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| Schlesinger, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons |
About the art of
drawing, the master American painter Andrew Wyeth once said: I love the quality
of pencil. It helps me to get to the core of a thing. Yes, pencil drawing
is the core art. Here we shall discuss the landscapes. Drawing mountains and
riverbanks is technically a not-so-difficult job. The beginner artist may find
it difficult. But this belief that pencil drawing is so difficult is
totally incorrect. Your precise persuasion of the art of drawing, and your
constant company with the paper and pencil, can make a big difference.
While working with
a pencil, the most essential is that you determine the exact linings of
the whole scene. The outlines. Shapes and proportions are important. While
drawing mountains and rivers, which are at a distance, we should consider all
the principles of linear perspective. We should give weightage to the aspect of
the distance, as the mountains are not standing side by side like soldiers on a
parade ground. Does this look like great words? In fact, it does! Let me make
it simpler. Here you would find some easier ways to get near to perfection.
The first thing we
should get our weaponry assembled in a bag, or in a sack or in a suitcase, and
then go to the countryside. A weekend would be a good slot time for that. In
addition to this, you will need a set of artists' grade pencils, three fine
erasers, a lot of not-so-costly drawing papers, and a heart--full of
aspirations. This much will do.
How to Sketch
Mountains The first important aspect
we should remember while drawing or sketching a natural scene is the factor of
'eye-line. In plain and innocent words, the 'eye line' is the line where
we can see the land and the sky meet. You can also set your own eye line, an imaginative
horizontal line that makes the whole artwork nearer to the eyes of the viewers.
The second important aspect of a drawing or a painting, especially in landscapes, is
the vanishing point. It's an important word, but not as great a word as it looks.
In simple words, the vanishing point is the spot on canvas where your eyes are
led to a single point. And after reaching there, you get a spot from which a
complete feel of the painting is created. Have an example. If we are standing
near an outgoing pair of railway lines, the vanishing point is at the dot where
the two rails seem to be one.
Now the physic is
over. The art starts. If you want to
create the real feel of the space in your drawing, just imagine that you are
not drawing the mountains or riverbanks. Instead, you think that you are to
draw the negative spaces, the spaces not occupied by the objects. It helps you
not to get confused about the strange shapes of some objects like trees in
distance or the boulders lying on the riverbed.
You can be at a place that is situated anywhere on the earth. Let us imagine you are in Europe.
You would not need any visa for imaging. Okay. Why in Europe? The continent of
Europe is a vast area full of natural beauty. The artists of all time
have used these rich resources of European land. This beautiful land has high
mountains with snow-covered peaks and furiously flowing rivers in all directions. These mountains provide us with a good opportunity for drawing,
shading and painting.
Now let us look at
the above pencil drawing. It is a really good example of learning pencil art.
The work of shading is marvellously depicted here. Look at the direction from
which the light is falling on one side of the mountain peaks. While doing a
pencil drawing the concept and effect of light falling on the objects is
crucial. Here in this drawing, the mountains which are near are drawn with
details. Those which are at a distance are not carrying many details.
The nearer mountains are shaded with darker pencils, as the sunlight is in the opposite
direction. And as for those mountains which are at a distance, lesser details
are put into that area of the drawing. Once you get the perfect idea about the
falling of the sunlight, it would be easier to follow the inspiration
thereafter.
Farm and Farmhouse
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| Unknown authorUnknown author, Drawing of Saighton Lane Farm - Cheshire, England |
How to Draw Farms and Farmhouses Look at the above pencil drawing. Wow. It is a vast and broad
pencil drawing. In this piece of art, the artist has tried depicting the exact
feel of the countryside. If we look at the drawing for a few minutes, we can
feel that we are in the midst of the scene. That is what a landscape artist
does. Making us feel the scene.
I can pinpoint four main characteristics of this pencil drawing. They
are like this.
- The architectural
details of the farmhouse are drawn and shaded with precision and due
care.
- The lining
work is a noteworthy one.
- The main thing to be remembered while drawing such a natural scene is the choice of
the size of the paper.
- The pencil
drawing of a natural scene is bound to be wider than the usual drawing.
Remember: the main thing to be learned while drawing such a natural scene
is the choice of the size of the paper. Take it for granted that, while drawing a
landscape you will need a wider space. So, the wider scale. If you prefer, the
initial sketching and lining work will be of good help. It is also an important
factor. This would decide how the final drawing would be looking.
Essential Shading After the lining work is completed, an artist can proceed to
do the shading work. The trees and buildings standing on the farmhouse would
require proper shading. The artist should know about the side from which the
sunlight is coming. Naturally, the shading would follow the direction of
sunlight. Those parts of the objects facing the sun would be shaded lighter.
The parts which do not face the sun would be shaded darker.
About the farmhouses, they do not stand in isolation. There would be some
mountains or other objects in distance. Sure. To create a feeling of
reality in an artwork, these objects should be drawn. Objects which are far
away would take lighter shading and lesser details than the nearer objects.
Some art lovers go for pleasure, and some go for rescuing themselves from
the monotony of their life. But art is an inner aspect, making us enjoy real
pleasure in our life. However, the artists strive for finding the subjects.
They always keep roaming for finding the subjects of their choice. There
can be no better place than the countryside for getting the subjects to draw
and paint. For drawing the countryside, in addition to your regular luggage,
you will need bus fare. Nothing more.
If you are a beginner in the art of painting and drawing, the pencil
drawing of the countryside, the farms and farmhouses, could be very much of
helpful. It is because the person who has just started learning the art of drawing
would not find himself or herself in difficulty while drawing the farms. It is
because these drawings require fewer details, as they are stationed at a
distance.
The objects of farm and the farmhouses, rivers and mountains, are bound to
remain at a considerable distance from our eyes. While drawing the same, we
have to catch the intrinsic anatomy of the scene, meaning whether it is morning
or evening. It is important to know the season. It could be the winter or the
summer.
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| A Drawing of Castle of Amboise-by Leonardo da Vinci 1518 |
Tips for Drawing Landscapes When we look at the vast area of the earth
before our eyes, we would see all the colours of the rainbow. It would seem
almost impossible to draw all the shades and colours by using just the tip of the
pencil lying in our set of tools. But we can do one thing to ease this problem.
We can think about the colours in the terms of black and white only. We can
make it easier by taking a photo of the scene to be painted and then transferring it into a black-and-white photo with the help of the Photoshop program. This
photo could be a good guide to understanding the hues and colours of the landscape.
