hold the pose as best you can, ten to fifteen minutes may seem like an eternity let alone an hour. Even with breaks in between to recapture the exact position proves difficult even for experienced models. Concentration is required to stop your mind from wandering.

  One of the great life drawing experiences I had was in Desiderius Orban”s art school above the Ship Inn Hotel, at Circular Quay in Sydney. He was a famous Hungarian artist who escaped central Europe in the 1930’s. Like many other Ex-European modernists at the time, he migrated to Australia and through teaching introduced new concepts for painting and drawing. This was never more apparent than in his life class, were ten or fifteen second drawings were often required. He would run up and down the room shouting faster faster. His philosophy was very much that creativity was an instrumental thing and a subconscious response was what true art was all about. Draw from the shoulder he would say. Naturally he had critics, but he always claimed novelty is in itself a work of art, if it is done within the limits of a creative visual imagination. His approach forced students to work freely and forget any inhibitions. This was the best way to give life to your work.

 

Conti sketch.

 

 

Roman Sketch Book.

"Spanish Steps"
Pen and ink drawing. Rome 1961

I spent a lot of time during my first few months in Rome walking around the city drawing in pen and ink. I liked the technique as there is no turning back, the first line was always the last, The discipline of not being able to correct a drawing is to be highly recommend. It reminded me of a drawing class at I had experienced at Desiderius Orban's Art School at Circular Quay, Sydney a few years before were we were given 30 sec. per drawing. He would run up and down the studio urging his students to go faster, faster. Only draw from the shoulder not the wrist, he would shout. Not that pen and ink was anything like that, but the requirement to draw instinctively has remained. Too much caution will quickly tighten up the work so it becomes wooden, only direct drawing retains the life and integrity .Another technique of Orban's was never take the charcoal off the page. A Scot's friend in our class possessed the same philosophy , he taught me a lot and was highly skilled draughtsman. 


Only recently returned from Egypt were he had been  doing National Service in the aborted invasion of Suez by the British and French trying to regain control after Nasser had nationalise Suez.  Gordon was very supportive and encouraging, later becoming lecturer in printmaking at the Liverpool School of Art.

"Roman apartments"
Pen and ink drawing. Rome  1961

Rome is such a visual city that the only way to really enjoy the sights is on foot. Around every corner there is a new delight. I have been told that it is possible to discover worthwhile visual experience every day for four years without repeating yourself. The city becomes even more alive the more you study her history. Only a short distance from the Academe stands the Arch of Titus erected to commemorate the sacking of Jerusalem with it's relief sculptures of the spoils being brought back to Rome. The council is not beyond the practice of dropping off a few broken pieces of sculpture for tourists to photo.

"Baroque Doorway"
Pen and ink drawing. Rome 1961.

"Roman Palazzo"
Pen and ink drawing. Rome 1961


 

Another very good friend of mine the Canadian painter Brian Fisher would spend hours wandering around the city, avoiding the street dropping of the dog population while looking for the unusual. At night  both  being short of money we would frequent the Roman Council Cafe for the poorer members of the community. The food by our standards was quite reasonable and cheap, but when I took my Italian friend I had meet on the ship there he was not overly impressed, claiming pasta should never be served without butter! At other times we would visit offal restaurants in the poorer quarters of the city, personally I had no objection to this type of food but Brian found the experience unpleasant. On his return to Canada he became quite successful painting the large mural at Montreal's airport. Most likely many of my Canadian readers are familiar with his work as he is represented in most Canadian Art Galleries'

"Trevi Fountain"
Pen and Ink Drawing. Rome 1961

" Church Doorway"
Pen and ink drawing. Rome. 1961

There were many South American students in Rome at this time, generally left wing politically ,who for one reason or another were happy to be out of their countries. Franco was still in power in Spain, so Italy was their natural choice to keep out of harms way. I often wonder what happened to many them, particularly those from the Argentine as it was only a few years till the Generals came to power, hopefully they are still all alive.

'View from my window"
Pen and Ink Drawing. Rome. 1961

One of the great delights of old cities is looking out across the rooftops, observing all the additions made over the centuries.  Japanese artists love the different textures of all the materials. When I ran the Harrington Street Gallery years later in the 1970's , I used to import many woodblock prints from Japan and I still marvel at the variety of textural treatment .

"Old City apartment"
Pen and Ink Drawing. Rome 1961

"Typical Balcony"
Pen and Ink Drawing. Rome. 1961

New Year's eve is always great entrainment, Romans throw all their unwanted garbage, furniture and so on out the window or from the balcony. One year legion has it that a husband throw out his wife, but such is life in the Eternal City.

Roma, Accademia de Belli Arti

Pen and Ink Drawing of a fellow student. 1961.

Arrivals in strange and foreign cities are often both exciting and traumatic; particularly if you are without language and have limited financial resources. Naples with it's swarming mass of  under employed  guides and porters seeming intent on fleecing any unsuspecting souls, you have to experience that sense helplessness to fully appreciate trauma. Fortunately, I had befriended a returning Italian migrant on board ship who was returning to Rome, much disillusioned with the good life Australia had promised and with his help, I eventually arrived in Rome by train. He helped me find  temporary accommodation the night. in a boarding house, the Signora who ran the establishment being reluctant to turn away any likely new source of income.


After a week with my friend's help I  installed myself in a room over looking Piazza Cavour, while waiting to enrol at the Academia De Belli Arti just down the road. It soon became obvious that I was somehow going to have to find more suitable quarters ,were I could paint without upsetting the owners by using their rooms as a studio. A fellow Australian student in my class knew an American artist about to vacate his room in the old red quarter of Rome, as he was going to ear french fries in Paris. The student had been living in Rome for a number of years, so she was quite fluent in Italian and was able to secure the room for me. The elderly pensioner whose owned the apartment was easy to get on with and need a small extra income. My room overlooked the convent garden of St. Callisto ,so I was woken early each morning by the convent bell calling the nuns to prey. It was a very peace full scene,  I  often sat and contemplated  the mood which was in complete contrast to the noise, bustle and confusion in the street outside. I was to live here for a year and greatly enjoyed the odd pasta dish my host cooked for me, Often he would take at least two days just preparing the sauce as the pig  fat base had to be rendered down to next to nothing before starting.

Pen and ink drawing of my first apartment building. 1961

The academy was very different to what I had experienced in Sydney, the duration of the drawing class only lasted three hours each morning. Your professor would arrive about ten minutes before noon, walk around the class shouting bravo, bravo, before disappearing for a long lunch. Food is very important in Italy as in most Mediterranean countries and generally runs to several hours so we only saw him once a day. The instruction such as it was, was carried out by his assistant, we spent each and ever day drawing  from life a rather large and rotund Sicilian girl, her awesome bulk had to be seen to be believed everyone assumed she must have been a relative of our instructor as it would be hard to imagine why he continue to employ her foe the best part of six months. Our model was so large and fat that knowing were the various parts of her anatomy started and finished became highly problematical. Henry Gibbons instance at Julian Ashton that you must search for the bone structure and muscles tone was next to impossible. Luckily her younger sister replaced her as our model half way through the year with the added bonus that she was very attractive.

Pen and ink drawing life class, 1961.

Unlike Australian art school each department had various teachers who specialised in different approaches, so a student could work with someone who taught in the academic tradition of the 19th cent, or you could pursue an impressionist's pallet or abstract expressionism. Therefor the class you attended became very important, I joined the modernist group as did most of the students, when you are young only the latest style will do. The class was packed with every nationality on earth so we experience a truly international vision of humankind. Printmaking, sculpture, theatre design and history were also taught. The theatre group were very lucky as apart from studying costume design over the centuries, they would go out to Rome's film studio for lectures from the great Italian directors such as Fellini and Antonioni. In addition we were required to copy the old masters in black and white in order to develop our composition and tonal layout. This was compulsory no matter who you studied under. I have heard of classic black and white films being used to the same end were the film would be stopped ,while the students would examine the compositional frame work of the director. Really do an audience appreciate the thought that goes into the making great art films.


Three times a week we were treated to a lecture in art history and aesthetics by Professor Rivesici a close friend of the great Italian philosopher Benedetto Croce. Croce has published many books on aesthetics as well as other subjects, central to his thinking is the concept of art as a pure form of knowledge. His lectures were always well attended even though they dealt with the analysis of Caravaggio and Berni for the best part of two years. Even with my limited Italian  ,I enjoyed his lectures  as  my knowledge of the Italian Baroque was very limited.

Julian Ashton Art School and Henry Gibbons

Henry Gibbons
Drawing by Susan Dorothea White.   1961

Peter Kreet [Creet]
Drawing by Susan Dorothea White.  1961

Life is made up of many choices and often it is hard to understand why we make the ones we do. When I left seafaring as a career I had no fixed idea as to what direction my life should take. Douglas Dundas had recommended Julian Ashtons Art School as a good place to start an art career. In enrolling at the school I recall a lunch time discussion with Dick Watkins were he confessed that he could not make up his mind as to whether he wanted to paint or simply that he liked the idea of an artistic life style'.

When I enrolled in 1959 , still very much still walking with a seamans' roll I was confronted by Henry Gibbons by then an institution at Ashtons. We got on very well from our first meeting no doubt his own experience as a spud barber helped [ peels potatoes on ships] when he worked his passage on a ship to America as a young man . Ashtons was very much a 19th cent academic institution were the drawing of classical plaster casts was mandatory such as Venus Di Milo and so on.This was considered the the best way to train the eye to record accurately what was in front of you, after all the  subject matter could not move unlike humans.

Henry would insist that your efforts in the cast room be put out in front, next door to the subject and then from a suitable distance ask "How do you think it looks"? Generally as a young student full of enthusiasm you would reply that it was not perfect, perhaps the right eye or ear were too high or low.To this the reply would be "Yes but what about the overall form or shape. He would then go on to explain that sometimes the eye would get in front of the hand in critical analysis, at others the hand would be in front, this would traverse through out your drawing career, so there would always be this love hate relationship with your work. Some people draw naturally but unfortunately I was not one of them and I suspect Henry despaired at my efforts.

This philosophy about training the eye was central to the school whether it be tone, colour or form.

Henry Gibbons was somewhat deaf and often at lunch time a father would phone the school enquiring about the course before enrolling their daughter. In those days it was quite customary for fathers to do this sort of thing. The school had an old fashion telephone, one that was fixed to the wall and you had to shout at the fixed mouth piece ,while the hearing section was located at he end of a long cord.Fortunately for the students the phone was quite close to the lunch room so when ever one of these call came in we were all privy to the discussion. The conversations if I remember correctly went something like this.
H.G.  "Whats that, can you speak a little louder. How long is the course? Well I have been here over thirty years." this would be followed by, "What do we teach? Nothing we only help people to see, yes to see. No there is no structure if you can't see you are not able to do anything."

As students we would be falling off our chairs with laughter particularly if we had spent the morning fighting our cast drawing. In retrospect one of the great tragedies of art education in this country has been the abandonment of this principle whether you work realistically or in abstract. I know not every one will agree but without critical sight there is nowhere to go.