Gestural drawing: a quick study -

"Mick's Glasses"
pencil sketch by Mick Mather

Last week I participated in Career Day at one of our local High Schools. My presentation was a general discussion of drawing & illustrating by hand vs computer generated work and how both relate to individual fields in real life. Such as: graphic art, design, architecture, illustration and fine art, to name a few. Each student was encouraged to take pencil and paper and do a quick study of the coffee cup I was drinking from that morning. When they turned the tables on me I said, "okay, what should I draw?" Their answer was, "how about your glasses." Above is the scan of that very fast sketch, used as an example of the difference between a sketch, a working drawing, a preliminary study and a finished work of art. They seemed amazed that it was "okay" to just scribble out something in less than 30 seconds as I went on to tell them that, "this method of letting yourself go will accomplish a few things, not the least of which is a much more interesting, fluid and loose drawing style compared to something restrictive and tight." You can see another, manipulated version of this drawing at MickMathersARTblog.