Schemata and Drawing Mastery

My thesis is concerned with the ability to draw realistically from imagination, without observation or reference. I investigate artists such as George Bridgman and Kim Jung-Gi, whose work highlights this extraordinary ability, and develop an understanding of the drawing process in terms of function of schemata in artistic depictions. My thinking is guided by work in psychology, namely Leon Lou’s writings on the artist’s “innocent eye,” as well as by the art-historical theories of E.H. Gombrich in Art and Illusion. I suggest that, apart from obvious factors of technical skill and experience, the ability to spontaneously create convincing drawings from imagination is rooted in fluency with pictorial schemata. To demonstrate my thesis, I perform “live drawings” in which I draw from my imagination with ink tools. My intent is to demonstrate that even with limited skill and experience, an intuitive understanding of how schemata and pictorial effects function in the drawing process makes it possible to draw convincingly from imagination.

 

Time-lapse drawing of human skull from imagination, ink on paper

Time-lapse drawing of carp from imagination, ink on paper

Drawing of human skull from imagination, ink on paper

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sector C

Advisors: Matt Freedman (FNAR), Ian Verstegen (VLST)