Line Part 1

Of the seven basic elements of art, line is perhaps the most fundamental. Even when line is intentionally avoided, such as in some of the works of Leonardo Di Vinci, line is still heralded by the sort of brutal and exuberance avoidance of it.

Its importance is even acknowledge in common speak. If you encourage artistic effort in someone who does not see themselves with any art skill, they might say, “I can’t even draw a straight line.” I actually kind of laugh at that statement. Who cares about strait lines, the crooked squiggly ones are usually more interesting anyway. The point is that even a non-artistic person accepts the importance of line as a basic element of art.

Last Friday, we went to the Portland Museum of Art. They have many really nice pieces of art. We did not even make it to their American art section before my kids pooped out. But we did walk through their current animal display. I made my kids look at The Bull by Pablo Picasso. Eleven lines! What was even better is that in person, you can see the lines he erased. My kids pointed that out. It is the missing lines that actually demonstrate some of the philosophies and tenets of cubism in this drawing. These is something almost magical when you place a curved line next to a straight line.

Want to get better at art? Start drawing lines. Light ones, dark ones, squiggly ones, crooked ones, straight ones, curved ones, all different kinds of lines. You will be surprised by what you learn from such a simple exercise.