DRAWING THE MALE PORTRAIT

CONSTRUCTION and abstraction methods WITH RON LEMEN

Lecture Notes:
1. Tools for Drawing
The artist has two sets of tools to work with when constructing a drawing. The first set of tools are physical; the pencil, paper, eraser,
pen, caliper, etc. These tools have physical properties and certain idiosyncrasies that require development of muscle memory. The
second set of tools are mental by nature and have to be understood to utilize them to your benefit. These are measuring devices,
shading and editing tools. In order to shade, one must squint or reduce their vision to see a limited range of tones and details to
render. Other examples would be composition devices, perspective tools, color theory tools etc. With a thorough understanding of
both sets of tools the artist has an unlimited range of choices to make when deciding how to render a moment, person, place, etc.
and how to change or fix errors when made.

2. Procedure
Before starting to draw, the artist should decide how to procede with his/her image–a game plan or plan of action to go through
for completing the picture. With a procedure, the drawing can be built in controlled stages and each stage can be monitored for
errors without confusion of doing too many things at once, and this is the most important reason for sticking with a process and
learning it through and through. A process might be as follows:
1. Thumbnail the finished image to come-simple map of the final drawing to come Illustrating whatever you will want to control
or what you find most important to the image.
2. Construction stage-this is where all the hard measuring and mapping is done.
3. Shading flat tones for shadows and dark shapes-this stage “turns on” the lights for the artist to develop the 3D form.
4. Gradation stage-this stage is the form stage, the part of the drawing that builds up the realistic representation of what we
are drawing.
5. Fine tuning Stage-this is the stage where we add highlights, accents, tighten down on the focus, add sharpness, lose area,
this is the thoughts and feelings we had for what we are drawing, this is where we look back at our thumbnail and decide
whether we stuck with what we should have or need to change the overall feeling to recapture that first thought.

3. Drawing Approaches
The act of drawing has several different approaches to completing an image. Understanding this is important so we don’t confuse
ourselves with what our outcome is and how to achieve it. Five different approaches I have learned and observed are as follows:
• Construction Method
• Abstraction Method
• Observational Drawing
• Sight Size Drawing
• Naturalistic Drawing
Each method has its own functions, benefits and shortcomings. As an artist, one should learn a method and stick with it as long
as it takes to thoroughly memorize the approach, and all that it can do for the artist before abandoning it or moving on to a more
natural way to work. Naturalistic drawing is from the gut and uses tools learned in drawing but in no particular order. A very
confident way to work for sure.

4. Letting GO!
Procedure is best described as something to help assist a student in the educational process or something to help keep an artist
on track towards a productive and systematic finish. I like to use procedure when I teach, and I use it when I am in a hurry, but I
try, as an artist finding a voice, a way that satisfies my personal needs to abandon certain rules towards a personal chaos that will
result in a different outcome. In other words, I let go. Why?...Why not–sports players learn the rules, the cheats, how far some-
thing can be taken before causing harm or penalization–why can’t an artist do the same with his learning process? In fact, that is
what one should try every waking moment one is not producing until one feels secure doing it towards finishes. For this to work
successfully, one must thoroughly learn a process. When letting go, do not forget your goals, and strive for the best interpretation
of your thoughts and the most thoughtful way of conceiving them–don’t get sloppy just because.

©2009, The Gnomon Workshop

All Rights Reserved www.thegnomonworkshop.com
 DRAWING THE MALE PORTRAIT
CONSTRUCTION AND ABSTRACTION METHODS WITH RON LEMEN
5. Other Thoughts
Rendering is not adding details, it is making a form more form driven. A cylinder better rendered looks more cylindrical. Details
are detailing, not rendering. A drawing can be taken too far, and if there is no end goal in sight for the drawing, the drawing could
very well slip into an over rendered direction.
Try and draw from life as much as possible. Photos lose information that can be spotted by a well trained artist immediately. Draw-
ing from photos is not a bad thing, but balance it with life drawing too.
The way you sit can change the way you draw. Learn to draw with good posture as a piano player must learn to play with good
posture to maximize the effectiveness in their performance.
Enjoy your time creating. As many rules as there are to learn there is equal pressure in learning to stay calm, relaxed, and enjoy the
experience otherwise the rules and your anger will choke the creative process and banish the fun from ever happening. Remember
as you learn why you chose to do this in the first place and never forget that.

©2009, The Gnomon Workshop

All Rights Reserved www.thegnomonworkshop.com