Chapter 33 - Eye Movement and Voluntary Control in Portrait Drawing

Abstract

In drawing portraits from life, the eye plays a central role as it is the means by which visual input is acquired from the external world, as well as the means by which the hand is guided as it draws, and the results are evaluated. This chapter explores painter's eye movements to establish the ground data required to understand the picture production process. Drawing from life entails eye movements from paper to model and back. Glancing at a model to acquire detailed visual information is best achieved with single and stable fixations. The information is then available in the painter's visual memory for about two seconds before needing to be refreshed, although in the advanced stages of the drawing, work may proceed for longer periods on the basis of the lines already existing on the paper. On the paper, the painter's fixations do not coincide with the pencil point but are located at a distance of half to one degree, and as the pencil moves, small saccades keep up with the line as it is being drawn. Closed-loop type situations may arise between the eye and the hand when the hand practices a line to be drawn without actually marking the paper, gradually honing in to its final position and direction.