Vita Tractus Duos

This past week in Life drawing we began to look further at the impact of the contour line.  Similarly, we noted how gesture can be developed using varied pressure and speed.  This has helped me better understand how to create the feeling of movement.  This feeling of movement really is useful in tricking the mind into seeing something that is not actually occurring.

Particularly helpful was, drawing the sea shell form, and the early sketches of the human spine.  In drawing these preliminary drawings, we first needed to learn about the various sections of the spine:  Cervical, Thoracic, Lumbar and Sacral.  These regions were discussed as a means to find various landmarks for us as artists to follow, in order to accurately draw the human form.  Additionally we learned how many vertebrae are in each of these sections, the purpose for these sections, and how it connects to the larger part of the body.  Our professor had us practice drawing the spine from various angles and times in order to develop our senses to the movement and importance of the spine to our drawing of human form.  Initially this was frustrating because, the time was so limited that I thought my drawing wouldn't even look like a spine, however I was pleasantly surprised to see that the exercise focused my eye to the important information, rather than the whole form.

It was interesting to note how much the spine widens from top to bottom, and how truly severe the curve of it is.  Finally, I learned a great deal about the movement that can be generated in a drawing by close attention to the detail of the spine.  It is apparent that the rest of the body follows the movement of the spine, therefore solidifying its importance in the world of Life Drawing.

Darren M. Hosé