4/26/12- 2D Design

 Roots

Kerry James Marshall

 Painted Dreams

Vincent Van Gogh

Today's Class- We started by looking at the mixed media collage projects due this evening, as well as some late arriving palettes and season projects, then moved on to the semester's Final Project.  You'll be designing a game board based on the artwork of a recognized fine artist (one found in major museums and art history textbooks).  Examples from previous semesters can be seen above and below, labeled with the artist whose work was adapted.


How to make this up- You first need to choose an artist.  The artist must work two dimensionally and in color, and the work must be representational  (recognizable images, not abstract)  The work can come from any period of fine art through the end of the 20th century.  For art where a specific artist is not known (Ancient Egypt, Medieval Europe, etc), work from a single location will be fine.  You won't be just copying a single painting, but using elements from multiple works by your artist to create a new composition.  Besides the artwork, there must be some kind of game path, the game must have a theme, and the board must include a title.  The board must be able to fold in half.  The board should be made from a heavy cardboard or mat board and your design created with acrylic paints.  Additional details and requirements, and another example and the process by which it was designed can be seen here.


Homework- This Game Board Final Project is due at the beginning of class on the last day of class, May 10, 2012.  No work will be accepted after that date.  


Several students still owe one or more back graded projects, such as the season temperature collage, the limited palettes project, and the mixed media collage.  They must be completed to receive partial credit.


For next class 5/3/12- This will be a general work day.  Most will use it to work on this game board project, but you may use it to work on anything from the semester that you still need to finish, as long as it's from this class.  Bring with you whatever you need to work on whatever you plan to do during class.

 Magritte The Board Game

Rene Magritte

The Greek Grape Faze

Ancient Greek Pottery

4/26/12 Basic Drawing

Today's Class- Today we continued using conte crayons for value drawing, but this time we combined the red and black crayons together.  The idea was to simulate the effect of a chiaroscuro drawing, a style that dates back to the Renaissance where a drawing was done on a piece of colored paper, with the color acting as middle values, and drawing highlights with white and shadows with black.  Since we don't have colored paper, we are using the white of the paper, the red crayon for middle values, and the black crayon for deep shadows.  Above is an example of this technique from a previous semester.


How to make this up- For our subjects today, I set up some mannequins in the center of the room and had students choose one to draw for each drawing.  Examples of mannequin drawings, descriptions of the process, and specific instructions for the assignment can be found here.


Homework-  Find a shoe, and light it with a direct light source to create light and shadow over the surface.  Draw the shoe on a page of your sketchbook using the black and red crayons together, paying attention to shapes, proportions, and value, capturing as much detail as possible.  Change the position of the shoe, or substitute a different shoe, and do a second drawing.  Total- two shoe drawings.


For next class 5/3/12- We will be doing the Final Drawing of the semester.  I'll set up a still life, you will draw it using the medium of your choice from among the following: charcoal (vine or compressed), ink wash, or conte crayon (red, black, or both combined).  Bring your 18" x 24" paper, whatever material you wish to use for your drawing, and any other items related to your chosen medium (spray fixative, blending tools, etc)

4/19/12- 2D Design

Today's Class- Having used color to this point to explore aspects of color theory, tonight we tried a more traditional use of color, a still life painting. We looked at a few slides of still life painting from the Renaissance to the present, discussing the functions it served for artist and viewer. Then I set up a still life of colorful objects and drapery for the class to paint from.

How to make this up- Put a box on a table and drape with a multicolored cloth. Arrange 4 solidly colored objects (different colors from each other and from the cloth) on and around the box and light to create light and shadow patterns. You may sketch it first in pencil, or just draw directly with the paint. Pay attention to individual shapes, proportions, spacing, perspective, value, and try to match colors as close as possible to the colors in your still life set up. Spend up to 3 hours on it. This is a portfolio exercise, and must be made up by the end of the semester to receive credit. Above and below are student examples from previous semesters.

Homework- Nothing new, but the mixed media collage project that we started last week is due at the beginning of class on April 26, 2012. Those who still owe a back project (woodcut, color temperature collage, limited palettes project) should get them in as soon as possible to receive partial credit.

For next class 4/26/12- We will begin our Final Project of the semester, for which you will adapt the work of a recognized fine artist (found in major museums, art history textbooks, etc). The artist's work should be 2D (painting, prints, drawings) and in color, and must contain narrative elements (not abstraction). Bring in color reproductions of your chosen artist's work, such as a book devoted to the artist. If you have no one in mind, bring a book with paintings of a favorite style, period, or subject, or at least a general art history book. Also bring pencil and eraser, all your painting materials, and some paper to sketch ideas.

4/19/12- Basic Drawing

Today's Class- Today we went back to value drawing, but with a new medium- conte crayon. These crayons are harder than charcoal, and can make clean hard edges that don't easily smear, but can still be blended to create gradual value changes. They come in a variety of colors, but we tried black and a reddish color, as in the examples above.

How to make this up- You'll need to set up a still life with a variety of white and colored objects, and light it with direct light to create shadow patterns. First do a value drawing with the black crayon, which will look similar to a compressed charcoal drawing. Then you need to do a drawing with just the red crayon. The values won't be quite as dark, but still keep relative values in mind. Blending stumps (tortillions) work best for blending, though a bit of paper towel will do- fingers don't have the abrasive quality to do the job. Pencil erasers work better for erasing than kneaded erasers. The full instructions for the portfolio exercises can be found here.

Homework- Gather some silverware- a fork, knife and spoon. Arrange on a table in front of you so that none of them are parallel to each other. Light with direct lighting to create patterns of light (reflections) and shadow. Draw the still life on a page in your sketchbook using your black conte crayon, including any shadows cast on the table surface, paying attention to shape, proportions, perspective and value. Draw the same set up again using the red crayon. Rearrange the three utensils, but still with none parallel to each other, and draw two more times, once black and once red. Total of 4 drawings.

For next class 4/26/12- We will continue using conte crayons, but this time using the red and black together to try a variation of chiaroscuro drawing. Bring both crayons, erasers and blending tools, and your 18" x 24" pad.

4/12/12 2D Design

Today's Class- Tonight we started a new graded project involving a themed mixed media collage. We looked at examples of mixed media collage through the 20th century, as well as examples of this project from previous semesters. Then students were randomly assigned their collage subjects and began work on them. We also looked at the completed color temperature collages to see if we could guess what seasons were represented.

How to make this up- The starting point is a randomly generated phrase, created by picking words out of paper bags (one containing nouns, the other modifying words and phrases). You may either e-mail me and have me pick the words for you, or wait and do it yourself in class next week. The examples on this post include "City of Zoo" above and "Everything Turns to Thinking" below. Full directions and requirements, as well as several additional examples of completed projects, can be found here.

Homework- This mixed media collage graded project is due at the beginning of class on April 26, 2012. The limited palettes graded project started last week is due at the beginning of class on April 19, 2012. Anyone who still hasn't turned in their wood block to be printed or the season collage should do so as soon as possible to receive partial credit.

For next class 4/19/12- We will explore a more traditional function of paint by doing a color still life painting. Bring your 18" x 24" pad, all your paints, brushes, palette, etc, and pencil and eraser. I'll provide the still life subjects.

Basic Drawing- Monotype Exercise

How to make this up- The process involves using oil based paint or printing ink on a smooth non-pourous surface. Students in class used glass, plexiglass, or zinc. Something from 5" x 7" to 8" x 10" works best.  The paint was spread out in a smooth thin layer over the whole surface, and then wiped away with a variety of tools, similarly to when we did value reduction drawings with vine charcoal. In this case, paint was removed and manipulated with such tools as Q-tips, mat cards, paint brushes, and paper towels, with a little vegetable oil used to loosen the ink if needed. To print the image, a piece of paper (at least a little larger than the plate) was carefully placed on top and the back of the paper lightly rubbed to transfer the painted design to the paper. I set up a simple group of still life objects (shown above) to provide something to work from. Students did at least two prints using the still life as inspiration, then had the option of creating something from their imaginations. Below are some examples of student prints.

This is a portfolio exercise that should be made up by the end of the semester to receive credit. To do this at home, choose three simple objects and light to create light and shadow patterns. Then do the following-

1) print with drawing of one object

2) print with drawings of two objects together

3) print with one more added object, or rearranging the two objects from the 2nd print. 

4) print with something from your imagination.

Let them dry, then tape them to a page in your big pad.

If you are unclear as to procedure, wait to ask me about it in class next week.

4/5/12 2D Design

Today's Class- Tonight we started a new graded project, working with the idea of specific limited palettes. I showed a few dozen slides of historical art, demonstrating examples of monochromatic, complementary, split complementary, analogous, and triad palettes. Then students began the project, adapting the composition and value structure of a black and white photo to 4 such color schemes.

How to make this up- Use pencil to divide a sheet of your 18" x 24" paper into 4 equal sized boxes. Then choose a black and white photo of an actual thing or scene, and with a wide range of values, and sketch the basic composition in all four boxes. The composition can be in either a vertical or horizontal format, as in the above student examples. Then use your paints to convert the values from the photo into the required color combinations. All the specifics of the color palettes, along with additional examples, can be found here.

Homework- This limited palettes graded project is due at the beginning of class on April 19, 2012. The color temperature graded project begun last week is due at the beginning of class on April 12, 2012. Those who still haven't turned in their woodblock to be printed should bring them as soon as possible to receive partial credit.

For next class 4/12/12- We will begin a new graded project involving mixed media collage. Bring your 18" x 24" pad, pencil and eraser, markers, all your paint related materials, scissors and glue. If you have any old magazines that you wish to make available for the collage, bring them in. Also bring the completed color temperature project.

4/5/12 Basic Drawing

Today's Class- Today the class continued working with ink wash, completing the third graded project of the semester. The drawings were collected, and will be graded and returned next week.

How to make this up- The assignment involved using ink wash to draw the set up, a plant hanging within a wooden tripod. The room was lit normally (all lights on), so the value studies were based on local colors as well as whatever shadows could be found in the set up. Examples from previous examples can be seen above and below. Additional examples, and the full directions on how to make this up, can be found here.

Homework- The subject will be flowers. This can be an arrangement of cut flowers, artificial or dried flowers, or a living flowering plant. There should be a minimum of three flowers in the set up. The light can be just whatever ambient light is in the room, or you can use a more direct light if you wish. Sketch on a page in your sketchbook with pencil and reproduce the values with ink wash. Include the flowers, and whatever parts of stems, leaves, flowerpot, vase, etc that are part of the view. Do one such drawing.

For next class 4/12/12- We will try another new process, monoprints. Bring paper (either your big pad or a large sketchbook), a printing plate (glass or plexiglass is best, about 8"x 10"), and a small tube of black oil paint. Brushes suitable for oil or acrylic paints are recommended if you have any.