Artistic Lines
from Joan Justis
April 2017
joanjustis.com
#joanjustisstudios
Portrait of Eva Steiner 1918 by Egon Schiele
Use your eye to slowly follow the outer edge of a lamp, shoes, your phone, your hand. Follow every in and out, straight or rounded edge. Now put your pencil point on a piece of paper and do it again moving your pencil in sync with the movement of your eye. This process has a name-blind contour drawing.
The more you do it, the more aware you become of the characteristics of what you are drawing. Is it free form or geometric? symmetric or asymmetric? And your ability to focus is enhanced.
Blind Contour Drawing and Modified Contour Drawing of Hands by Janine Justis
Now bounce your eye from the object to the paper to have more control over the resulting drawing-a modified contour drawing.
Next mentally divide the object into four equal lengths (and widths if desired) and put four small marks on your paper and do another contour drawing with even more control.
Contour Drawing of Girl Reading by Janine Justis
Contour Drawing of Resting Man by Janine Justis
Et voila! You have a remarkable drawing—not totally accurate, but with an interesting interpretive style!
The best part is that you begin to notice the beautiful shapes around you.
