INK: Bones

Benjamin Farren

Elijah Schwarz

Joanna Alvarez

Last night the class made pen and ink drawings from bones. Ben has very keenly observed the volumes and details of the bone with a very "objective" eye. The placement of the bone penetrating or receding into space is particularly effective and dynamic. Elijah's drawing of the skull is more "expressive" in his mark-making and use of tone. The contrasting lines and tonalities accentuate the volumes while adding a dramatic intensity to the light. Joanna's drawing is more "subjective" with her stylization of the thick and thin contours. The wavy, organic lines are very complementary to the form and add a sense of texture.

INK: The Exquisite Corpse

Now that we've returned from Spring Break, the class will begin working with India ink. As an introduction we played a round of the "Exquisite Corpse." This is a great way to explore the possibilities of image development as well as exploring the various techniques of hatching, stippling and invented mark-making or patterns. The top drawing in particular illustrates a wide variety of techniques. The bird head is mostly parallel lines and hatches with cross-hatching for greater value contrast. The fish torso employs hatching and stippling techniques and the squid legs add pattern for a simulated texture.

MIDTERM

All this week students will be working on their midterm drawings as well as reviewing portfolios one on one with me. Below are examples of midterm drawings from previous semesters.

VALUE: Categories of Light (white objects)

Apollonio Fontanilla

Devin Marshall

Ray Albor Villagomez

Last Friday began with  drawings of white objects. The goal was to address the categories of light. You can see from the examples the techniques range from the expressive and subjective (Apo and Devon) to the objective and tightly rendered (Ray). Notice the combination of tonalities and how they relate to the value scales.

Jim Paschal

In the afternoon, the class drew small still life arrangements with the objective of illustrating three differently valued items (light, medium, and dark). Jim's drawing lies somewhere between the objective and the subjective. He has keenly observed the local values and light patterns of each form and rendered them with even gradations employing the cross-hatch technique.

LOCAL VALUE

Gretta Collaso

 Last night the class made drawings addressing Local Value. The objective was to illustrate the three individual values of each object. The objects in Gretta's drawing are well proportioned to the scale of the paper and all the values are skillfully rendered. Note the way the dark values recede and the lighter values advance. The dark vase is particularly well drawn. She has keenly observed the various highlights and reflected light from the table.

Sam Wingfield

Sam's drawing too is well proportioned. The values are rich and well balanced. The composition is slightly heavier on the left but this is easily remedied by extending the table edge towards the right.

VALUE: Seeing the Light in White (Local Value)

Mikayla Steele

Randall Little

Last night we began working with graphite pencils. Our subjects were white objects. Notice in Mikayla's drawing (top) how the darkened negative space accentuates the form increasing the contrast and strengthening the sense of light. In Randall's drawing the tonalities are very even throughout yet as in Mikayla's drawing the background accentuates the form unifying the positive and negative areas.

PORTFOLIOS ARE DUE

Portfolios are due Monday 3/14 for the M/W evening class and Friday 3/18 for the Friday class. The list is above. Portfolios must be prepared outside of class.

VALUE: Light and Dark Rhythms

Friday morning began with Value drawings addressing two objects. The objects of Beni's drawing (top) are well proportioned to the paper. The values are rich and the categories of light have been rendered fully contributing to the sense of light and form. In addition, the background is well thought out and provides atmosphere and environment.
The nondescript space of Electra's drawing has a dreamy, surreal quality. The objects are rendered with high contrast tonalities. Her handling of the materials is inventive and skillfully applied. Of particular note is her rendering of the glove. The highlight's and gray tones add to the character of the form.

 In the afternoon, the still life was expanded to five or more objects. Julianna's drawing at the top engages with three edges of the paper enclosing the negative space. The objects are well proportioned and three-dimensional. The line quality is particularly strong. Notice the "accenting" of the contours (thick and thin lines). The values are sparse unifying the objects with the space.
Ray's drawing in contrast has taken a very objective view of the forms and light. He too has enclosed the negative areas. The values are rich and the categories of light are skillfully rendered suggesting light and form as well as addressing the local values of each object. He has clearly illustrated the still life includes white objects, gray objects and black.

VALUE: Still Life

Joy Montague

Natalie Miranda

Monday night the class made value drawings trying to engage with 3 to 4 edges of the paper and employing the Distal Cues. Joy's drawing (top) is well composed with forms as well as values. Notice how she has balanced the dark glove with a dark area in the upper right background. In addition, all of the objects are rendered with strong attention to the categories of light.
Natalie's drawing exhibits large forms and contrasting values complemented with bold contour lines. The location of the values moves the "eye" easily throughout the composition. The turbulent background is a dynamic contrast to the strength and stability of the still life.