2/23/18 Intro to Art

Today's Class- Although we dealt with a few aspects of it last week, today we began color for real, exercises related to color theory.  I talked about the scientific nature of color, sources of color for art purposes, and then showed a few dozen slides related to the history of color in art, both painting and sculpture.  Then on to the exercises.  We used watercolor to make a 12 hue color wheel, and do an exercise in complementary color mixing.


How to make this up- Below is an example of the kind of thing we did today.  Everyone completed a color wheel, using primary, secondary, and intermediate colors.  The second part was selecting a pair of complementary colors and an exercise that involved mixes and tints of those colors.

Detailed instructions and another student example can be found here.

Homework- No new homework.  However, we are about to enter March, so keep in mind the museum assignment will be due in a few weeks.

For next class 3/2/18-  Next week's topic is photography, and we'll be looking at many examples of the history and uses of photography over the past few centuries.  The exercise will be something you take home to work on, so you don't need any art materials for next week's class.  I will distribute the assignment in class next week.  I will use a chunk of the remaining time to take us on a tour of the building, as many of the studio classrooms as are open, and perhaps the student show in the gallery downstairs as well.

2/16/18 Intro to Art

Today's Class- Today's topic was monumental art, which I define as large scale art that is permanently part of a building or public space.  I showed a few dozen slide examples, starting with cave painting, then moving through Etruscan, Roman, Byzantine, Gothic, and the Renaissance, and such mediums as paint, fresco, mosaic, and stained glass.  Today's art project was a variation on the idea of mosaic, a collage using small pieces of colored paper to build an image.

How to make this up-  You will need to select a color photograph of a 3 dimensional object or scene.  What it is doesn't matter.  You will do a basic pencil line contour sketch of the image, including all background items.  The drawing will either be 6" x 6" or 4"x 9" (vertical or horizontal) so make a box like that in pencil.  In reproducing the original photo, you may crop it, draw it at 100% scale or enlarge a small area, but everything that would fit into your box must be included.  Then use colored paper from magazines to match the colors in your original photograph.  The color pieces should be no larger than 1/2" square, but may be smaller.  Pieces of paper may overlap, or have a small white space between them.  Some student examples from previous semesters can be seen below, both original photo and student mosaic-

 This is a portfolio exercise and must be completed by the end of the semester for full credit.  

Homework- Nothing new, but keep in mind that you have two papers to work on, the first of which is due in late March.

For next class 2/23/18- We continue our study of color, this time with some basic color theory.  Bring your 18"x 24" pad, pencil and eraser, watercolor paints, watercolor brushes, mixing palette, and a container to hold water.

2/9/18 Intro to Art

Today's Class- Today's topic was the formal issue of value, use of relative tones of dark and light in art.  This can serve many purposes- description of areas, implying three dimensional form, creating space, focusing attention, establishing time of day, etc.  I showed about 2 dozen slides of historical art, pointing out the ways light and shadow were used by the artists, then we got on with the portfolio exercise of the day- a value drawing using charcoal.

How to make this up- I set up a simple still life in the center of the darkened classroom, with an overhead spotlight shining on it.  The still life consisted on a stool with a white bed sheet draped over it, and on and around that several simple objects, all painted white, so that local color values would not be a factor.  Today it was just about light and shadow.  Below are a few examples of typical student charcoal drawings from previous semesters.

To do this on your own, put a box on a low table, drape it with a white or light colored cloth, and place three white or light colored objects on or around the box so all can be seen.  Use a single light source to created patterns of light and shadow.  Draw the still life on a sheet of your 18" x 24" paper, including  all three objects, and any of the white fabric seen in your view.  Try to match the shapes of your objects and the light and dark shapes as closely as possible, not forgetting what we learned about negative space.  Spend up to 90 minutes on it.

Homework- Nothing new, but keep in mind that the museum assignment is due March 23, 2018.  Plan accordingly.


For next class 2/16/18- The topic will be monumental art, which I am defining as large scale art that is permanently part of the location.  A common medium that goes back to antiquity is a mosaic, a two dimensional image made up of small bits of stone, glass, ceramic and other bits, arranged to form some kind of image.  We will be doing the same thing, but using paper to make the images.  You will choose a color photograph from a magazine, sketch the basic shapes with a pencil, then use small cut up pieces of paper from other magazines to reproduce shapes and colors from the original image.  Everything will be glued to a page in you big pad.  Below is a student example, with the original image on top, and the collage version below.

Bring your 18"x 24" pad, pencil and eraser, scissors, and a glue suitable for gluing paper to paper.  I will bring a pile of old magazines, but if you have some you don't mind cutting up and want to contribute them to the pile, feel free to do so.

2/2/18 Intro to Art

Today's Class- Today we continued with line, doing exercises related to the idea of negative space, which is all the space around the positive shapes in a drawing.  Since the two define each other, they are equally important in drawing.  Also today the topics for the research assignment were picked.


How to make this up- The class completed two portfolio exercises; everyone present did them and will get the full credit for them.  First I set up an old wooden desk chair and had the students draw all the negative spaces, the empty spaces surrounded by wood.  Second, I set up a still life of assorted bottles and had the class draw the positive shapes of the bottles, but using negative space to check spacing and locations, as in the student example below.

More examples and specific instructions on how to make up the assignments can be found here.

Homework- Students picked the topics for the research assignments today, the second written assignment.  There are more possible topics than students in the classes, so if you don't have one yet, you will have options.  Talk to me next time you come to class.  The written assignment isn't due until April 27, 2018, so you have time.  The museum assignment will come sooner.


For next class 2/9/18- We move on to the design element known as value, which is the use of light and dark in art.  We will be using charcoal to do some value drawing.  Bring your charcoal, kneaded eraser (absorbs dust- ideal for charcoal), and 18"x 24" pad. I'll provide the subjects for the exercises. I recommend that you wear black or dark colored clothes- charcoal is very dusty.  It washes out, but short term you don't want to look dirty.