I like to golf.
I love walking out on the course. Chatting with a few friends. Where I golf there are lots of mountain views and vistas of the valley. It feels good to be out there. |
| Black-eyed Susies - Sketchbook Practice. |
In golf you use a practice swing.
It is a very important stroke. Especially when you start to play. You walk up to the tee box. Get into your stance. And do a few practice swings. Sooooo important.
That swing sets you up. Let's your body know what is happening. Let's you check that your balance is right. You feel the wind, the heat, you visualize what is coming.
Your ready. . .
When you start a drawing or lay out a painting on canvas, a practice swing can set you up. I like to call it a Rehearsal. (Not sure if there is a name for it in art, but that is mine). For a practice swing you get into position. You swing your club
but you do not hit the ball. . . .
For your rehearsal in drawing you will get into position, hold your pen or brush and go through the motion of the line/stroke you want. (This is a gesture movement.)
But you do not make a mark. . .
 |
| When you do a rehearsal, you Inner Critic will quickly tell you what is right and wrong about your proposed line. |
Why? What is the point? Why not just jump in and go for it? Like the practice swing, the rehearsal motion at the beginning makes you ask several questions:
1. Is my arm comfortable, can I do it in a single motion?
2. Is the line going to be the right length?
3. Is the placement of the line going to work? Will my subject fit where it needs to be?
4. Does the angle look/feel right?
5. Am I ready and focused on what I am doing? Can I feel the line?
Your Inner Critic will come into play as well. Answering many of those questions. It may also suggest something better.
Once your golf game is under way, the practice stroke does not disappear. Have you ever watched a PGA player when he is in a difficult lie? Behind a tree. In the rough. On a steep bank. ( I, of course, have never had that problem when I golf. LOL) They will do a few practice swings. Often without a club. They want to check their balance and line of sight. Get a strong feel for what they want to accomplish. (If I had several thousand dollars hanging on my shot I would want to really feel it. Visualize it. Before I hit, too. )
 |
| My rehearsal stroke gives me a feel as to where to put my stem. Check the flowers at the top of the page. I definitely did a rehearsal to find good places for all those stems. |
The rehearsal stroke doesn't only happen at the beginning of a drawing either. As you move from the big shapes to more detail, you will get into tight spots too.
1. Drawing the rigging on a sailboat. I definitely like to do a rehearsal first.
2. Capturing the gesture of the movement of a leg or arm.
3. Adding that detail trim line to a shape. Especially when you only get one shot at it. ( I know you acrylic and oil people can wipe it off and do it again. But to really capture that lively line you need to be ready to do it once, with a flourish.)
Not sure if you do a rehearsal stroke. I do. Quite often. Am I the only one??
Further reading:
There are Rehearsals in Drawing? A look at the power of a rehearsal in drawing with permanent ink.
Have you Felt the Freedom of the Line? A look at the rehearsal and other types of lines used in drawing with permanent ink.
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