Cross-Contour Shell Drawings Diablo Valley College

Cross-Contour Shell Drawings
Diablo Valley College

In the terminology of drawing, a contour line describes the edges or outlines of an object (the French word contour means “outline”). While contour lines describe the lines you can see, cross-contour lines seek to represent the surface and volume of an object. Cross-contour lines serve a similar function as the elevation lines on a topographical map—to show the topography or surface structure. Learning this essential drawing technique can help students create drawings with more realistic three-dimensional form.

Instructor Leo Bursamina used his personal shell collection as subject matter for this assignment designed to help his students at Diablo Valley College practice cross-contour drawing. First, each student chose two different shells from Bursamina’s collection and set-up and lit their own still life. Students were instructed to use charcoal pencils, ink, Conté crayons, brushes, and dark roast coffee on large sheets of drawing or watercolor paper. They began by sketching the overall composition in pencil and then added coffee washes to establish areas of shade and light. Cross-contour lines were then added using charcoal pencil, ink, and Conté crayon to establish the peaks and valleys of the landscape of the shell. The final drawings use the various media to mimic the shadows, coloring, and textures of the different shells and to create a dynamic three-dimensional still life.

Leo Bersamina grew up in San Francisco surfing and fishing along the coast. He received a Bachelor of Arts from San Francisco State University and a Master of Fine Arts in Painting from Yale School of Art. He is a tenured instructor at Diablo Valley College and exhibits his artwork nationally and internationally and is represented locally by Anglim/Trimble gallery.

Diablo Valley College (DVC) is a public community college with campuses in Pleasant Hill and San Ramon in Contra Costa County, California. Diablo Valley College was founded in 1949 as East Contra Costa Junior College and today enrolls over 22,000 students at the two sites.

[image left]
Cross-contour shell drawing  2023
Jiyoun Lim
Courtesy of the artist and Leo Bursamina,
Diablo Valley College
R2023.1201.013

[image right]
Cross-contour shell drawing  2023
Celine Paguiragan
Courtesy of the artist and Leo Bursamina,
Diablo Valley College
R2023.1201.013

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