Exercise Four – Part One – Strokes
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When you start to get bored and want to clean your closet instead of finish the exercise, you’re about to break through the barrier of old habits and step into a world of new possibilities. This is a six-part exercise that will be presented over the next two weeks.
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The smudgy marks are the result of gluing the pieces of paper into a sketchbook using rubber cement thirty-three years ago. The cement turned brown and spoiled many of my drawings. You’ll see many of these marks in the samples I’ll be posting over the next few months. My old sketchbook filled with class assignments and samples is falling apart and can no longer be loaned to students or carried to workshops. Posting the exercises on this blog will be the final public appearance of these well-worn pages.
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Exercise – Part One:
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Purchase a ream of 65 lb. cover stock from an office supply store. Cut 25 sheets into one hundred 4.25″ x 5.5″ pieces. Using a brush (flat or round) and ink, make a single stroke on each piece of paper. Experiment, be daring, be rough, be gentle. Think of your brush as a musical instrument and explore the variety of expression it is capable of.
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When you have completed all of the one-stroke drawings, lay them out and choose your favorite four drawings. Save all of the drawings. lay them out again the next day and see if you choose the same four drawings as your favorites.