N - Lines note textures.

All through life, we learn about textures by touching and looking. Some textures are man-made, and some are natural. Some we feel. Some we see. Some we create.

Texture happens when our fingers feel surfaces. As we feel with our fingers, our vision and brain notice the details as velvet, sand, bark, sponge, netting, burlap, silk, flower petals, slick, rough, soft, hard, fur, or scales. Textures are noticed on everything, water and even clouds in the sky. I like to say the details of visual on everything to tease and entice us filling our visual mind  with the vast network of scenes we view and want to draw.

Krispy Textures watch on YouTube

We see textures due to light. Textures appear different depending on the way a surface reflects. When light reflects, shadows cast on ridges. On shining surfaces, there are no ridges so no shadows and light makes the surface look shiny. Less reflected light notes a smooth texture. Soft dull light denotes a matte texture. A surface reflects unevenly because any small broken ridges cast shadows to render as a rough texture.

All mediums define a different type of line in the size and shape. The arrangement of small lines note the textures we see on paper. Length, width, curves, and direction of lines build textures, which in our drawing can be weak, bold, powerful, slight, thick or spontaneous and the arrangement of small or large, thick or thin repeating lines of the same size makes a texture. The action of the mediums was brushing, stroking, dabbing, dripping, scraping, smearing blending, etc. create textures.

As artists, we navigate textures on surfaces of objects imitating reality. Textures narrate a story on the paper from freeform noise to neat designs, landscapes, or just fun non-objective lines to draw and see.

ASSIGNMENT for N: On pages 26 and 27 of our sketchbook or a fine piece of paper not too big or will take alone time, draw a rectangle on both sides of the pages to the edges. Two large forms divide the space. On the first-page draw shapes, do not touch; leave space around them. Make this exciting, add tension, use opposition. You can do this by putting down three large shapes or one to be dominant and others to balance the dominance, a trick to get viewers into the rectangle. Now add other forms, remember not to touch each other. Fill the area between the shapes with the same texture. 

The shapes should float in front of the texture, as seen a background much as in our everyday reality. 

On the other half of the paper, choose one shape, I love the triangle, but maybe a circle, square, or rectangle. Have this form overlapping and no space between them. Fill in the empty rectangle with your shape, make this unusual using opposition by overlapping, a trick you play on us, an optical illusion as we look at the drawing there is non-objective space, unreal.  FUN! It's a tease; it's a trick for the viewer which is exciting.

Send assignment via the 'ART for DRAWN LINES' message on this page. I will send the email address for you to include drawing, title with the letter N, which I will post on this blog.

Also, any comments, suggestions, other observations, or ideas are welcome. Art is to share; we are all artists and creative.