Today's Class- Today we continued looking at line, this time concentrating on the idea of perspective. I did introduce the ideas of one and two point perspective systems and talked about the good and bad of each, but we quickly moved on to an idea of natural perspective, looking at the subject and paying attention to relative positions, negative space, planes, angles, etc to try to find the proper location of all the items in the still life compared to the point of view of the artist/viewer. To keep things simple we did two exercises, one involving nothing but identical boxes, and one that added in cylindrical forms.
How to make this up- For both exercises you will need a large tabletop. The first one will require several medium size boxes of similar size. For the second one, you need to add several cylinder forms, such as cans, on and around the boxes. For each drawing spend about 90 minutes and use a full sheet of your 18" x 24" paper and the pencil of your choice. Additional student examples and the specific directions can be found here.
These are portfolio exercises that must be made up by the mid semester portfolio grading to receive full credit.
Homework- Find a box with a wide flat surface (like a cereal or cracker box) and lay it down flat on the table. Find three bottles of similar size and arrange them so that one has its mouth facing toward you, one is facing directly to the right or left, and the other is laying down at an angle relative to you, choosing one of those bottles to be on top of the box, and the others in front of it. Sketch this set up on a page of your sketchbook using pencil line, paying attention to the specific curves and angles of each items and keeping the planes of the table and box level. Next, switch the bottle on top of the box for one in a different position, and draw it again. And finally rearrange again with the last bottle on top of the box and the others in front, so in the end you will have three sketches, each with a differently pointing bottle on the box.
For next class 10/3/14- We will do our first graded drawing of the semester, a still life with a mix of objects. You may have the entire class period to work on it if you need it. Bring your 18" x 24" pad, pencils and erasers. I will collect the drawings at the end of the day to grade and return the following week.
Today's Class- Today the class did a series of portfolio exercises as part of our study of line. Last week we dealt with the contour lines that defined the positive shape of the shoes. Today we started with an exercise related to gesture/reductive drawing, then moved on to the idea of negative space. All space in a two dimensional work is either positive or negative, and the two are equally important in a drawing.
How to make this up- There are 3 portfolio exercises to be done. The gesture/reductive exercise involved drawing from plants, in today's case some flexible bamboo shoots. The second exercise had students drawing all the negative spaces in an old wooden chair. The third exercise let the students go back to drawing positive shapes (bottles as in the above student drawing) but using the concept of negative space to help find the shapes of the bottles. Specific directions for these exercises and some student examples can be found here.
These are portfolio exercises and must be made up by the midterm portfolio grading to receive full credit.
Homework- Gather 4 bottles of similar size (four wine bottles, four soda bottles, four perfume bottles, etc) and place on a table top, near each other but not actually touching. Using the pencil of your choice do a sketch of the still life on a page in your small sketchbook, paying attention to the sizes, shapes, and spaces between the bottles. Then without touching the bottles, move to a different position and draw the set up again on a page in your sketchbook. Repeat this two more times, so that you will have four pages of sketches, each with four bottles. (alternative option- have the bottles on a tray, and then rotate the tray each time, so that they maintain their relative position to each other while you see it differently each time)
For next class 9/26/14- We will continue with line, dealing with the idea of perspective, or how things of different shapes look to the artist based on their relative positions, and how we can use line to make this clear to the viewer. Bring your 18" x 24" pad, pencils, and eraser.
Today's Class- Today we started our study of line. I showed a few dozen slides of art from prehistoric to the 20th century, talking about the many ways line was used and what functions it had in each work. After that the class did a series of portfolio exercises dealing with aspects of contour line, using shoes as a simple subject.
How to make this up- Everyone on the roster was present today, so everyone is caught up. However, if anyone feels like reliving the experience, the exercises and examples can be found here.
Homework- More shoe drawings. Use your small sketchbook and you will do 10 shoe drawings, one per page in the sketchbook using the pencil of your choice. Draw them at a scale that fills the page. You may use the same shoe as the subject for all 10, or a variety of shoes if you like. Do the following drawings, similar to ones done in class:
8 exterior contour line only
1 cross contour
1 full detail line drawing
For next class 9/19/14- We will continue our study of line, with a focus on gesture and negative space. Bring your 18" x 24" pad, pencils, and pink eraser. I'll provide the subject material.
Today's Class- Today was our first meeting. I took attendance, then distributed and reviewed the syllabus. I had students fill out a survey about interests and past art experiences, then used the same form to talk about my background as an art student and as a professional artist.
How to make this up- See me in class next week about the syllabus and survey.
Homework- none
For next class 9/12/14- We will begin our study of drawing with the line and a series of contour line exercises. Our subject will be something very common for this purpose- shoes. I do not have enough to distribute to the whole class. so each student will be responsible for bringing their own. Can be sneakers, dress shoes, boots- but I do recommend closed shoes over sandals or flip flops. You may bring in an extra one, or remove one from your foot. You will also need an 18" x 24" pad of drawing paper, pencils, and an eraser.
This is the blog site that I have set up for my classes at Ocean County College. Each week I will post information about my classes. This semester I have a Basic Drawing class (ARTS 183 05) and everything related to that class will appear in green text. Anything about things outside the class will appear in black text.
Each post will likely go up in the evening following the class. The title will include the date and the name of the class, along with a brief description of the day's activities. I will provide a detailed description of the exercises and projects worked on in class, along with photos of relevant student artwork from previous semesters. I will also include the homework assignment due for the following week, and a list of specific art materials needed for the following week. About a month's worth of posts will appear on the home page, but earlier ones can be seen by using the archive function in the right side column.
This is not an online class and this site is not a substitute for coming to class. However it does make it easier for people who miss the class to make up the work, which some do even before the next meeting. Even a student who never misses a class may find it useful, to see more examples of a project, or to get a reminder about when something is due, or even to check what to bring. Most of what students need to know will be here. It's available 24/7 without having to wait for me to reply to an e-mail. However, if you have any questions that are not satisfied here, you are welcome to e-mail me and I will usually get back to you within a day.
