Drawing Hands

(C) 2016 Dale DiMauro

A few Christmas's ago, my wife bought me this little spiral drawing pad as a stocking stuffer. Then as now, I find the drawing of hands to be the most difficult part of the human body. This is my right hand which I had to draw from a photograph as I am right handed. Artists usually convey the dimension and depth of the hand with some form of cross-hatching or shading.

To get all five fingers and the wrist to scale is one thing. However, to get the hand accurate it also needs to be in scale with the face if one is working on a portrait. This requires much practice along with observation.

Hands not only depict the five fingers but they convey the age and gender of the individual. A woman's hand may be slender while a man's might look like beat up sausages. Some may have hair on them while others may depict a tattoo and/or jewelry. Hands also communicate direction and movement. An open hand may reflect a discussion someone is having with another person while a closed fist may express anger or conflict.

I admire the great masters who captured the hand with authority. Albrecht Durer's 'study of hands' is extraordinary. Other master artists highly skilled at depicting 'hands' would have to include Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo Buonarroti. I like how Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres placed his hands in his portraits, which somehow seemed to enhance the overall posture of the sitter.