Studio Brief 1 - What is drawing? LINE QUALITY

FUNCTIONALITY OF LINE
This weeks studio task focused on line quality and the application of line in image making. Considering Andrew Loomis' primary functions of line (1947), the process of drawing with line became more informed for me and my experimentation with line seemed to achieve new marks in line with this.

The seven primary functions of line:

1. To convey it's own intrinsic beauty
2. To divide or limit an area or space
3. To delineate a thought or symbol
4. To define form by edge or contour
5. To catch and direct the eye over a given course
6. To produce a grey or tonal gradation
7. To create design or arrangement

The primary focus of the drawing task seemed to relate to Loomis' function of conveying a line's 'own intrinsic beauty', a beauty which could then be employed to achieve Loomis' other functions.

Creating a range of lines in a selection of tools produced a wealth of line qualities that could be employed in more developed drawings. Working with brush and ink seemed to offer the most interesting lines as the action of brush on paper continued to vary in outcome and the tapering of these lines achieved a sense of fluidity that pen and pencil could not create. I did fine that the line quality created by chinagraph pencil was lovely in its texture and varying tone. The crayon-like mark seems to create a juvenile aesthetic and holds so much charm. The range of line qualities produced by this experimentation with media and process unveils the breadth of aesthetics and moods that can be manipulated by line quality. The two drawings below illustrate this variety in the contrast achieved in the application of one media.

 

Both drawings were made using ink and dry brush, the first using a broader, slightly wetter brush and the second using a stiffer, dryer brush. Both achieve a texture and tonal gradation through the pressure and action of the brush, the dryness of the brush creating a delicateness that supports a more sensitive aesthetic and perhaps a more muted message or function. Line quality here demonstrates the ability to manipulate the volume and mood of an image and the aesthetic curiosities offered by certain line qualities.