Back to Basics: a Drawing Workshop

The two-day workshop is designed for both intermediate-level artists to revisit and firm up their drawing foundations and for raw beginners to get off on the right foot toward sketching and drawing independence.

Through demonstrations and hands-on practicals, participants armed simply with pencil and paper will (re) discover the drawing process, value, light and shadow, negative space, proportion, perspective, and composition. In addition, my own emphasis will be on the reasons behind the basics, the problems of converting our three-dimensional world into a two dimensional medium, the interplay of the organics of graphite and paper texture, and pencil control to achieve highly defined details and effects that enhance the appearance of depth. The goal is for each participant to add skills and knowledge to their personal resources that will help them not only produce satisfying drawings, but also achieve a greater confidence in their own artistic expression.

About the instructor

Michael Henderson, Mendocino coast resident since 1977, finds artistic expression through a wide range of art media. He began sketching in his early teens and is mostly self-taught. Along with a few high school and college art courses, he has developed a working familiarity with such media as sculpture, ceramics, block printing, and photography. He has painted in acrylics and watercolor and drawn in graphite, charcoal, carbon, Conté crayon, India ink, and colored pencil. A former construction worker and now a full-time hardware store salesman, he produces several pieces each year in his spare time.

“Drawing is more about the artist’s relationship with the subject and mastery of the media used to render it than it is about documenting reality. It is a personal journey into the essence of seeing, and while there may be a drawing to be had at the end of it, the artist is changed in profound ways.”