Today's Class- More drawing today, with the topic of positive and negative space. In two dimensional art, a distinct shape in space surrounded by a contour line is usually seen as a positive space, and the empty space around it as negative space. Empty spaces between objects can also be seen as negative. Positive and negative space are each defined by the other, and one creates the other, making them equally important in art.
How to make this up- We did two portfolio exercises today, each related to the concept to negative space. The first was to draw all the negative space in a chair- I brought in an old wooden chair for this purpose and had the students use pencil to draw all the negative spaces- all spaces surrounded by the wood that made up the chair, as in the example below.
For the second exercise, I set up a simple still life with several bottles (mostly wine bottles) and had the students do a line drawing of it in pencil, drawing the positive shapes of the bottles, but using the negative spaces to help find the shapes and locations, as in the example below.
Homework- If you were present today, you are caught up. If not, you need to make up the two exercises. Doing these things will help prepare you for next week, so you may want to do this soon.
For next class 2/14/20- More drawing, but we move on to value, which you may also know as shading. We will use charcoal to draw the lights and darks in still life. Bring your charcoal stick (can be compressed or vine- your choice), a kneaded eraser (the stretchy kind, designed to absorb dust, perfect for charcoal drawing), and your 18" x 24" pad of paper. I recommend wearing dark (black or dark gray) clothing, as charcoal can be messy, and if you get it on your clothes, they will look dirty. It has no binder and washes off with soap and water, but for the rest of the day you may look grubby. I will provide soap and the subject for the exercises.
