Today's Class- Despite some occasionally hazardous conditions around Ocean County tonight, school was open and we had class. We opened by looking at the Limited Palette projects, then introduced our Final Project of the semester, a board game based on the artwork of an historical fine artist.
Vincent Van Gogh
Painted Dreams
How to make this up- You need to choose a significant artist from art history, one who is recognized in textbooks and museums, one who does two dimensional art, works in color, and representationally. You will pull images from more than one painting from the artist and reconfigure these bits into a new composition, imitating the shapes, colors, and textures of the original artist as much as possible. You will use this new image as the backdrop for a board game. The game must have some kind of path, such as a continuous circuit (Monopoly), a single start to finish path (as in Candyland) or a grid that can be moved over in different directions (like chess). The game must have a name, which will appear as part of the design. The game must have a goal and a theme, which should relate to the images in some way. The resulting design is essentially a painting, and so take into account all the design aspects- shapes, value, color, text design.
The piece will be painted onto some kind of heavy board, such as mat board or illustration board, some of which I have available to give you. Like all classic board games, the board must be able to fold in half. If your game idea calls for cards, make a few examples, and bring whatever method will be used to advance through the game (dice, spinner, etc). You may make tokens to represent players, or repurpose them from another game, or use some appropriate found objects. You don't need to supply the full rules, but be able to explain it during the critique. Above and below are examples from previous semesters. Additional information and examples (from students and the one I made as an example) can be found here.
Roy Lichtenstein
Love Story
Paul Cezanne
Victory Climb
Homework- This graded Final Project is due at the beginning of class on May 8, 2014, our final meeting of the semester. No work will be accepted after this date.
The Dada inspired mixed media collage is due at the beginning of class on May 1, 2014.
If you haven't yet turned in any graded projects, such as the limited color palettes, finish them as soon as possible to receive partial credit.
Spring Semester Portfolio-
All work done in class that isn't individually graded is part of the semester portfolio and needs to be brought in on the last night of class to be checked. Here's what you should have and the day we did it if you need to check the blog:
1/30/14 wallpaper dots
2/6/14 contour lines (shoes)
2/27/14 value drawing (charcoal)
3/13/14 color wheel
3/20/14 text (Russian) and logo
For next class 5/1/14- This will be a general work day for the class, which students may use to work on anything related to the class. Bring whatever materials you need to work on whatever you are missing.
Today's Class- Tonight we started a new project, a mixed media collage. I showed examples of collage throughout the 20th century, from Picasso through the Dada period, and some more Pop Art inspired combinations. With Dada I also brought up how random chance was sometimes part of the artist's working method. That led to the graded project- mixed media collages interpreting randomly generated subjects.
How to make this up- The first step is to get your topic. In class I had students pick slips of paper from two bags, each a piece cut from a newspaper headline. One bag had nouns, the other modifying words and phrases- put together it created the subject. You can wait until next week to get the topic, or e-mail me before then and I'll draw it from the bags for you.
Once you have the topic, you need to come up with a visual interpretation. It can be as literal or metaphorical as you want; as long as you can explain how the image relates to the topic. The above piece is based on the phrase "City of Zoo", the one below is from "Untamable Deluge". The collage may be organized vertically or horizontally, and should make use of a full sheet or your 18" x 24" paper. It must involve a mix of paint, drawn elements, and collaged items from any printed source. You may draw or paint on the collaged pieces. Your title should appear as part of it, which can be the pieces of newspaper or drawn or painted. Besides depicting your topic, pieces will be evaluated as art- so composition, balance, use of color, value, mark making, text design all need to be considered in your design. Additional examples from previous semesters and further instructions can be found here.
Homework- This random topic mixed media collage graded project is due at the beginning of class on May 1, 2014.
The four limited color palette studies project started last week is due at the beginning of class on April 24, 2014.
For next week, 4/24/14- We will begin the Final Project of the semester. It will be based on the artwork of a favorite artist from the history of fine art. one who works flat and in color. If you have a favorite such artist, bring reproductions of work by that artist to serve as source material. If you don't have a specific artist, bring examples of a favorite artistic period, style, or subject, or even a general art history textbook if you have one. I'll bring in a few extras from home as well. Also bring a sketchbook, pencil and eraser, and your paints and related materials. I'll provide the surface that you'll be painting on. If you don't think you'll be able to choose an artist before next week, bring materials to work on anything else from the class (such as the collage piece), and you will still have all of following week's class to work on the final.
Today's Class- Tonight we discussed the idea of limited color palettes. Sometimes artists will choose to depict representational imagery by trying to copy the colors of reality as closely as possible. Other times, artists will intentionally choose different color combinations- not standard reality, but still based on a particular logic. I showed examples tonight of slides of art historical works in which the artists chose such options as monochromatic, complimentary, and analogous to help determine the color options. Then students started their next graded project, converting a black and white photo to color using four different limited color palettes.
How to make this up- As with the stipple project early in the semester, select a black and white photograph of a real scene (object, figure, landscape, etc), one with preferably a wide range of values. You will sketch the basic composition of the photo in pencil four times on a sheet of 18" x 24" paper, cropping the photo to fit the 9"x12" boxes. (vertical or horizontal is fine) The next step is to use your acrylic paints to color the composition, choosing four options from the following list: monochromatic, complement pair, split complement. analogous, triad, or blue/yellow/black and white. Identical value structure should be maintained in all four. Above are two student examples from previous semesters. Additional examples, along with all the detailed instructions on how to pick and use the colors for each type of limited palette, can be found here.
Homework- This limited palettes graded project is due at the beginning of class on April 24, 2014.
The color temperature graded project is due at the beginning of class on April 17, 2014.
For next class 4/17/14- We will start a new graded project involving a mixed media collage. Bring your 18" x 24" pad. pencil and eraser, markers, paints and brushes, scissors and glue. You may bring magazines to cut up, but I'll have some there, and you'll learn the topic of your individual collages in class that night.
Today's Class- Tonight we returned to our study of color, with a focus on color temperature. We had briefly touched on the concept of colors having perceived temperatures when we did the color wheels, but now we explore that with more detail. I showed a few dozen slides of art from the renaissance to the present, asking students to decide whether the overall color temperature feel of the painting was cool, warm, or balanced/neutral. Then the class started their next graded project on this topic. We reserved time at the end of class to critique the woodblock prints that were produced at our last meeting.
How to make this up- This project requires students to mix up to 200 unique hues, and arrange them by color temperature by seasons. On one piece of your 18" x 24" paper, mark two boxes, each 10" square, and set aside. On other paper, start making squares of color, each 1" square. Some like to draw out a grid of boxes and fill them, some just paint them freehanded and cut them to size later. Each of the boxes will represent one of the four seasons by general temperature characteristics- summer is all warm, winter is all cool, autumn and spring are an equal mix of warm and cool. There can be no duplication of any colors within a single season, but a single color can appear in both seasons if appropriate (for example, a single warm hue could be in both a summer and a spring combination). You may mix colors with a plan toward specific seasons, or just make a bunch and decide what two seasons they feel like later. The individual squares will need to be cut out, arranged in the season boxes in whatever way you like, and glued into place. Mark on the back of the page what seasons you believe each box represents. Additional instructions and student examples can be found here.
Homework- This graded color temperature project is due at the beginning of class on April 17, 2014, however I strongly recommend that you try to finish it well before then. Next week's project will be much more complicated and you'll likely want the extra time to work on it.
Those who have not yet turned in their completed wood block, should bring it to class as soon as possible to receive partial credit.
For next class 4/10/14- We'll start a new graded project involving specific color combinations, often referred to as the artist's palette. Often artists will base color choices not on just trying to imitate what they see, but on effects they have with each other. Once again you'll need to start with a black and white photograph of a real thing or scene, something with a wide range of value and that you feel comfortable drawing. You will be sketching the composition four times and using the value structure to organize color choices in different types of combinations. Bring your 18" x 24" pad, pencil and eraser, paints, brushes, etc. I'll have the bag of magazines I had when we did the dot drawings, but you will save a lot of time that night if you show up with a photo of your own.
