David A. Dozier, Artist
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BLACK & WHITE DRAWING

The Slant Line Technique of
Rudolf Steiner and Assia Turgenieff

The Slant Line, or Shaded Drawing technique was developed out of suggestions and directions given by the Austrian philosopher and founder of Waldorf Education, Rudolf Steiner(1864-1926), to one of his students, Assia Turgenieff (1890-1966). She helped with the building of the first Goetheanum in Dornach, Switzerland, and Rudolf Steiner asked her to use the slant line technique as an engraving technique on the colored windows of the first Goetheanum, to depict the motifs he had indicated. Together, they have left artists a marvelous method for working from memory, imagination, and nature.
click pictures to enlarge

thelittlematchseller.jpg

"THE LITTLE MATCHSELLER"
NFS, 11 X 8.5 inches, white conte and pencil on black paper

injun_frog_prince.jpg

"FROG PRINCE" 
$200.00, 8 X 5.5 inches, pencil on bond paper

kingdoms_of_nature.jpg

 "THE FOUR KINGDOMS OF NATURE"
$200.00, 8 X 5.875 inches, pencil on bond paper

This technique requires the artist to make marks exclusively from the upper right down to the lower left. Crosshatching at odd angles should be conscientiously avoided.

An open mind, and disciplined practice of this method allows the artist a level of access to the world of ideas and imagination that must be experienced to be appreciated.

2nd_rudolf_steiner.jpg

"RUDOLF STEINER" NFS, 9 X 7 inches, pencil on bond paper

chakras_isis-sophia-mary.jpg

"SOPHIA" $200.00, 10.5 X 7 inches, pencil on bond paper
(showing the seven chakras with corresponging planetary signs, bounded by the four elements. Based on an idea of artist Johannes Mastthiessen

paperbagonbasketpencil.jpg

"PAPER BAG ON A BASKET" $200.00, matted to 15 X 15 inches, pencil on bond paper

rose_rock_and_standard_brick_pencil.jpg

"OKLAHOMA ROSE ROCK & STANDARD BRICK" $200.00, 9 X 12 inches, pencil on bond paper

_truth.jpg

"MYTH AND TRUTH"
$200.00, 8.5 X 11 inches, pencil on bond paper

femalefigurememorylighter.jpg

"MEMORY DRAWING" 8.5 X 3.5 inches, pencil on bond paper

The slant line technique can be used to work from nature, as in the drawings of the Paper Bag, and the Rose Rock above, from memory without reference material, as in the figure drawing above, and from imagination, as in all of the other drawings on this page, except for the one of Rudolf Steiner at left.

_grapes.jpg

"SOUR GRAPES"
$200.00, 8 X 5.5 inches, pencil on bond paper

set_pencil_.jpg

"SET" $200.00, 7.25 X 5.5 inches, pencil on bond paper

Unlike an outline approach to drawing, which can leave an artist feeling drained and tense, this painterly approach leaves the artist feeling enlivened and energized, even after extended periods of work.

This is a searching method, and it allows the artist to find out how to draw almost anything without copying from reference material, or working it out in advance in an academic manner. 

Assia Turgenieff created a series of exercises for students interested in studying the technique. An excellent book containing these exercises and other suggestions, Black and White Shaded Drawing, was produced and illustrated by Assia's student, Valerie Jacobs in 1975.