Reilly Method in Drawing and Painting

Reilly Method of Use of Tone in Figure Drawing The first thing you studied in a Reilly class was drawing. Students worked on smooth newsprint paper using a No. 213 Wolfe carbon pencil or a 4B or 6B charcoal pencil. It was cut in half, so that you could use your entire arm and body to sketch, not only your fingers. The pencil was sharpened to a pyramid-shaped point with a single-edge razor blade so you could make several types of lines with it: hard or soft, thick or thin, and light or dark. These lines enabled you to express three dimensions on a two-dimensional surface. The soft lines defined boundaries on fatty, soft forms or on receding ones; the hard lines represented advancing forms or hard forms such as bones. The light lines defined edges of forms in the light, or forms that weren't essential to the drawing; the dark lines described edges in shadow or areas demanding attention. Thick lines were used for soft, large forms; thin ones for small, hard forms. This was the basic language of drawing-and you had to learn how to speak it before you could paint. Lines: Drawing straight lines and curve lines together creates good shape contrast. Lines can be broken down into three types (straights, “C” curves, and “S” curves). Tones: Tones can be broken down and simplified into four values and four edges. As in all art, it’s not an absolute but thinking in light and shadow (see Howard Pyle, Andrew Loomis) seems to be the key. Within both areas, there are two simplified values and if you stick with this “truth” it is a really good rule of thumb so that your drawings don’t become muddy or poorly unified. Light areas in a tonal study consist of White and Light grey. 

The darkest dark of a light area shouldn’t be darker than light grey.

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White Light grey

Shadow areas in a tonal study consist of Dark grey and Black. The lightest a light area should get in shadow is dark grey.  

Dark grey Black

Edges: Contrasting edges creates a much more pleasing tonal design. The different edges are:   

Hard, Firm, Soft and

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Lost. One facet of Reilly's teaching approach is his unique use of the Munsell Color Notation System in teaching traditional representational painting. One of the fundamental problems in representational painting is that the range of Value (light to dark), which can be seen in nature grossly, exceeds the range of values, which can be mixed with artist colors. Consequently a representational painter cannot copy the Values he sees, but rather translate what he sees he terms of the Values he can mix. Reilly taught how to effect this translation. Reilly taught that the values on the light and shadow sides of the object being painted must have the correct relationships in order to create an illusion of reality. And he stated the fundamental relationship as "white in shadow is darker than black in the light". This relationship can be observed again and again in the great master representation paintings. A logical question to ask is "how dark is white in shadow?". Reilly's answer in terms of the Munsell system is that it depends on the lighting conditions, in normal indoor form lighting white in shadow is at Munsell Value 4 and black in the light is at Value 4.5. From this relationship other can be developed such as Caucasian skin in shadow is at Value 3 (normal indoor form lighting). In fact Reilly developed a glossary of value relationships for form, front, back, and rim lighting; for painting the figure outdoors, landscapes under different weather conditions (grass in the sunlight is at Value Eight). 2

The Frank Reilly School of Art

Frank J. Reilly as a young teacher at the Art Students League.

Mr. Reilly when I knew him at the Frank Reilly School of Art. The teaching program of Frank Reilly consisted of communicating an accumulation of knowledge and skills beginning with the elementary and building to the complex. He primarily taught the craft of drawing and then painting the nude figure. Each step in his lectures followed logically upon the step that had been previously taught. His students moved forward in their learning with a degree of confidence as skills were accumulating. The lectures included drawings on a blackboard and always began with something humorous. We continued to attend lectures while in the painting class. There were no grades and the student decided the length of study. Mr. Reilly contracted to write four books that were neither completed nor published which is the reason for my undertaking this project. A complete survey of his program, if it existed, would be far more extensive. “The Frank Reilly School of Art” is an honest account of his teaching as I experienced it during the four years or so that I was his student and monitor during the 1960s. It accurately describes the substance of his teaching. - Doug Higgins DRAWING THE FIGURE The classes were from seven to ten o’clock each weeknight and included a ten-minute break every hour. The monitor who called the poses and kept order kept the time. After a pose was called students were not allowed to enter the room and disturb the class. The poses were five, fifteen and thirty minutes in length beginning with the fives. A nude model was on a model stand two to three feet high and the male models wore jock straps. 3

A floodlight was placed a few feet higher than the model and directed at about the center of the torso. The placement of the light was such that the entire figure was about 3/5 in the light for the forty or so students. There were three rows of seats and the row farthest back was elevated. Where the students sat depended on arrival time and preference. The monitor sat in the middle of the first row. We drew on 9″ x 12″ sheets of loose, smooth newsprint or tracing paper, with a kneaded eraser within easy reach. The paper was secured by a clip at the top of a masonite support. Using a razor blade and fine sandpaper, we fashioned a chisel edge on a 4b or 6b charcoal pencil which kept its shape due to the way it was used during drawing… DRAWING INSTRUCTION Hold the charcoal pencil thumb up swinging the wrist and arm to create a graceful line and rest the fingers lightly on the paper. When holding the pencil as if writing and moving the fingers, it can be moved only a few inches but when holding the pencil thumb up and moving the wrist, the range of motion is greatly increased. I began to think of drawing as similar to dance… Sit with the drawing at a 45 degree angle supported on the back of a chair…

The pencil is in motion before it hits the paper (sometimes with a few mid-air test swings). Draw in a downward motion initially using the “fat” portion of the charcoal for a light wide line. Twist the pencil and use the edge for a sharper, darker line or tip up to the point. MR. REILLY’S SIX LINE FIGURE The six line figure is not the way to draw, it’s the way to think… This was the basis for the six lines. By noting their changing positions, no matter what the pose, you could describe the action of the figure in the simplest terms. A system of forms and planes was also involved. After you found the six lines, you'd put in the 4

largest forms, then the largest planes on these forms, gradually working down to the smallest forms and planes, always careful not to lose the action.

The axis, #4, is an imaginary line through the center of the figure which appears to be straight when viewed from the front. Side view…

The abstract figure becomes more life-like as anatomical features are added… Mr. Reilly’s six line abstract figure is the way I was taught to think about the relationships of the various parts and proportions of the figure when drawing. I would initially visualize the abstraction and draw with a wide light line and then, as the drawing progressed, adjust more closely to the forms of the model. As I became more certain of placement the lines became darker and more committed…

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One great difficulty is the tendency to, ‘tack things on.’ Which is to say, parts of the figure are added to parts already established and the relative lengths and placements are misstated, (frequently due to the model moving). This was overcome by imagining the abstraction and ‘seeing through’ to visualize attachment points, the lengths of body parts and their positions in relation to one another. It was not necessary to ask the model to move to the original position.

BEGINNING A DRAWING In a standing pose with the weight on one leg, I knew about where the head was, the feet and the center of the figure so I began with these, (known quantities). Related to the head, I knew about where a thrust out hip was, the other hip in relation to this, the angle of the shoulders, (with the rib cage), and so on…

RELATIONSHIPS

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Action is the direction of the movement of the figure; initially established with a wide, light line. A line comes from somewhere and goes somewhere. I formed the habit of constantly looking for relationships when drawing, making certain every line was in relationship to something else. By first indicating the head, then the center, (crotch), and then the base, I didn’t draw from the top down and hope the feet would be on the page. A drawing isn’t exact so mistakes were made on the side that would help, eight heads high instead of seven, for instance. The word relationship in this context means that the position of everything on the figure was found by finding imagined connections. The diagram shows many of the relationships in this particular pose…

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“Relationship” was the word most used by Mr. Reilly, (drawing and painting) and was key to placement, shape, balance, proportion and structure. STRUCTURE Structure is the outside and anatomy is the inside. Planes…top, bottom, front, sides of a form. Proportion, perspective, weight and balance. Drapery (clothing) as it explains the structure underneath. DRAWING IDEAS Don’t copy. Only put down a form that is related to something. Draw, ‘big to small.’ A drawing is an explanation of the light. Use confident lines. Eliminate lines that don’t explain an action. A line should flow, be accurate and graceful.

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There are no points or right angles on the figure. Never draw piecemeal, (draw a face around a nose). Avoid monotonous lines, (parallel). Consider negative shapes. The voids between body parts and the figure itself. Begin a drawing with light, thick lines. Be economical with lines. Draw the action lines (idea) first then draw the forms in conformity to the action lines. Avoid anatomy until later stages of a drawing. SIX LINE FIGURE IDEAS

With draw

practice, I was able to imagine and the abstract figure in any position…

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We were instructed to practice shapes in order to learn control. Round, large on the bottom, large in the middle etc. and drawn from the top down…

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When drawing, do the longest relationships first, then smaller.

progressively

Relationship choices change with the pose. Here is one set of

choices…

Arm to opposite leg. Arm to opposite arm. Arm to itself. Station points on the abstraction are where lines intersect or at a

known quantity…

FORM

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Form can be… Opaque. transparent. Translucent. Has texture… Glossy. Matte. Nap. First shapes – Outside shapes. Second shapes – Large Shapes. Third shapes – Small shapes that further explain the second. This illustration shows possible relationships in this particular view. I would observe the model and find relationships that fit the pose…

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Forms are convex (unless pressing against a solid). Relate every symmetrical form to it’s corresponding form; eyes, breasts, hips, arms, legs, etc. Keep the outside shape simple. Small forms are in sympathy with large forms that are with the action.

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HANDS “A hand can easily look like a bundle of sausages.” – Frank Reilly. Learn the shapes of knuckles, pads, ligaments, and other characteristic forms…

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The above are samples of the many hand drawings I’ve done from the George Bridgman books. George Bridgman was Mr. Reilly’s drawing teacher at the Art Students League. Learning structure and anatomy allows the artist to further shape what is seen on the model. The books by George Bridgman are good sources for the anatomy of the entire figure. DRAPERY Art school drapery studies. The cowboy and the man sunglasses are from photographs…

with the

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When drawing a figure with clothing, be conscious of form, action and tailoring. Think of supporting surfaces, gravity, pull points and structure based on the six line abstraction. Drapery is used to design a figure and is mostly fairly straight lines and the shapes of folds is generally triangular. Keep drapery on the form underneath…

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HOLDING A LOCAL

This demonstration piece shows a White, a Gray and a Black cube. These are their local values. The White cube is lightest in the light and the shadow, the Gray cube is intermediate in the light and the shadow and the Black cube is darkest in the light and the shadow. These relationships remain constant on the three visable planes of the three boxes. The cast shadows do not change. A simple way to say this is that… a White box will not be Black on the shadow side. Holding the relationships of the values (and color) true in both the light and the shade is called…’holding a local’. ADDITIONAL TOPICS COVERED IN THE BOOK CONNECTORS Twist Joints ANATOMY Muscle groups Bones and muscles of the head FORESHORTENING Light and shade Shadows are… PROBLEMS PLANES Procedure 17

Planes of the head FEATURES OF THE HEAD PERSPECTIVE One point perspective Two point Perspective Three point perspective PICTURE MAKING Tipping Overlapping Black, white and gray backgrounds General abstract ideas Color abstraction Color choices Composition ideas MUNSELL COLOR WHEEL Simplified color wheel FIGURE PAINTING Art school palette and supplies Color charts Required paint, their values and chromas Yellow/red chart Wash-in for figure painting Lay-in Order of importance Order of doing 18

Edges Steps A figure painting is most dependent on… Effect Complexion Graduations and progressions Finishing LANDSCAPE Types of illumination Four light conditions Palette Range Atmosphere Landscape color Recession Sky Clouds Trees Water Mountains ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS To Frank J. Reilly, my undying gratitude for lighting the way and providing an excellent example of how to live a life. Rudy Hornish had been a professor of English at Seton Hall University before he came to work at the Prudential Insurance Company where I first met him. We both became New York actors and stayed in touch over the years. Rudy eventually became an Executive Producer with Paramount Pictures. Thank you, my friend, for your guidance and encouragement. 19

Charles Movalli, is the editor of number of fine art books and former contributing editor to American Artist Magazine. Charles is an accomplished and gifted artist as well and a friend. Thank you for your helpful and needed editorial advice and content suggestions. Candido Rodriguez had been the monitor of the drawing class when I first enrolled in the Reilly School. He has been of great assistance, supplying me with details missing from my Art School notebook. My appreciation to Susan McGarry, former editor-in-chief of Southwest Art magazine who began this project by suggesting I write an artist statement and recommending a list of possible headings. And, for your interest, thank you! My great hope is that you are finding my books worthy of your time and of assistance. Fare well! 

Doug Higgins

John Innis Blog about Reilly Methods

Edges Edge modeling is an essential ingredient to successful representational painting. The first thing I look for is what Reilly called the "Big Blur". Where does the subject blend into the atmosphere? Look for areas where the value on the subject is nearly the same value as the adjacent background and obliterate the edge. This is your softest edge. Go to the light side and look for the main (light) effect, the focal point in the light. Establish your hardest edge here. All other edges can vary between these two extremes. Hard edges help project the form toward the viewer, and soft edges help make the form recede. I use edge-modeling as a design tool to control the viewer's visual path around the painting. From Reilly's notes: Edge Modeling is basically a skill, without it no painter excels. It helps to create atmosphere, putting the model in the room, existing in space. It relates the form to the background. It heightens the effect of light on the subject. It aids selective looking. It is done at every stage, Wash-in, Lay-in, Painting. The diagram below illustrates the variety of edges and the process for softening edges of varying hardness. The two strokes of paint adjacent to each other represent a hard edge. A slightly softer edge can be made by dragging a clean brush over the border of where the strokes meet. To create an even softer edge, take a clean brush and zig-zag the brush, pulling paint into the adjacent areas all along the length of the stoke. Then with a 20

clean brush softly brush down over the zig-zag creating the soft transition. When the size of the area to be softened exceeds the width of your biggest brush, lay in a half-tone value, and brush the light into the halftone and the halftone into the shadow using the technique described.

Bert Dobson quote I want to find myself using the intuitive and analytical modes alternatively in the course of a drawing and at appropriate times. Feb 6, 2012

I heard Helen van Wyk state this quote yesterday and I find it again today. So this is the message for the day:

I will take a look this afternoon at the drawings of: Edgar Degas Toulouse-Lautrec And others 21

To

determine

whose

handwriting I admire and then proceed to print out and copy it as per project 2 from Bert Dobson’s book. On this page is all good stuff

from Dobson.

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Bert Dobson refers to lost edges as“merging.” Four Ways to Create Depth in a Drawing:

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And now for something I don’t do but am trying to learn to do.

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This is a concept I need to understand and be able to replicate without thinking. Its imaging cylinders in space. 25

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