4/30/15 2D Design

Today's Class-  We held a group critique for the limited palettes project, but otherwise it was a general work day for the class.  Students mostly worked on the collage pieces.  The color temperature collage pieces were returned to those who were present.

Homework-  The random subject mixed media collage projects are due at the beginning of class on May 7, 2015.

The Art Historical Board Game Final Project is due at the beginning of class on May 7, 2015.

Those who still owe the color temperature collage and/or the limited palettes graded projects can still turn them in for partial credit on May 7, 2015.

No work will be accepted after the end of class on May 7, 2015.

Semester Portfolio- Everything that is not an individually graded project is considered part of the semester portfolio and should be brought in for the final class meeting.  If you missed no classes, you have it all done.  If you have missed some classes. or are not sure, here's what I'm expecting to see and the dates those items can be found on this blog:

Jan 29  Wallpaper Dot patterns
Feb 5   Contour line exercises (shoes)
Feb 19 Charcoal Value Drawing
Mar 12 Color wheel and color mixing
Mar 26 Designing words (Russian) and logo


For next class 5/7/15- Thanks to the college's last minute schedule change, next week is our last meeting.  The sooner people arrive, the sooner we will start and the sooner we will be finished.  We will do a critique of the mixed media collages and the Final Projects, then I will temporarily dismiss the class while I grade those items, any late arriving graded projects, and the semester portfolios.  Before you leave I will let you know how long that will likely take, so you know when you may return to pick up those items and learn the grades for those items.

4/24/15 Basic Drawing

Today's Class-  Today we continued our use of red and black conte crayons, this time together in the same drawing, allowing the benefits of the warm tones of the red along with the intense darks that can be achieved with black.  This is based on the idea behind the Renaissance developments of chiaroscuro drawing and chiaroscuro woodcut.  Chiaroscuro drawing starts with a paper with a medium value (can be colorful or neutral) already in the paper.  The artist lets the color of the paper act as the medium value tones, and adds white (pastel, conte, chalk) to create the lights in the image, and black (conte, charcoal, etc) to create the darks.  However, it does require the artist to acquire large sheets of color paper, which can be hard to find and expensive.  So we are using the white paper from our pads, and drawing medium values with the red crayon, and dark values with the black.  Below is an example from a previous semester.

How to make this up-  Once again, all students were there today, so everyone should be caught up.  However, if you'd like a reminder of what we did, to mark the occasion of our last meeting before the final drawing, I broke out the mannequins and cast body parts, a subject between still life and figure drawing.  For the first half of class I set up two mannequins and had everyone choose one to draw, combining the red and black crayons.  Those mannequins were also available for the second half, but I also put out assemblages of other body part related objects, the most popular of which were the headless baby and hands combo, and the encounter between a squirrel and a human head and arm (see below).

Homework- For our last homework of the semester, we are going back to the beginning, and shoes.  Find two different shoes.  Draw one of them on a page in your sketchbook, a full value rendering (including shadows, textures, etc) using both the red and black conte crayon. Then draw the second shoe (same deal) with the red and black crayon on a second page in your sketchbook.  Total of two pages.

For next class 5/1/15- We will be doing our Final Drawing of the semester.  I'll set up a still life, a mix of things you've seen before and some new things, but nothing you can't handle.  You will have the entire 3.5 hour class period to work on it if you want it.  You will have the choice of any of our value based mediums- charcoal (vine, compressed, or both), ink wash, or conte crayon (red, black, or both).  Bring your 18" x 24" pad, medium of choice, erasers, and any related materials that you might need (brushes for ink, spray fixative for charcoal, etc).  I will also go over the list of drawings expected for the portfolio review that will happen at our last class meeting on May 8th.

4/23/15 2D Design

Today's Class-  The school hit us with a bit of a surprise yesterday, informing us that what is scheduled to be the last day of the spring semester, Thursday May 14th, isn't really a Thursday.  On that day, the college will be following the normal Monday schedule.  That means we won't be having class that day, making our last meeting day now on May 7, 2015.  As a result, I cancelled the plan to do a portfolio exercise in still life painting tonight and we just went straight to the Final Project of the semester, a board game based on the work of a painter from art history.

Painted Dreams

Vincent Van Gogh

How to make this up- Choose an artist of recognized art historical importance, such as inclusion in art history textbooks, museum collections, etc.  This artist must work in color and use representational images.  You will create a new composition by using elements from this artist's work, doing your best to match the original shapes, colors and textures, taken from multiple works by this artist.  Since this is a board game, you must have a theme that relates the chosen images, a goal for the players.  The game must have a title, which will be part of the design.  There must be some kind of game path, which can be a single start to finish path (as in Candyland), a repeated circuit until a goal is reached (as in Monopoly) or something that players can move through in any direction (as in chess).  The resulting composition is essentially a painting, so everything we have dealt with this semester should be taken into account- composition, color, shapes, proportions, text design, etc.  It should be on a heavy stiff surface that can fold like a classic board game board.  I have 20" x 16" pieces of mat board for everyone, so you can work out your ideas on paper until you see me next week, or cut a piece of mat to a similar size if you don't wish to wait.  Above and below are student examples from previous semesters, with the artist and game title with each.  Additional examples (a demonstration piece from me and more student work) and further instructions can be found here.

Love Story

Roy Lichtenstein

Victory Climb

Paul Cezanne

Homework-  The limited palette color studies (four images) piece is due at the start of class on April 30, 2015.

The mixed media collage from randomly chosen topics is due on May 7, 2015.

The Final Project (art historical Board Game) is now also due on May 7, 2015.

Any back projects that you owe me must be turned in by May 7, 2015, our last class meeting, to receive partial credit.  No work will be accepted after our last class meeting.

For next class 4/30/15- Other than reviewing the limited palette color studies pieces, the class will be a general work day that can be used for anything from the class that you need to work on.  Bring whatever materials you need to work on whatever you plan to do.  I will go over what is expected as part of the semester portfolio (exercises) that you'll be bringing to our final meeting the following week.

4/17/15 Basic Drawing

Today's Class-  Today we started our last new medium of the semester, the conte crayon.  These were developed during the 19th century in an effort to work around a shortage of other art materials.  Unlike the wax crayons you might remember from childhood, these use a form of clay as a binder for the pigment, feeling smooth to the touch.  Harder and firmer than charcoal, they allow the drawing of clean edges that don't smear, marks that stay where put on the paper.  Of course, this makes blending a bit more work, but white blending stumps, erasers, and even bits of paper towel can make this easier.  Most common are black and the various sanguines (earth tones ranging from bright red to brown and every shade in between), but they are manufactured in many colors.  I had students acquire black and sanguine crayons and they did one drawing with each today.  We also took time to look at last week's ink wash drawings.

How to make this up- Another one of those days where everyone came to class.  I set up a typical still life with familiar objects.  I had students do a drawing with just the black crayon first, as the visual resemblance to charcoal would feel familiar.  After the break, another still life using just the red crayon, which can't exactly match the dark values that come from a black crayon, but a wide range of value can still be achieved, as in the student example below.  If you wish to relive the experience of these portfolio exercises, click here to see the make up assignment and more student examples.

Homework- Grab a fork, knife, and spoon from your silverware drawer and arrange on a table in front of you, so that none of the utensils are parallel to each other.  Draw the set up with your black crayon on a page in your sketchbook, paying attention to the usual concerns of shape, spacing, and perspective, while also accounting for cast shadows and any reflections.  Then without touching the utensils, draw the same set up again with your red crayon on a second page.  Rearrange the utensils and repeat the process of one black drawing and one red drawing.  A total of 4 drawings.

For next class 4/24/15- We will continue with conte crayons, but this time combining the red and black together in a process that has results similar to traditional chiaroscuro drawing.  Bring your 18" x 24" pad, both red and black crayons, and whatever you might want to use as a blending tool.

4/16/15 2D Design

Today's Class-  Tonight we opened by looking at the color temperature collages.  I collected them and will return them graded next week.  Then we started a new graded project- a mixed media collage inspired by early 20th century art movements.  I showed examples of collage based art from the past 100 years, from Picasso to Dada to Pop, as well as slides of student examples of the project from previous semesters.  Borrowing the idea of randomness from Dada as both an inspiration and a working method, I had students pick random words from paper bags, forming randomly generated phrases, which will be the subject of their collages.  Some students spent the rest of the evening cutting potential collage items from magazines or sketching ideas, while others used the time to work on previous unfinished projects.

How to make this up- You can't begin until you have your topic.  Your choice is to either e-mail me to request  the topic and I'll draw the words and send the phrase to you, or you can wait until next week's class and pick them out of the bags yourself.  Once you have a topic, you need to create the piece.  It must include items that are collaged printed images, paint, and drawn elements.  You can modify collaged items by drawing or painting directly on them.  The chosen topic words must be included in the image, either by collaging your words (which have been cut from a newspaper headline) pulled from the paper bags, or drawing or painting them yourself.  You may be as literal or metaphorical as you like in how you interpret the subject, as long as you can explain your interpretation in our critique.  

Use a full sheet of your 18" x 24" paper, either vertical or horizontal.  Besides interpreting your topic, you are creating an artwork, so you need to take into account composition, value, balance, basic color theory, how you might use text, and everything else we covered this semester.  Above and below are student examples from previous semesters.  Above is "City of Zoo" and below is "Untamable Deluge".  More instructions and additional student examples can be seen here.

Homework- This mixed media collage graded project is due at the beginning of class on May 7, 2015.

The limited palettes color studies project is due on April 30, 2015.

For next class 4/23/15- We will be doing our last portfolio exercise of the semester, a color still life painting.  To this point we have mostly used color in a theoretical sense, so here's a chance to put it to a more traditional purpose.  Bring your 18" x 24" pad, paints, brushes, palette, and everything else you need for painting.

4/10/15 Basic Drawing

Today's Class-  Today we concluded our time working with ink wash, with an individually graded drawing.  The subject was a large leafy plant hanging within my wooden tripod easel (also used in last week's class), the focus on matching local values of the leaves, vines, pot, wood, etc.  The drawings were collected and will be returned graded next week.

How to make this up- You will need a large leafy potted plant, either real or artificial.  Place the pot on a wooden chair in a well lit room.  Sketch the set up on a sheet of your 18" x 24" paper at 100% scale (if a leaf on the plant is 2 inches long, it should also be 2 inches long in your drawing) in pencil, then use ink wash to draw the values of the set up.  Include the plant, the pot, and whatever parts of the chair are in your view.  Treat background however you want.  Spend up to 3 hours on it.  Above and below are examples of this project (with the easel) from previous semesters.  Additional examples and the specifics of the assignment can be seen here.

Homework- Find three different kinds of leaves, and place on a table.  Draw the leaves on a page in your sketchbook, first with pencil and then using ink wash to match the values.  Reflect any variation in the colors of the leaves, and any shadows that may be cast on the table.  Then rearrange the leaves and draw it a second time, for a total of two pages.

For next class 4/17/15- We will be starting our last new medium of the semester, conte crayons.  These are not simple wax crayons, but a mix that includes clay and pigment, developed in the 19th century.  Harder than charcoal, and less messy.  The material stays where you draw it, allowing for clean edges. It can be blended and erased, but with some effort.  Most common colors are black and earth tones.  I had your buy black and sanguine, a reddish color.  It's a medium that most art supply stores should carry, but some stock it less often, so don't wait until next Friday to start looking for it.  Bring your 18" x 24" pad, black and red crayons.  and erasers.

4/9/15 2D Design

Today's Class- Tonight we continued with color, talking about the use of limited color palettes.  Many artists will depict colors in representational images by trying to match the actual colors of the objects as closely as possible.  However, sometimes artists will choose other color combinations that leave standard reality, yet still follow the same compositional logic.  I showed slides of a few dozen historical works that employed some common types of limited palettes, then discussed such strategies as monochromatic, complementary, analogous, and color triads.  After that, students started on a new graded project, a series of color studies where a black and white composition was converted to color using four different strategies.

How to make this up-  As with the stipple project from early in the semester, start with a black and white photo of a real three dimensional object or scene, preferably with a wide range of values.  Use a pencil to divide a piece of your 18" x 24" paper into 4 equal boxes of 9" x 12".  Reproduce a basic compositional sketch of your photo in all four boxes.  Horizontal or vertical orientations are both fine.  The pencil sketch is just to show you the composition- use the photo as reference in painting values and details.  You will do four color studies using your acrylic paint, choosing from among six optional strategies.  Above and below are student examples from previous semesters.  Additional student examples and the specific instructions for each combination can be found here.

Homework- This limited color palettes graded project is due at the beginning of class on April 30, 2015.

The color temperature graded project is due at the beginning of class on April 16, 2015.

For next class 4/16/15- We will start a new graded project in the medium of mixed media collage.  Your finished piece will include collaged, drawn, and painted elements.  It will also address a specific theme, which you will be randomly assigned that night.  Bring your 18" x 24" pad, pencil, markers, paints, brushes, palette, scissors, and glue.  I'll have my usual pile of magazines, but you may bring your own if you wish.  We will also look at the completed color temperature projects.

4/3/15 Basic Drawing

Today's Class-  We have concluded charcoal, but we are still sticking with value drawing for several more weeks.  Today the medium was ink wash, diluted drawing ink, which was applied with brushes.  I  showed a few historical slides and student ink drawings, as well as a demonstration piece I made a few years ago that simulates the stages of value drawing with ink wash.  Then I set up a simple still life, and had the class do two portfolio exercises.  I left time at the end of class to look at last week's charcoal drawings, which were returned graded.

How to make this up-  Today we did two portfolio exercises, simple still life drawings of white objects, eliminating the local values in favor of just the effects of light and shadow.  Above and below are student examples similar to today's work.  As is typical for this semester, everyone was in today and completed the exercises, and seems to have taken to the process.  However, if you want a reminder of exactly what we did, or want to see additional student examples, they can be found here.

Homework-  Set up something similar to what we did in class today.  Hang a white or light colored cloth from something tall, with the cloth flowing down and covering a level surface.  Place on top of that level surface a white or light colored object, and illuminate with a directional light to create patterns of light and shadow.  Sketch the basic shapes with light pencil, then use ink wash to gradually fill in the values for the still life.  Then find a second white or light colored object, swap it for the first, and do a second drawing.  Total of 2 pages of ink wash still life drawings.  You have the option of combining the wash with pen lines, from a quill tip or fountain pen loaded with the same ink that was used to make the wash.

For next class 4/10/15- We will continue with ink wash, doing a graded drawing.  Bring in your 18" x 24" pad (or an equivalent size piece of watercolor paper if you want to try it), waterproof black drawing ink, brushes suitable for watercolor, pencil and eraser, and two water containers.  I'll provide the subject for the final ink drawing of the semester.

4/2/15 2D Design

Today's Class-  Tonight we returned to our study of color, specifically the concept of color temperature.    While making the color wheels I touched on the idea that colors have perceived temperatures, warm or cool in themselves or in relation to other colors.  I started by showing a few dozen slides of historical art, and we discussed whether the overall temperature scheme seemed to be warm, cool, or balanced.  Then the class began our next graded project.  I reserved time at the end of class to look at the word design exercise we did last week.

How to make this up- You will need to create 200 unique hues, to be arranged by temperature and season.  On a sheet of your 18" x 24" paper, draw two boxes with pencil, each 10" x 10", and set it aside.  On other paper start mixing colors using any colors of acrylic paint you want.  Choose 100 of the colors to be a season based on overall temperature of that season- all cool colors for winter, all warm for summer, a mix for the transitional seasons of spring and autumn.  The color pieces should be no more than 1" square.  Arrange them in any way you like within one of the 10"x10" boxes and glue into place.  Do the same for a second and different season in the second box.  Label the chosen seasons on the back of the page.  Above is a student example from a previous semester.  More detailed instructions and additional examples can be seen here.

This graded color temperature project is due at the beginning of class on April 16, 2015, but I recommend getting as much done as possible before next week.  On April 9th we will start another graded project that will be much more complex than this one and you may want more time to work on that one.

Homework- I'm still waiting from completed woodblocks from a few students, which can still be turned in for partial credit.  

For next class 4/9/15- We will continue with color, a new graded project involving limited color palettes.  Sometimes artists choose colors not just to imitate what they are depicting, but because of the inherent effects of the combinations.  You will be start with a black and white photo of a real object of scene (as we used for the stipple drawing), but it will be the starting point for four color studies based on the value patterns in the composition.  As with that earlier project, I'll bring my bag of magazines, but if you come with your own photo, ideally with a wide range of value, you won't have to waste time looking for one to use.  Also bring your 18" x 24" pad, pencil and eraser, and all your paints and brushes, palette and palette knife, and water container.