Bert Dodson - Keys to Drawing, 25th Edition

There is a scene in an old Western film in which Danny Kaye, as the hero, is challenged by a dangerous gunslinger to a shootout in the street. As he walks toward the saloon door and out into that street, well-meaning friends give him advice on his best chances of surviving. The sun's in the west so keep him to the east, says one old timer. He stands up tall, so squat down low, says another. Someone else advises, He shoots from his right, so lean to the left. Kaye desperately tries to remember these tips, but by the time he reaches the swinging doors, he is hopelessly confused, and we hear him muttering, The sun's up tall, so lean to the west he squats to his left so shoot down low he's east of his right so shoot at what's left

Drawing, if approached as a set of instructions that must be remembered, can make us react very much like Danny Kaye in the scene above. No one I know draws that way because it is difficult to keep such a jumble of instructions in mind while drawing. Simply remember there are many keys to drawing which you will find in this book. With use they will be absorbed into your own system of drawing. We cannot bring to bear all our knowledge at once. What we can do is concentrate on our subject and trust our eyes. Keys to Drawing essentially is learning to trust our eyes and learning different ways in which we can reinforce that trust. Drawing is primarily a process of seeing rather than strictly an application of principles. Other keys such as restating, visualizing,merging and mapping are really by-products of seeing put into the language of the artist. They can be learned gradually, at a comfortable pace.

In addition to trusting our eyes, the quality that most defines any of us as artists is curiosity. An artist I know recently found a dead duck. He took it back to his studio and made drawings of it. He studied the arrangement of wing feathers to better understand how the bird flew. He observed them under a blow dryer. He made studies of the legs and feet, noting their location well back on the body awkward for walking but perfectly suited and powerful for swimming. His drawings helped him understand ducks. For this artist, drawing is a means of satisfying scientific curiosity. I know other artists who will simply draw whatever strikes their eye, confident that even ordinary objects can make extraordinary subjects. Such artists are intrigued by the interplay of shapes, tones, and textures. For these artists, drawing satisfies visualcuriosity. Whether your curiosity is scientific, or visual, or both, the mere fact that you approach the world with wonder will impart to your drawings an authority and a beauty not otherwise obtainable.

Each chapter of Keys to Drawing contains projects designed to give the reader experience with the important keys under discussion. A review and project self-evaluation section is included at the end of each chapter. The projects are narrowly focused, limiting the number of problems to be solved at any given time. Some specifically call for awkward or unusual views of objects, cluttered compositions, or exaggerated reality. The object is not to produce handsome drawings but to introduce you to new ways of seeing and responding.

The examples included in this book embrace a variety of types of drawings quick gestures, thumbnail sketches, sketchbook studies, and full compositional drawings. Where photographs have been used as aids, that fact is indicated to avoid conveying any misleading impressions. Unless otherwise indicated, the drawings are by the author.

The chapters and projects are designed to be taken in sequence. However, believing as I do in serendipity, chance, and luck, I invite readers to follow any sequence which best suits them.