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Today's Class- Today's topic was value, meaning use of light and dark in two dimensional art. Besides rendering local color and value, artists have used it to imply form and volume, to emphasize parts of the artwork, add weight to depicted objects, establish time of day, etc. We looked at a few historical slides showing all these ideas and then did drawings using charcoal for the experience of value drawing.
How to make this up- Place a box on a low table, drape it with a white or light colored cloth, and arrange 3 white or light colored objects on and near it. Have a direct light source to create patters of light and shadow. Draw the whole still life set up on a page in your 18"x 24" pad using charcoal, attempting to match the amount and shapes of light and dark from the original. Kneaded erasers work best for erasing the material, and it can be blended with fingers, paper towels, or anything else you want to use. Below are some student examples from earlier semesters:
Use of a background tone is optional, but as you can see, it does help imply space around white objects. You may use contour lines to establish the shapes of your objects, but try to convert the lines to edges of dark shapes in the end. Spend up to 90 minutes on the drawing, or do more than one if you want to get more practice.
Homework- First draft of the museum assignment is due on Nov 2. Don't wait too long to make your museum visit.
For next class 10/5/18- We will begin our next portfolio exercise, which will be our first look at color and make use of a variation on an ancient technique. Mosaics were flat art that could be created on floors, walls, and ceilings, made from large numbers of tiles, stones, pieces of glass, etc, that were arranged to form an image. We will do something similar with small cut pieces of colored paper. Below is an example from a previous semester:
Original source photo (top) and student mosaic collage (below) Bring your 18" x 24" pad, pencil and eraser, scissors and glue, anything suitable to glue paper to paper. I have a bunch of magazines to cut up for this purpose, but if anyone wants to add some old magazines to the pile, they are welcome.
Today's Class- Today we continued with line, this time using it to explore the concept of negative space. After an introductory brain-teaser exercise, the students did two portfolio exercises involving aspects of negative space, which is all the space in a given area of art that isn't made up of positive shapes.
How to make this up- The students did two exercises involving drawings and negative space. The first involved a wooden chair and drawing the spaces between the wooden parts. The second was a still life of bottles, with negative space being used to calculate the space between them and to depict them in relation to each other.
Specific instructions for these two assignment, as well as student examples from previous semester, can be found here.
These are portfolio exercises that can be made up for full credit any time before the end of the semester.
Homework- Nothing in art, but the first draft of the museum assignment is due November 2, 2018.
For next class 9/28/18- We start our study of value, using light and dark to imply form and many other things. Bring your 18" x 24" pad, black charcoal (vine or compressed) and your kneaded eraser. I'll provide the subject, which will not be a chair or a shoe.
Today's Class- Today was the first real class of the semester, and we opened with Line, the simplest formal issue we will deal with this semester. Students were not doing well in coming up with properties and purposes of line, but a short slide show of historical art may have helped. Then we jumped into some basic drawing exercises, involving various types of contour lines, with shoes as the subject. I also distributed and reviewed the museum assignment.
How to make this up- Students had a choice of using a shoe that they brought in, or taking one from my bag of old shoes. Using a page from their large pad would be preferable, but with the small size of the drawing, any paper could be pressed into service today.
More student examples, as well as list of all the exercises that will need to be done, can be found here.
This is a portfolio exercise and can be made up for full credit any time before the end of the semester, but I recommend doing it sooner, both as preparation for later drawing exercises and because work will pile up in all your classes through the semester.
Homework- No art homework. The museum and research assignment was distributed today and the first draft is due on November 2, 2018.
For next class 9/21/18- More basic drawing involving line, with a focus on negative spaces. Bring your 18" x 24" pad, pencil(s) and an eraser. I'll provide the subject matter, which will not involve any shoes.
Today's class- Today was our first meeting of the semester. The syllabus was distributed and reviewed. Students filled out a survey regarding their past art experiences, which we shared as a group, and I shared my experiences using the same format.
How to make this up- If you missed today, make sure to request a syllabus at next week's class.
Homework- Nothing yet. If you are on campus over the next week I recommend visiting Tino Cook's exhibition "Caged Bird" in the student gallery on the first floor of Vaughn-Eames. Hours are listed as noon to 8 pm daily, with a special reception on 9/12/18 starting at 7 pm. Not required, and there is no related assignment, just something free and worth seeing if you are in the building.
For next class 9/14/18- We start our study of line. Bring your 18"x24" pad, pencil(s) and an eraser. We will be drawing shoes, and I'll have some for the class to use. You are welcome to provide one of your own, a closed shoe (no sandals or flip flops), any style, or even take one off your own foot if you like. The semester museum assignment will be distributed as well.
This is the blog website that I have set up for the fall 2018 semester. I have two sections of FA 1000 Introduction to Art on Fridays. Each week I will post information about the classes we have had. Each post will have a title that includes the name of the class and the date. Posts about the class will have text in red. Posts about school information not related to the class will appear in black.
Each week there will be a brief description of the work done that day, photos of student examples of the projects (when available), instructions for the class, special due dates when they exist (everything is due by the end of the semester). I will list the materials required for the following week in class, reminders about written assignments, and museum links are posted.
This online blog is not a substitute for coming to class. It is to provide information to registered students who might miss a class so that they can keep caught up and do so quickly. Even if you never miss a class, you may find it useful as a reminder of what we have done, a place to check for required materials, to verify deadlines on papers or projects, or to see past student examples. It is available 24/7 and will provide answers to the most common questions that students have, without a need to wait for a reply. If you have class related questions that aren't answered by the information here, you are welcome to send me an e-mail and I will try to answer it as quickly as possible, usually within 24 hours.
