Summer Vacation

The Art 7A Blog will be closed for summer break.  I'll be teaching Art 3 Intro to Art and Design this summer so that means a "new blog."  Art 7A will be back up and running for the fall semester.  Have a good summer.

FINALS

Last night students presented their final projects inspired by the work of Rene Magritte.  This is just a handful of the excellent work that was accomplished by the students of Art 7A & 7B Spring 2011. As you can see everyone was touched by the work of Magritte a little differently.

Hollister Nadeau

Rose Antaki

Mariah Clark

Taylor Bihn

Hernan Esquivel

Andrew Robles

Michelle Phillips

Thurs. May 19 LAST CLASS

Last night was officially the last class of the 2011 Spring Semester for Art 7A/7B with Wm. Smith.  Students continued working on their final projects.  Projects are due Tuesday, May 24 at 7 pm.  All work must be finished and ready to hang and critique at that time.  Pics of the final projects will follow.
Have a good weekend and good luck with Finals.

Tues. May 17 Final Project

Portfolios were collected and students continued working on their final projects.

Thurs. May 12 FINAL PROJECT

Last night I introduced the final project. This drawing is to be "inspired" by the work of Belgium Surrealist, Rene Magritte. Your drawing does not need to nor should it look like a Magritte.  The objective is to build upon the ideas and aesthetics of what Magritte was trying to achieve.

Student Drawing

Your drawing should exhibit a dynamic composition of large and small silhouettes and isolated negative areas.
Fill the silhouettes and shapes with patterns and textures.  Keep in mind that there are three categories of textures: real, simulated and invented.  Therefore, not all of your textures need be from life some may be made from your imagination. The textures may logically fit with the silhouettes or not.  In other words, an orange could have the texture of bricks, wood, etc.
You may also fill the silhouettes with other spaces as in the work of Magritte.  Remember, the silhouette of the man in the bowler hat was filled with a beach scene.
Pay attention to your compositional balance and the principles of design.

HOMEWORK #8 Division of Field

Make a drawing employing the divisional strategies explored in class.  Your subject may be anything from a room or outdoor space to the surface arrangement of objects on a table. Consider the movement or functionality of the space.  Think about how one would enter the space and where he or she would be directed. Also remember that we read left to right; consider the affects of this on your composition. Note in the drawing above that we enter at the bottom left corner, move towards the garbage can and  are then directed through the doorway and up the stairs. Paper size 18 x 24 in., any medium.

PORTFOLIOS ARE DUE 5/17 (next Tues.)

Portfolios should be presented in a professional manner; hard bound or in a tote, spray fixed, flat, clean and orderly.  No rolled, folded, torn or loose work will be accepted.

1. Midterm Drawing
2. India Ink (skulls, flowers, bottles)
3. Jungle Composition
4. Color (large drawing and small)
5. Portraits (classmates and self)
6. Division of Field
From the First Portfolio
7. Ideal Solids (composed)
8. Hand-toned paper still life
9. ALL HOMEWORK
10. DHR

Tues. May 10 DIVISION OF FIELD

Last Thursday my hard drive died, hence the missing post.  We made sketch book studies last Thursday that were then developed into large scale drawings last night. Krishna Chaitanya's drawing (in-progress) exhibits a centered and symmetrical balance.  The figure at the bottom of the composition adds an unexpected element of surprise and mystery.  The fluid contours of the silhouette create a look as though the figure has dripped from the pipes it is laying under.

Leslie Gonzalez's drawing evokes a cold austere feeling of the space. The hard white surfaces are very institutional and impersonal.  The doorway frames the composition and the shelf on the back wall draws our attention into the space as if you were entering a cell.

Tues. May 3 TEXTURE STUDIES

Students chose objects with strong textural qualities and then made "continuous field" studies of the textures alone.  A continuous field composition is one that has no top or bottom and extends off all edges of the image area.  The actual shape of the object was omitted. This gives the textures a more fantastic or otherworldly quality. Technically speaking, these are elaborate value studies that happen to be of textures. Drawings by Taylor Bihn, Michelle Phillips (in-progress) and Derek Murphy (in-progress) respectively.