This technique creates the illusion of both tone and depth. This variation of tone is almost entirely obtained through the use of line contour.įorm contour lines, being the primary foundation of lithographic prints, are lines that flow across the form. Standing at a distance, a lithographic image will produce a similar range in tones one would encounter within a photograph.
#EXAMPLE OF CONTOUR LINES IN ART FULL#
Artists created a full range of tones using line alone (although eventually techniques of lithography allowed for tonal washes using a chemical process). Examining the technical feats of these 18th-century lithographic prints is awe-inspiring. Once lithographic printing took root, the art of rendering with line contour evolved to new heights. As a result, this wonderfully constructed rendering technique, previously a mere scaffolding, became the beautiful visage of the masterwork itself. For the most part, lithographic lines borrowed from previously developed methods used in sketch studies. This groundbreaking method of reproduction demanded the application of complex line techniques. The image was transferred to paper by being sent through a machine that would press the ink onto the page. Lithography involved carving lines into a plate which would hold ink. Lithographs were first created as a cheaper means of producing literature however, it didn’t take long for the process to evolve and become a tool for artists to produce and distribute artwork. This advanced style of form-contour line rendering was not witnessed in ‘masterworks’ until the invention of lithographic printing. The technique evolved as a process used to study forms these drawn studies would ultimately be used as elemental tools to assist the creation of painted masterworks. It is unfortunate that during its inception, this method of rendering was rarely seen by the contemporary general public. The following drawings represent an example of this type of meditative contour drawing that will become a tool that I could then take to my large scale oil paintings of gardens.Form-contour line rendering has a long history of artistic use (as can be seen in the examples above showing classical figure studies). And following Hockey’s thinking my eyes could ache after I had finished a large drawing with definite lines and spaces. When I followed along the outer edges of the petals and stems my mind became quickly meditative. My contour lines became an exercise of intense concentration and observation. I often sat in the garden my husband took exceptional care of and slowly and deliberately drew the lines of flowers. My drawings do make me see things more clearly. It was the process that was important.ĭavid Hockney, the British artist, once said “Drawing makes you see things clearer, and clearer and clearer still, until your eyes ache.” Hockey’s words resonate with me. Maybe, just maybe these lines made me see what the professor was saying. I am not sure where they came from but there was a need to make marks on a white surface. My lecture notes and the pages of the text book soon filled with definite, contour lines from somewhere deep inside the recesses of my mind.
My hand would sub consciously grasp a pen. Thinking back to my university days I often picked up the rhythm of the professor’s voice during lectures. Every inch of those walls were covered with lines, squiggles and circles. At night I drew all over my bedroom walls. I used leftover blackboard chalk on the schoolyard pavement. Most days after school I drew on my grandfather’s thin yellow typing paper with a stubby pencil and an eraser that did not erase. I drew in the wet sand on the beaches of Okanagan Lake.
Some of my earliest memories are of drawing.
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