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.

VALUE PATTERNS

Last night students made drawings addressing value patterns observed across a still life. The objective was to establish a rhythm with the placement of similar values throughout the composition.

Sarena Dunn

Sarena's drawing above exhibits a well balanced composition rich with value and textural variation. The combination of additive and reductive techniques addresses the light and weight of objects while providing dark and moody atmospheric conditions. The real strength in the drawing is the attention she has given to the negative areas. The spaces between the objects are like little cave openings allowing the "eye" to travel through the space. The tonal variations in the background are atmospheric in quality and envelop the objects holding them in the space.

Patty Camara

Patty's combination of man-made, geometric forms accented with organic reed-like marks suggests a surrealist still-life arrangement. The alternating light and dark forms tumble the "eye" across the composition while the two black areas pull the "eye" up and down. The reed-like marks create a whimsical and fantastic sense of light giving the objects a more powerful, almost magical, character. Both of these drawings have effectively used value for dramatic effect as well as to create volume and depth.

Wed. Mar.9 VALUE: Four Divisions

Students continued with another series of drawings exploring rhythm and movement through value patterns. Brian Vance's drawing (top) illustrates a criss-crossing composition of light and dark values complemented by bold expressive mark-making and patterns. Pat Chan's drawing (bottom), although unfinished) exhibits a strong, dense composition of overlapping, stacked forms.  Her placement of light and dark values pushes the "eye" back through the composition first through the white shapes and secondly through the black shapes.

Mon. Mar. 7 VALUE: Four Divisions

The four examples here exhibit very different results in rendering this complex still life. The objective was to find a rhythm established by the value patterns.  1.) Tone paper to a midpoint value using vine charcoal. 2.) Sketch out composition. 3.) Working with white (erased), light gray (paper), dark gray, black; choose one value and place throughout the composition.  4.)Work in remaining values all in flat tonalities to begin. 5.) When all flat tones are placed, apply modeling to render forms three dimensionally.
Christine Argenio's drawing (top) confidently illustrates the rhythm established by alternating values of various tonalities.  Notice how your "eye" seeks out like tonalities throughout the composition.

Brian Delgado's drawing also exhibits a strong rhythm and movement through his use of many diagonals as well as actual and implied triangles.

Pepe Hernandez's drawing has very Surrealistic qualities.  The combination of flat and dimensional forms gives the drawing a dreamlike environment. The curvilinear and limp shapes with a hint of caricature are also very indicative of Surrealist Art.

Blake Walter's drawing is a very abstract design, sacrificing volume and contours for a more rhythmically dynamic composition. Notice how he has merged like value shapes combining different positive forms. Although there is a flatness to the composition, the diagonals bring a sense of depth.  This is further enhanced by the use of receding values (darks) in the background.

HOMEWORK #4: Under Your Sink

For this assignment your subject is to be the area "under your sink." Any sink area will do.  Pay close attention to the forms (size, placement), lighting conditions and value patterns. Before you begin, hand - tone your paper with vine charcoal and a paper towel (you may use compressed for a darker base tone but don't over do it). Follow the instructions from the in-class drawings: 1. start with a single value: white, light gray (paper tone), dark gray or black.  Place that value throughout composition. 2. Then apply the remaining values one at a time. 3. Check balance and rhythm. 4. Render the forms three dimensionally by employing the categories of light.  You may use value subjectively for greater design and dramatic effect. The drawing above illustrates this project beautifully.  One of its many strengths is the placement of the subject within the image area.  Notice that it is at a slight angle creating diagonals and triangles rather than straight on matching the shape of the paper. 18 x 24 in. drawing paper with charcoal and erasers.

Mar. 3 VALUE: Four Divisions of Value cont.

Thursday night students made another series of drawings on hand-toned paper addressing value patterns. Giselle Chavez's drawing (top) beautifully illustrates the rhythms established by paying close attention to the placement of like values throughout the composition. Notice how your "eye" travels from one white shape to the next. In addition, your "eye" is drawn to the patterned areas and finally up to the chipped shape in the upper right hand corner -- very inventive use of negative areas.
Russell Wallace's drawing (bottom) exhibits a tight arrangement of positive and negative shapes and forms. Note the balance between the clustering of small shapes on the left against the larger shapes on the right. Furthermore, he has added to the balance of the small shapes a dark negative area whereas as the right side has the large white area.

Mar. 1 VALUE: Four Divisions of Value

Students made charcoal drawings from a complex still life arrangement.  The objective was to create a rhythm/ movement by addressing the value patterns. Notice in Jennifer Green's drawing (top) how the black shapes in the composition establish a diagonal rhythm/ movement leading the "eye" from top left to lower right.  This is complemented by the diagonal line implied by the height of the objects as well as the diagonal shape and the black triangle in the upper right corner. Avi Scheuenstuhl's drawing (bottom) has a subtler range of values yet is very well composed. His drawing exhibits a bottom left to top right movement.  This is initiated by the tea pot and carries up to the dark oval shapes on either side of the composition.

HOMEWORK #5: UNDER THE SINK

On 18 x 24 in. drawing paper that has been hand-toned and using your charcoal materials and erasers make a drawing of the area around and under your sink. Use value subjectively to emphasize and exaggerate the lighting conditions and the character of the space.  Note the drawing above is slightly angled rather than a straight-on view.  Furthermore, the background has been pushed back into a dark mass by exaggerating the shadows while lighter values are reserved for the foreground.

10/1 Value Patterns: Four Divisions of Value (Friday)

Friday's class caught up with value patterns today.  For a full description see the posts from 9/27 and 29.  The drawing above is by Stazi Borissenko. Note the contrasting values of background and foreground and the strong directional relationships between similar values. In other words, the rhythm that is established between white areas, gray areas and black areas. Furthermore, Stazi's accented highlights are very complementary to the  fluid and curvy nature of the objects.

9/29 Value Patterns: Four Divisions of Value (cont.)

Wednesday night was a repeat of Monday's project. Similar still life arrangement and same directions.  Travis Gilbert's drawing above exhibits a textural approach to using the eraser while addressing cross-contours and the categories of light.

Alex Andrade's drawing illustrates a broad composition with lots of repeating shapes, specifically the triangular or cone-like, funnel forms. Although there could be more distinction between the local values on the objects, the textural rendering and use of the eraser is very well done.

9/27 Value Patterns: Four Divisions of Value

On Monday, students made drawings from a still life on paper they hand-toned to a midpoint value.  The objective was to create a rhythm and movement by observing and separating the values within the design.  Once this was established students rendered the objects more dimensionally by employing gradations.

This drawing by Phillip Boutz exhibits a clarity and a strong sense of light.  This is due to the sparing use of contrasting white forms and black shadows with most of the values falling within the gray tones.

Autumn La Rue has created a striking and dynamic composition by cropping the forms and engaging with all four sides of the picture plane. The tilted and arcing shapes coupled with repeating values maintains an energy that pushes the "eye" from one location to another.

Like Autumn's drawing above, Tyler Martinez has also cropped his composition while adding a very weathered and atmospheric quality to the image.  This is achieved by his textural use with the eraser.   The swooping, angled and arcing forms drop and push the "eye" along the composition similar to the rolling action of a ball inside a pachinko machine.