FINAL PROJECT: The Jungle

All this week students will be working on their final projects, "The Jungle." The objective is to create an image of shallow depth with attention to texture and the categories of light. Here are some examples from previous semesters for reference.

TEXTURE:Still Life

Luke Mello

Yesterday the class continued addressing texture. A still life was arranged with objects of various local values and textures (i.e. wood, metal, organic). Students were allowed to use any medium and to render the still life in the style of their choosing.
Luke has rendered the still life in a traditional manner addressing the local values, categories of light as well as the individual textures of each object. The composition is well balanced with strong attention to the negative areas. Furthermore, the values are rich, rendered in a variety of additive and reductive techniques.

TEXTURE: Single Subject

Jessica Baumann

Georgia Bourdens

Myranda Gradney

Yesterday began with a discussion of the different types of textures (actual, simulated, etc). Each student chose a single object to draw in the medium of their choice. Jessica's drawing is a monumental rendering of a magnolia pod. The tree line and low horizon make the form appear larger than life. The overall form of the pod exhibits volume with a dark to light gradation as well as the individual seed pockets. Georgia's drawing illustrates the flowing rhythm of the husk. Instead of drawing every kernel, she has omitted areas which suggest light and allow for the viewer to fill in the blanks. This activates the viewer's attention by making the object more visually interesting. Lastly, Myranda has employed a more expressive and exploratory approach. Her investigation lies within the object and texture itself as well as use of materials.

PORTRAITS and PORTFOLIOS ARE DUE (THURS., DEC. 8)

Andrew Wong

Yesterday the class continued with portraits. Again, the objective was to avoid caricature and create solid, three dimensional images exhibiting mass and volume. Andrew has very skillfully addressed the features as well as the subtle transitions in value. The portrait fills the page adding to the pensive expression.

SPECIAL NOTE PORTFOLIOS ARE DUE NEXT THURS., DEC. 8. This list is posted above.

PORTRAITS: The Rule of Thirds

Darryl

Yesterday the class made portraits of each other. First students drew a skull which was projected on a screen. The skull drawings were then reworked with a classmate's portrait over the top. The objective was to avoid caricature and to create a solid, dimensional portrait exploring a combination of mark-making techniques. Darryl's drawing above exhibits additive and reductive techniques as well as a wide range of values. This is a very powerful and visceral image. The portrait is heavy visually as well as emotionally.

PORTRAITS: The Features

Last Tuesday, the class began addressing the individual facial features before starting full portraits. The discussion focused on the volumes and curvature of the features. Eyes should illustrate the spherical nature of the eyeball as well as capturing the planes of the eyelids. The nose should illustrate the planes as well as focusing attention to the ball and underside of the tip of the nose and the cast shadow. The mouth should follow an arc across the face. The upper lip is typically darker than the lower lip and the lower lip casts a shadow. These are just a few of the key areas that need to be addressed.

LINEAR PERSPECTIVE: Two-Point

David

Erik

Eunice

Yesterday the class finished their two week project of developing an imaginary space in Two-Point Linear Perspective. David has created a cosmic lounge complete with large windows, futuristic furnishings and a second level, observation deck.
Erik has drawn a modern day cabin in the woods. The space is open and airy allowing for lots of natural lighting. Strategically placed house plants establish a rhythm of repetition throughout the space as do the rectangular windows, cutaways and opening in the floor.
Eunice has created a very austere and futuristic space with a repeating triangle window motif as well as floating boxlike forms and inverted pyramids.

COLOR: Personal Still Life

Andrew

Bonnie

David

Luke

Matt

Today students arranged their own still life to draw. Andrew's drawing is well balanced with large and small objects that relate by size and shape. All of the objects share a common pattern within the dots. Bonnie's drawing exhibits well proportioned objects with bold colors and textural mark-making. David's drawing pays strong attention to the distal cues with overlapping shapes, a variety of sizes and dynamic use of diagonals. The marks on the ground plane suggest motion and the tilted bowling pins add to the energy. Luke's drawing is very well balanced by weight of the objects as well as repeating colors. Notice the placement of the greens in particular. And lastly, Matt's drawing is supported by a rectangular motif found in the white paper shapes and the table as well as the die.

COLOR: Dice and Balls

David

Georgia

Jessica

Yesterday the class began working with colored pencils. David's drawing (top) illustrates subtle transitions in color and tone with a variety of marks and rendered values. The negative area and ground plane help draw the focus on the still life while suggesting depth.
Georgia's drawing (middle) exhibits rich, saturated complementary as well as analogous colors. The number and ball are electric and bright advancing toward the viewer. The die recedes yet is also energized and activated with a complementary green in the background to the red die.
Jessica's drawing (bottom) is primarily a complementary color scheme of orange and a variety of blues. Again, the colors are rich and bold. The mark-making in the background is a very effective contrast to the solidity of the foreground.

INK: Clay Sculptures Drawn

Today the class made mini sculptures out of clay and then drew them.

Ari McCool

David Covarrubias

Georgia Bourdens

Luke Mello

The drawings here represent a wide range of mark-making. Ari's drawing is very textural employing very fine line work flowing over the surface of the driftwood. David has used a generalized hatching technique throughout focusing his attention on the volume of the forms. Georgia again has focused on a combination of light, form and atmosphere with a variety of mark-making. Lastly, Luke has taken a very graphic approach with a cleanly illustrated figure addressing light and form through a variety of short and long hatch marks.

INK: Tondo

Today the class made ink drawings using a Tondo format. The circular format provides a very different spatial relationship with the positive and negative areas unlike the standard rectangle or square. The movement around the format is fluid rather than broken. The negative areas are more organic creating a very dynamic connection with the contours of the still life.

Alfredo Muro Rodriguez

Georgia Bourdens

Alfredo's drawing is very graphic, clean and sharp. The contours are bold and the tonal mark-making complements the cross-contours. In addition, the negative space between the objects has been very well addressed.
Georgia's drawing is rich with light and atmosphere. She has created a very dynamic composition with bold contrasting values that are well balanced throughout the positive and negative areas. Furthermore, her mark-making is lively and varied.

INK: Bones

Angela Bald

Georgia Bourdens

Luke Mello

Last Thursday, the class made drawings of bones. The drawings above illustrate the stipple, hatch and cross-hatch techniques

INK: The Exquisite Corpse

Today the class made ink drawings while playing the Surrealist game "The Exquisite Corpse." The three drawings above illustrate the various tonal and textural mark-making techniques characteristic of pen and ink drawings. Students employed hatching and cross-hatching, stippling, scribble as well as invented patterns. Note in the drawings above the use of swelled or thick and thin lines for creating volume. In addition, the gathering or grouping of the line and stipple marks creates gradations addressing light and form.

MIDTERM

Georgia Bourdens

Luke Mello

Last Thursday, the class finished the midterm drawings. The two drawings above exhibit well balanced compositions, strong attention to light and form as well as the negative areas.
Georgia's drawing exhibits bold, contrasting values and surface variations that makes the image "pop." Whereas Luke's drawing exhibits a more uniform approach to rendering the light patterns and atmosphere which creates a "cooler," more calming light. Of particular note is the difference in drawing the background and the way the negative space has been addressed.
Luke has invented a textural background with a negative area that emphasizes the still life moving upward. Georgia has focused on the table edge and ground plane moving downward.

MIDTERM

This week the class is working on midterm drawings while portfolio reviews take place. Here are some pix from previous semesters in the meantime.

VALUE: Local Value

Ari McCool

David Covarrubias

Mariah Green

Last Thursday, in preparation for the midterm, the class made small (9 x 12 in.) drawings addressing local values. The objective was to clearly illustrate a light, dark and mid-toned object within the composition. Ari (top) has taken a designed and graphic approach to the still life. The value patterns and objects are boldly rendered in a very playful manner.
 The light and atmosphere are most compelling in David's drawing (middle). The objects and the space are rendered in rich value contrast addressing the local values as well as volume.
Mariah (bottom) has applied a more subtle approach to the light patterns of the objects. The strength of the drawing is the composition. She has very effectively located the objects so as to engage with the edges and the negative space.

VALUE

Georgia Bourdens

On Tuesday, the class made drawings of a single subject addressing local values and the categories of light. Georgia's drawing illustrates the weathered, textural variations in value as well as light and form.

VALUE: Rendering Light

Jessica Baumann

Savannah Church

We've discussed in class how an artist may emphasize light over volume but can't have one without the other. This is due to the fact that light patterns or values are located where they are because of the structure or volume of an object. By applying marks that ignore or even contradict the cross-contours of an object emphasis is placed on the light patterns. The drawings above emphasize the light over volume. Students chose one of two techniques to employ; scribble gesture or a single directional, diagonal hatch. Both drawings have used dark values in the background to contrast against the lighter tonalities within the objects. In addition, take special note of the manner in which gradations are applied to the forms addressing the subtlety of volume.

VALUE: Local Value and the Categories of Light

Angela Bald

Georgia Bourdens

Yesterday the class began working with graphite pencils to address the categories of light observed on all white objects. A gray scale was used to help with the comparison of values. In Angela's drawing at the top,  the exaggeration of the vase texture, the ghostly cast shadow and the shroud-like negative space create a surreal and haunting atmosphere. Georgia's drawing is a more objective rendering of the still life. She has placed great attention to the surface character of the objects as well as the light patterns. Her rendering of the negative space accentuates the lighter areas of the vase.