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The issue of drawing from life as compared to drawing from photos is one that comes up time and again. It's a conversation that I've had with many illustrators and one that can easily turn to debate. Personally I keep a foot firmly on either side of the fence, like a true artistic coward. My feelings are that learning to draw and to draw well, with personality and voice, is something that can only be done when drawing from life - making the process of transcribing 3 dimensions as 2, the artist's task. To learn by drawing from photographs removes too many of the core questions that I feel are at the heart of becoming a good drawist. However, I do feel that once a level of competence has been met, the artist can work from photographs - they have crafted their own voice and are able to apply it.
In my research into reportage illustration, the use of cameras to capture source materials is something that comes up time and again. It's a theme that could be used to divide the art form, in it's contemporary guise, into two distinct categories - those that do and those that don't. Two very prominent practitioners who could be said to expound the benefits of each approach, are Olivier Kugler (does) and Lucinda Rogers (does not). In her interview with Urbansketchers.org, Lucinda, talks about her process and particularly her reliance on location drawing: "How important is drawing on location for you? Is much of your work done at a desk? LR: None of the work is done at the desk: it's all made on site, directly in front of the subject. A drawing will take four to eight hours, sometimes more. I draw on site because it's just more interesting to be there on the spot. The response to something directly into my eye goes straight into the line on the page. The process is partly about the recording of a particular time. Things move, things change and sometimes the picture has to respond to that. With a photograph, the viewpoint and much else has already been decided for you, leaving little to re-interpret." Find some sort of example of Olivier Kugler talking about his process of drawing from his own photographs. Lucinda's work is about capturing a scene that whilst acknowledging the passing of time and movement, does convey, quite clearly, a particular scene or environment. Oliver's work is more abstracted and broad and often compiles a variety of view points and environments in one image, not unlike a comic with the gutters removed. In each instance, it's easy to see how the apposing approaches allows for and partially dictates the outcome. |
Vintage Camera by Christine Berry
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Double Take: Drawing & Photography
Drawing Room research papers published to coincide with Double Take, a two-venue exhibition exploring the relationship between drawing and photography, taking place at Drawing Room and The Photographers' Gallery, London. Artists at Drawing Room include Dove Allouche, Josh Brand, Tacita...
