I am starting week 2, which is about mark-making. There is an emphasis on the idea that every line is expressive – it both describes a form/subject, and expresses something about the subject; it suggests an opinion, a belief or an emotion. Eviston emphasizes its expressive impact on the viewer, though we might also reflect back on whether a mark expresses what we intend, to ourselves.

A few other key ideas:

  • “How you are making lines says more about you as an artist than what you are drawing.” Interesting point. He compares line quality to tone of voice; how you say something is often more important than what you say.
  • A line is “any pathway that the eye can follow”.

I practiced mark making with both pen and pencil.

two sketchbook pages filled with rows of experimental line and mark-making exercises

I think mark-making is an interesting foundation to focus on in the world of “AI art”–it’s like the complete opposite. What you are making/rendering is not important – all the matters is how you are making/rendering it, and the tone and expression embedded in those choices.

In the evening, I did another little drawing practice and reflection in my sketchbook. I wound up thinking more about value here, which is not on the Eviston course arc, but I think I learned a lot. Some of the same principles apply in terms of starting by thinking simply in terms of very light and very dark and adding more complexity. I want to do more practice paying attention to value.

coffee table still life value practice

I also think it’s the case that it’s a fair bit trickier to figure out value with hatching and pen only. I think I want to try focusing more on using just wash to get that right; I should go back to the Dunn book on shading at some point though.