Mark making may seem like play, but if you have any doubts about the validity of this kind of exercise, take a close look at some great masters of the past. … Many artists will have an old pot scourer, toothpick or hat pin in their tool box which they have learned over the years makes a certain kind of mark.  Next time you are in a gallery pay special attention to the variety of marks used and note your discoveries in your learning log… Try doing this with the drawings below.

Two thatched Cottages with Figures at the window, Rembrandt

I hadn’t used the zoom in facility on the Bridgeman site before, so this was quite interesting for me to try.  This is a line drawing using pen and brown ink.  The range of mark making in this drawing is quite amazing.  There is a wide range of thin and thick marks, all used with varying degrees of pressure and changing direction all the time.  The thatched roof, for example has quite strong, deliberate marks, all going in the one direction, with squiggles for the ends of the sheathes.  The wood of the barn has fine cross-hatching and the foreground has very loose lines describing the land.  Put all together it is a lively sketch, but which has substance and describes the scene wonderfully.

The Raising of Lazarus, Caravaggio

In contrast, this is a tonal drawing rendered using pen and brown india ink and black chalk on brown paper.  This has a fantastic depth to it and it is fascinating to examine up close enough to see it is all made up with lines.  The buildings in the back ground really appear to be in the distance by the use of aerial perspective, while the figures in the foreground really come forward, where the tones are stronger. Their clothes are drawn with fine lines all going in the direction of the folds and creases. The craggy face of the mountain behind them is described with contour lines and the detail in the foreground is described by the use of fine lines for the grass.

Looking at this has made me more aware of how marks are made and has made me want to get right up close to paintings and drawings in galleries.  For example on the OCA Study Visit to the Two Roberts Exhibition, several of the paintings had marks made which appeared to be scratched on.  An example of this is ‘Weaving Army Cloth’ by Robert Colquhoun.  In the book of the exhibition it says; ‘…themes of grief seemed to come naturally to Colquhoun.  The mustard-yellows, browns and greens established a feeling of anguish, a sense reinforced by the scoring and scratching of the paint surface.’ (Elliott, 2014:33).

The Two Roberts, Robert Colquhoun & Robert MacBryde, Patrick Elliott, National Galleries of Scotland 2014