Drawing

DEFINITION

Lines on a surface, usually paper, of shapes and forms, it creates distinguishing linearity. Drawing techniques vary widely with sharp delineation achieved with pencil and or pen/ink. Watercolor generally gives a more delicate effect, and more painterly effects can be created with wax crayon, chalk, pastel, and charcoal. Some drawings are the finished product, and others are sketches for a grander piece of work. It is said that one of the foundations of every civilization is drawing. In our modern world, ???every building, every car, every cardboard coffee cup was likely first a drawing on a piece of paper as a set of lines that would eventually form the architecture of our lives.??? (Maynard) On the seal of the Art Students League in Manhattan is the Latin motto "Nulla Dies Sine Linea", meaning "No Day Without a Line." (Rubenstein) American artists known for drawing include Chuck Close, Alexander Calder, Robert Cottingham, and Cy Twombly. Sources: Ralph Mayer, "A Dictionary of Art Terms and Techniques"; Edith Zimmerman, ???Sketchbook???, ???Drawing??? magazine, Spring 2006, p. 8; Ephraim Rubenstein, ???Drawing??? magazine, Spring 2006, p. 61; AskART database. <br><br>The act of marking lines on a surface, and the product of such action. Includes pencil, charcoal, pen and ink, conte crayon, markers, silverpoint, and other graphic media on paper.<br><br> Pencil, pen, ink, charcoal or other similar mediums on paper or other support, tending toward a linear quality rather than mass, and also with a tendency toward black-and-white, rather than color (one exception being pastel).