“Faites des lignes. Faites beaucoup de lignes.”

Inspired by Picasso The Line exhibition (through January 8, 2017) at The Menil in Houston and Imagining Backwards:  Seven Decades of Picasso Master Prints McClain Gallery (through October 29), our classwork including doing line drawings, learning to make our own mark.  Trying to make a continuous line using different marking techniques and not looking at the paper, was an interesting exercise.  In fact, I've used one of my drawings twice as cards to send to friends for birthday and get well by adding watercolor.

Here was my first attempt in class --

Kangaroos feeding in the Australian Bush
India Ink and stick, charcoal, graphite, Conte crayon

Then a few days later, I woke up at 3:44 AM, went out to the kitchen table, grabbed my sketchbook and started drawing a slightly wilted vase of sunflowers in front of me.  Each variation I started my line at a different place on the paper, as indicated by the arrow.   I even tried drawing with my left (non-dominant) hand!

(I did look while drawing this)
Perhaps I can draw better left-handed?!

Outlined with Micron pen

Using Tombow 977 Saddle Brown
over graphite tracing from
Enlarged copy of first drawing

________
Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres - 1780 – 14 January 1867) French Neoclassical painter. 
(This was his advice to a young Degas who had announced he wanted to become a painter)