THURS. 4/26 Portraits continued

Keely Killeen

Students in the T/Th night class had another round of portrait drawing of their classmates. In the drawing above, value has been used very effectively to illustrate the planes of the face. The light to gray transitions across the forehead and brow as well as the cheeks identify the volume and depth of the bone structure. The tilted gesture adds to the emotion portrayed in the model's eyes. Light smudging in the background suggests a hint of depth and atmosphere.

WED. 4/25 Portraits continued

Anna De Torres

Students continued making portrait drawings of classmates. The primary objective in these drawings is to capture the proportions of the head and not likeness. Cartoons and caricatures can capture likeness without being proportional. Anna's drawing above holds the page well by rendering in large scale utilizing much of the image area. The portrait exhibits good attention to the proportions and structure of the "head",
I also gave the tentative list of drawings due in the final portfolio. The list is only partial/ up-to-date. DHR and homework will be due the final week of classes. The list is above in the menu bar.

TUES. 4/24 Portraits

Lily King

Students in the T/Th class made portrait drawings of their classmates. The drawing above has a good scale, holding the page well. The contrasts and comparisons to placement and proportion have been well observed. Note the bone structure across the forehead, eye sockets, cheeks and chin. A common area of "over-drawing" or putting in too much information is the hair. The hair has been rendered with patches of light and dark values with minimal line work for texture. The rule of thumb for hair is "less is more". Remember when drawing the contours of portraits to use "soft" lines avoiding harsh lines. Notice how the lines in the cheeks spread into the tonalities of the jaw.

MON. 4/23 Portraits

Alisha Ascencio

Class began with a lecture on the proportions of the head followed by examples from artists of various levels. The drawing above was initiated by drawing a human skull then superimposing the portrait of a classmate over the top. Note the bone structure evident in the brow, nose and chin. Soft lines and edges are essential when rendering the smooth contours of the face. Harsh lines cut out the volumes flattening the surface creating a "cartoonish" appearance. Alisha's drawing above exhibits smooth gradations and soft lines. Of particular note in this area is her rendering of the eyes. Notice how the "eye ball" sits inside the eye socket.

WED 4/18 & THURS 4/19 COLOR continued

Amy Eldridge

Dayana Leon

Students finished large scale color drawings. Amy's drawing above is electrified by her use of complementary colors in the floor boards and shadows. The color scheme adds to the dynamics and energy of the composition established by the tumbling bowling pins.
Dayana has employed more of a split complementary color scheme (yellow, red-violet, blue-violet). She has beautifully rendered the color gradations as well as the textural qualities of the objects.

TUES. 4/18 COLOR: Large Scale Compositions

Nemea Laessig: work in progress

The T/Th class started their large color drawings. Above is a picture of Nemea's work space. You can see that Nemea has chosen to work with a more traditional still life arrangement.

MON. 4/16 COLOR: Large Scale Compositions

Becky Gonzalez: work in progress

Class began with a discussion on Color Schemes; standard color combinations that create balanced and unified compositions. After the slide lecture, students worked with items brought from home or chose 5 to 7 objects presented in class to create large scale compositions in color.

WED. & THURS. Apr. 11 & 12: COLOR

Amy Eldridge

Tara Funk

Students in both classes began color studies with colored pencils on black paper. The drawings above exhibit strong value and color observations. Something to consider with color is the importance of using a layering technique when trying to achieve the desired color and value. In addition, the white pencil is essential for capturing strong highlights and blending colors.

HOMEWORK #6 Ink Drawing

Draw a still life of at least 5 to 7 small objects using ink. Employ hatching, stippling and/or a combination of techniques. Try to employ the techniques in a way that addresses light as well as texture. Observe in the drawing above how stippling was used in the octopus texture and shadows whereas hatching was employed in the rendering of the rock and glass. Pay attention to composition, negative space and eye level.

APR. 10 INK: Ideal Solids continued

Frank Vallin

The T/Th class finished up their ink drawings. Frank's drawing above, albeit a cartoonish rendering, exhibits dynamic compositional rhythms by employing quick angle changes in the legs and arms of the figure. These rhythms are complemented by the splattering of nails throughout the image as well as the triangulation of rectilinear forms. The figures and environment are expertly rendered with hatching techniques. Notice the even gradations in pen and ink over a light gray wash applied with brush.

MON. 4/9 INK: Ideal Solids continued

Michael Dibs

Students continued working on their ink drawings. Although in early development, this drawing already exhibits a balanced composition, strong line quality with volumetric accenting and the beginnings of even gradations.

THURS. 4/5 INK: Ideal Solids

Jonathan BeVier

Last night students began drawings based on the Ideal Solids using India Ink. Students may twist, turn and stretch the forms in any way they see fit so long as they create a deep illusion of space and provide a light source and textures.

WED. 4/4 INK: Ideal Solids

Alisha Ascencio: Drawing in progress

Students continued drawing with ink. The project is a return to rendering the Ideal Solids addressing light and texture by employing the various techniques appropriate to pen and ink. Students have the freedom to stack, twist, turn and stretch the forms as they see fit.

TUES. 4/3 INK: The Exquisite Corpse

Here's one from Tuesday night's class. See previous post for an explanation.

Homework #5 Texture Detail

In a 4 x 5 in. format, in your sketchbook, using graphite pencils draw a continuous field composition of a texture. Your image should only exhibit the details of the texture. This is basically a value assignment. In order to rendering texture in an interesting and believable way, the values must be fully developed.
Do not draw the shape of the object. The drawing above is a sponge and notice that the edges of the sponge are outside of the image area.

APR. 2 INK DRAWING: The Exquisite Corpse

"The Exquisite Corpse" is a Dadaist/ Surrealist game of chance. Ideally you have three or more players. The paper is divided into at least three sections-head, torso, legs; one section for every player. The first player draws the head and folds the paper over to conceal his or her image. Second player draws the torso and then conceals and so on and so on. The results are often surprising and always humorous juxtapositions of mismatched characters.
Before drawing we discussed the techniques of parallel hatching, cross-hatching, short hatch, stippling, scribble and patterns.