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.