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Today's Class- Today was our first exploration of color. We eased in with an exercise that dealt with color matching, along with continuing our experiences with shapes, and introducing the medium of collage, and exposure to the concept of mosaic.
How to make this up- Start with a color photograph of something that exists in 3 dimensions. (such as an object or a scene) The source can be anything you want, but if it is digital you will need to eventually print it out so it can be compared to your artwork. I provided cardboard templates of the minimum sizes- 6"x6" and 9"x4" (both 36 square inches), whichever shape makes more sense for your artwork. You may make something larger than either of those if you choose- it is your artwork in the end. You may crop your original photo and choose a portion of it to be in your new piece, but you must include everything in the portion you choose to depict. Do a line sketch of the object or scene, large enough to fill the chosen minimum box, drawn on a page in your 18"x24" pad. This piece will be more about color than anything else, but the more accurate the drawing, the easier it will be to match color shapes.
With the drawing completed, it's time to find the colors. Go through old magazines, matching the colors from the original photo as closely as possible, including value changes. Cut color pieces to a maximum of .5" square, though they can be any shape smaller than that. Arrange them to fill the equivalent spaces in your drawing that they do in the source photo, and glue them in place with the adhesive of your choice. There may be slight white space between them, or pieces may overlap. It may be easier to glue very small pieces on top of other pieces. Below are some student examples from previous semesters, showing the original photo and the new collage version:
Attach your original source photo to the page near your version, as in the above examples. This is a portfolio exercise and can be made up for full credit any time before the end of the semester, but I recommend not waiting too long. In my experience, this is the one exercise in the portfolio that students are least likely to eventually finish. It's not that difficult, but it is time consuming.
Homework- Nothing new yet, but keep in mind that the first draft of the museum assignment is due in late March.
For next class 3/1/19- Back to color, but something a little more involved this time. We will cover some basic color theory, and make use of the watercolors for the first time. Bring your 18"x24" pad, set of watercolor paints, watercolor brushes, some kind of water container (cup, can etc is fine), and a mixing palette (can be a fancy store bought kind with little wells to hold different colors, but anything relatively flat and waterproof, such as an aluminum pie plate, something plastic, will do the job).
Today's Class- Today the focus was on value, which is the official term for use of light and dark in art. I started with a few dozen examples of historical art, showing some of the uses of value in art over time, such as showing form and volume, implying space and weight, directing attention, and declaring time of day. Also showed a few examples of student charcoal drawings, since that was our medium of the day.
How to make this up- Drape a low table with a white or very light colored cloth, and then arrange on and around it, four or more white or very light colored objects. Shine a directional light on the set up to create a variety of light and shadow in the still life. Then use a full page in your 18"x 24" pad to depict a view of the set up. You should include at least two objects, whatever parts of the cloth are between and around them, all using charcoal and attempting to match the relative light and dark of the still life. Here are some examples of student drawings from previous semesters.
In value drawings, lines should be eliminated when possible in favor of edges of shapes. You may start the drawings with contour lines, but as the value shapes are established, the lines should become edges of shape, either hard or gradated. Background tones are optional. In the above cases, the students chose to put in a dark background, which helps to offset and contain light shapes, and makes the light areas feel lighter in comparison. The best erasers for charcoal are the kneaded eraser (stretchy kind) and it can be blended with fingers, paper towels, or anything else you find useful.
Spend up to 45 minutes on the drawing. For a second drawing, either replace some objects or rearrange them in the set up. You are required to do at least one, but in class everyone did two and the practice can be helpful.
This is a portfolio exercise and can be made up for full credit any time before the end of the semester.
Homework- Still no new homework, but a reminder that the first draft of the museum assignment is due in class on March 29, 2019.
For next class 2/22/19- We will get our first taste of color with a portfolio exercise based on the traditional medium of mosaic. The mosaic has been a part of the art world in many cultures going back thousands of years. Flat images are created by attaching numerous small bits of stone, tiles, glass, etc to a flat surface, such as walls, ceilings, or floors. Since the color pieces tend to be solid, the colors are permanent and the artworks can last indefinitely. What we will do is use small pieces of colored paper and attach them to paper, using a design based on a color photograph of something real. I showed a few examples from last semester in class, and here are a few other past examples:
In each case we have the original source photo, and the student mosaic style copy. You must bring in a source photo, something you feel comfortable drawing (if digital, you will eventually need to have a printed copy), your 18"x24" pad, pencil and eraser, scissors, and a glue suitable for attaching paper to paper (glue stick, white glue, rubber cement, etc). I will have a supply of old magazines that can be used for colors, but if you wish to bring in some for the class to use, they will be welcome.
Today's Class- Today we continued working with line, concentrating on the concept of positive and negative space. Last week we saw a cave painting of a horse, a simple exterior contour line that created the shape of a horse, or created a positive shape surrounded by negative space. After a short brain-teaser exercise, the class completed two exercises in positive and negative space using pencil on paper.
How to make this up- First the class did an exercise in negative space drawing, where I placed an old wooden chair (seat removed) in the center of the room and asked the students to draw only the empty spaces in the chair, as in the student example below:
After a short break the chair was replaced with a small grouping of bottles of similar sizes.
This time the assignment was to draw the positive shapes of the actual bottles, but students were advised to use the negative spaces between and around them to aid in finding the shapes and spaces between them. More detailed instructions and student examples can be found here.
Homework- Nothing new yet, but you don't want to wait too long to get your museum visit in.
For next class 2/15/19- We are going to start on the concept of value, using light and dark to build space and form, among other things. Bring your 18"x24" pad, charcoal, and the kneaded eraser (the stretchy one). I'll provide the subject and bring some good soap. Charcoal can be a bit messy, so I strongly suggest wearing black or dark gray clothes, so that if you get charcoal on them it will be less noticeable. Charcoal is mostly dust, no binder, so it will come out of clothes in the wash, but in the short term, it will make light or bright colors look a bit grubby.
Today's Class- Today we had our first real day of art activity, taking on the most basic of the formal art elements- the line. We had a brief discussion of the way lines are used in art, followed by a brief set of historical slides showing how line has been used in art over the ages. After that a series of exercises in contour line.
How to make this up- Those present completed a series of contour line exercises built around the subject of shoes, one of the classic subjects for beginning art students.
Students used the pencil(s) of their choice to complete a series of contour line exercises on 18" x 24" paper. For those who have not yet been able to acquire a large pad, we scavenged some sheets from student pads unclaimed from last semester. The list of exercises that need to be done, details, and student examples from previous semesters can be found here.
This is a portfolio exercise that can be made up any time before the end of the semester for full credit.
Homework- Nothing new, and the museum visit first draft isn't due until March. Don't wait until the last minute to make your museum visits.
For next class 2/8/19- More work with line, but this time a look at the concept of positive and negative space, and no shoes will be involved. Students should bring their 18" x 24" pad, pencils and eraser. I will provide the subjects for the drawing exercises.
