When you, as a child, first picked up a crayon, a line might have been the first mark you make. You use lines to write numbers, symbols, and the letters of the alphabet. The lines on a map help you find the best route from one place to another. You use lines to draw pictures.
▲ You can see lines in the grain (纹理) of a piece of wood or in the cracks on a sidewalk. You can see lines outside a building or in the field. Lines are used to create words, numbers, and symbols. They are also used to create art. In drawing, line is an element (要素) of art that is the path of a moving point through space.
Artists use lines to lead your eyes through a work of art. They create lines in many ways. A line can be drawn on paper with a pencil or scratched into wet clay with stick. Depending on its direction, a line can express different ideas or feelings. This is why line is an important element in the language of art.
Lines are used to express different images in Chinese calligraphic drawing. The word calligraphy means beautiful handwriting. In China, calligraphy is used to form characters (汉字) that represent the language. However, characters are more than just a letter of the alphabet. They are like pictures. They can represent an idea, an object, or a verbal sound. Calligraphic lines are usually made with brushstrokes that change from thin to thick in one stroke. To make a very thin line, artists use the tip of the brush. As you press on the brush and more of it touches the paper, the line becomes wider. (See the painting on the right, the long, flowing leaves of the orchid [兰花] plant in the rocks are made with one flowing brushstroke. )
Now practice making calligraphic lines with ink or watercolor paint. Use brushes, both thin and thick, to draw a leaf or a vegetable with lines.
