I'm giving drawing lessons at Tate Liverpool over the next ten weeks so while the students are busy on the task I can manage to fire a few off from the ground floor window as people walk past. We were practicing a drawing session that restates the lines and is a combination of both loose and controlled drawing. The class was working on still life but there's nothing quite like drawing if the subject's on the move, it's great practice for concentrated drawings.
The purpose of restating a line drawing is to introduce, review and develop observational drawing skills and in particular to learn how to see.
Emphasize observational drawing processes that show adjustments and that demonstrate trial and error processes. Allow for variations of mark making and engage in the hand made process of drawing and the desired product will eventually emerge.
During this initial stage anticipate that the entire drawing will eventually be mapped out with tentative lightly drawn basic shapes with restated lines. At times the drawing process will involve adjustments to the initial lines or marks by restating line.
Avoid getting caught up in details and in erasing lines. Instead anticipate that the initial “mistakes” with line will be used as visual reference for the proceeding restated line.
Get into a mindset that line drawing and most other forms of drawing are a layering process (or that drawing is done in messy stages) and not as a neat and tidy product.
As adjustments are made, restate lines and think of the drawing as a record of thought processes in learning how to see, a record of a trial and error process and not some finished masterpiece.
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