Gesture Writing

Drawing by master-draftsman  A. Watteau

Just read this article in The New York Times today, and fell in love immediately. I took an atelier-style drawing class for 2 years, and just like the author suggests, gesture drawing was a big part of that. There are quite a few things that the atelier-style method of training could teach beginning writers, but this exercise of trying to quickly capture the essence of a scene in bold, broad strokes is one of them. I hope to try it out sometime soon!

Also a good reminder that writing can only be improved by spending time around other types of art and artists--here's a link to the Met museum collection page for works by Antoine Watteau. A thumbnail of his drawing (to the right) is one of my favorites and manages to capture something about the essence of character, I think.