What’s with Mass? Can you really draw with it?

NEW WORKS FROM THE STUDIO OF ART BY WENDY

I like to draw. 

I like to work with line to develop my pictures, adding details as I go.

 But working with mass!  

I never really thought about how that works with a line drawing.

  

Just recently I took a workshop with Dawn Emerson. http://dawnemerson.com    She does great stuff with pastels, mixed media and paint and she incorporates lots of drawing in her work.  It was a great to work with her.

Our subject was four pears but seeing how they came alive with each approach was very interesting. We started off with drawing using line, definitely my comfort zone and but then we drew them with a different tool.

My Pears drawn with a brayer  (it is like a roller, about 1 inch wide)

Next we focused on the mass.  This is something I never really connected with my drawing, always being a "line guy".  To do this we covered the paper completely with a mid-tone and the shapes were lifted out or darken to develop them.  It really made me feel the connection of drawing with painting. 

   My Pears, starting with the mid-tone

The next project was working with space and shapes.  Really different for me but I did find it kind of neat.  I particularly loved the short fat pear in the middle.  He seemed to have real personality!

My pears with shapes and space

Before I knew it I was working away with charcoal and pastels, building shapes with mass, no lines in sight!! Quite a new experience for me.  My final project was this squirrel, developed with charcoal and pastel.

My Squirrel - Steve loved this one!

 As you can probably tell the whole workshop was a great source of inspiration for me.  I am anxious to try more work with the pastels but also incorporate this sense of mass into my drawings and paintings. 

Have a great day and hope your next workshop is an inspiration for you as well, 

Wendy