Domingo Manera - A Complete Guide to Drawing

Prehistoric painting found in the caves of Lascaux.

At first, we have to consider drawing as an art whose purpose is to represent on a surface the figure of an object, whatever the technique used. Using products of fantasy, it also serves to express moods and spirituality, based on appropriate symbols. Its possibilities are enormous. Its language, like that of music, can be considered universal. Now, every artist must have a technique that he will learn through a series of progressive exercises and wich, in general, are within reach of everybody; but it also needs to be endowed with the artistic qualities to capture, represent and, if possible, create beautiful works. These qualities are not acquired, they are, by definition, innate.

The drawing appears to be linked to the human being from time immemorial and it would not be risky to affirm that the first trials of men in the art of drawing are part of the first cultural manifestations of humanity. The term to draw comes down to describing with extreme meticulousness, what the human word, above all things and despite its immense greatness, cannot express. That is why we can also speak of drawing as a revelation, insofar as it can make us perceive recondite aspects of things. It is, sometimes, an escape valve for certain personal experiences that arise spontaneously through the features of the drawing, when this is not limited to being a simple natural copy of an object. Not in vain we give so much importance to the drawings of children because of their psychological content in the purest humanist line.

Within the panorama of the Fine Arts, drawing occupies a position of preference where ever the layout of the spaces is something fundamental; for this reason it is irreplaceable in architecture, sculpture and painting, with the exceptions that may be imposed by non-figurative painting or sculpture, which, however, can benefit from its expressive possibilities by applying the canons of linear perspective and a sense of relief with the appropriate play of light and shadows.

A simple trait on paper or a fortuitous spot can evoke images or arouse emotions. There is an easy explanation because our memory does not archive complete things in all their details and many of them can be completely muted. Looking at some vague strokes one can receive a definite impression, not because of the same traits but because of what the person affects deep inside. One can thus see a conjunction of possibilities that non-figurative art entails. One of the most attractive aspects of art is, precisely, this power to open up new horizons to the contemplation of the human spirit. When art offers us a structured image, complete and indisputable, it arouses the emotion of the sense of beauty in front of the perfect, or the veneration in front of the beloved, like portraits, historical facts or hagiographic representations. But when the artistic work breaks the boundary of the figure, it stimulates our fantasy and throws the imagination into other areas, so great that the human word is often unable to express it.

In front of a drawing we are not content with the simple external formal perfection, which after all is the result of a mechanical, a technique perhaps sharpened by an accurate sense of observation. We always want to see in it the presence of spirituality, something indefinable, which is the splendour of the flame of personal genius. An elementary figure at first sight, it can contain a huge expressive load and a great deal of spirituality, while the surcharge with which many craftsmen decorate their works can drown with their foliage authentic great flames. We always want to see, then, the fusion of the two elements: mastery and material perfection in the drawing and the stamp of personal originality that comes directly from the true artist.

Perfect drawing is the work of geniuses but geniuses do not abound. There is no need to wait, then, for an abundance of perfect works in the domains of art. All in all, drawing is an art in which all temperaments can participate as means of personal expression, which although they do not reach great heights, do not lack interest. For everything that expresses human experiences has immediately a certain interest. And even if it is not used as a vehicle for personal expansion, there is always the possibility of evaluating, analysing, tasting and assessing the content of artistic works produced by others better equipped or more determined. Many people have spent unforgettable moments, pencil in hand, letting their fantasy run over the cardboard, or contemplating what others have expressed. Children, on the other hand, do so with enviable ingenuity and spontaneity.