"Seeing Noses"
by Bonnie Kelso

Gabbie Hirsch, UNLV Educational Outreach Art Instructor, was kind enough to give the Vegas Artists Guild a lesson on drawing noses at our November meeting. She began her lesson by holding up two large circular pieces of black paper side by side.

"This is NOT a nose," she said in perfect deadpan. With some cajoling, she raised the black circles to her head mimicking the Mickey Mouse motif. From that moment on, Gabbie continued to amuse us with her fabulous sense of humor, keeping the group in giggles interspersed with laugh out loud moments, while at the same time imparting valuable tips about drawing noses (tips, wings, bone, cartilage and all).

"Many people have trouble with noses because they are more architectural than the other parts of the face," explained Gabbie. As she dissected the parts for the nose for us, it became clear how complex a form the nose is and that every part should be studied separately in order to create a cohesive representation. She also revealed to us helpful techniques on foreshortening, and how to keep the features of the face in alignment. She discussed standard proportions, but emphasized that by taking special note of how the subject's face varies from the standards is what makes that person's face unique and recognizable as that person. She also described a technique of drawing the invisible structure. "If you draw what you can't see then erase it, you've accounted for it's presence," explained Gabbie.

Gabbie also discussed values and shading. By paying close attention to highlighting, shadow, cast shadow, and most importantly, reflected light, you will capture a more accurate representation. She explained how Leonardo Da Vinci was a master of this technique known as "sfumato," which in Italian means smoky or hazy. This describes the blurring and subtle blending of tones to create a natural effect. Even in dry-erase markers, Gabbie was able to expertly illustrate these techniques for us on a large scale so everyone could understand her instruction clearly.

"We are hard-wired to know a face as... ," Gabbie ended the sentence by drawing the classic smiley face. Laughter ensued as the second generation of the smiley face became a big-eyed frog and then, even better, morphed into a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle. She explained that this is why faces are so difficult to draw. "It's an emotionally loaded still life," she poignantly empathized. She suggested we study the subject more like a draftsman would to see the face and especially the nose more objectively.

The audience thanked Gabbie with a big round of applause. Her lesson was insightful and entertaining and we are lucky to have had her time for the evening. I can imagine how much fun her classes are!

Gabbie Hirsch is a Las Vegas artist and art teacher. For more information about Gabbie or her class schedule, refer to her website at www.lasvegasartsinaction.com.