Form Worksheet

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Why we draw...personal explorations!

In class this week, something came up that I find quite interesting. (And I am going to use your names, as the conversation happened in public. If I misrepresent you, go into the post and rewrite so that it expresses my intention and your exact words. I speak of Eric, Ivett and Irina.)

 

We have gone into an area of making and creativity that involves great growth. You have learned the basic formal language of drawing (Line, Shape, Texture, Value, Gesture, Contour, Proportion, etc.) and you are combining that knowledge with Why you make work and What you want it to show us- the Meaning or Content.

Ivett said I contradicted myself in starting class by speaking about personal expression and exploring your interests, but then went around and corrected the formal issues (neck too long, shoulder too straight- there is a muscle there, etc.). I agree with her, but also tried to clarify that between the formal exactitude and expressing ourselves while looking at an object or situation there is a middle ground where we Respond and Respect the object we are communicating about! I used Eric’s drawings of the model’s breasts to illustrate this. The first ones were two simple “U’s”, later he made one that was responsive to the model- but still Eric! He did not simply mimic what he saw.

Lastly, Irina. You made some portraits in class one night. One the bottom left of one sheet you spent some time developing a particular portrait in black and white. Could you send that to me, I will add it to this post with the Ipad portrait you made. I think it is interesting to look at where your mind and skill went in these two pieces – very different places as far as I am concerned! Why? Talk amongst yourselves!

Bosket

HomeWork

So this leads me to wonder: Consider why you do what you do? Why do the folks you admire do what they do? Consider the meaning or message behind your work. Consider the meaning or message behind those you admire- how do they get that across to you? 

1. Speak about the formal aspects, Line (thick, thin, heavy, textured, how detailed, how graphic, etc…), Shape (same words as Line but maybe you could also speak about positive and negative, the relationships between shapes), Texture (the materials you use, how you push a material to mimic something else- like when you make charcoal portray skin, also the paper or surface you work on and just the Marks you make- what are they like?)

2. Speak about the Space they create, the Atmosphere, the Objects they include, How they put things together, Etc…. 

3. Then analyze your own work, see how you relate! What you could add or refine to clarify your message?

4. Write this up for yourself to help with the HW below. Print a copy out for me. We will also review this in class.

Bring in images of the drawings of those you admire. Bring in your personal project that you are working on. You will hang all those up when you arrive this week. We will then discuss all the aspects of your work and what it communicates. How it relate to those you admire? What options do you have to get closer to communicating what you intend to say!!! The more prepared you come to class (materials, write up, references, paper, etc..) the easier it will be for you to reach your goals and experience Nirvana!

NOTE: 

1. All of you should have references you admire on the blog- some do, some don’t- get them on there!!!

2. Label all your posts with your name!!! If I click on your name to the right on the home page I should see all your posts. Since your name is the Label, you can put something more descriptive in the Title/Subject!

Bosket

Carrie Moyer

Cecily Brown

Matthew Ritchie

Lastly, (I am aware that these are paintings but the same can be looked at in drawings. I just don't have that many drawings of contemporary artists that I relate to in my files.) I am leaving a small collection of those I admire and my paintings. What is the “story” behind my works, how does it relate to those I admire? If you want to dig in, leave comments telling me how I could improve or clarify my message if I want to speak a similar language as those I admire.

I was speaking with a student at the end of class and she wanted clarification on the Form exercise I wanted you all to do. So I showed her this drawing. It has a clearly developed sense of form. And I started to wonder....once you put the lines in the right place and understand the concept- what actually makes the form POP!
1. Contrast! And I think that goes for Light/Dark as well as Line (Thick/Thin)
2. Something clearly defined and some parts blurry. Just depends on what you are looking at as to where this happens.
3. Empty space or places of calm...and then areas that are packed! Usually these also come up as you draw, one area just resolves easily and looks "formed" while others require work/reworking until they make sense!

Lastly, I was thinking about what makes a drawing appear to be finished and not just a sketch? Could you all comment here? And possibly post your form sketches and what you consider finished- and why!

Have a great break! Tom

Form Part 2 Value (Light!)

Here are a few images to inspire. The first two are just demonstration thinking and the next three are a traditional work in progress.
The rest here are inspiration. Consider how Value can be used to express emotions! If you like anything you see here, try it out! See how to make it work and I will help you along in class!!

Form HW

Homework

I. Here is the handout I showed you in class this week. Your homework is to create a complex drawing of an object showing all you know about FORM. In this drawing (or the accompanying studies) you will have all the studies you did to understand this object. I would expect you to use some of what you learned while working from the masters you admire so that these drawings are not only "studies" but drawing that show us something about how you think or feel about this object/situation.

II. For your midterm you will have to scan/or photograph the most important work you have done up to this point and any copies of master or drawing images that you have collected. This work will be gathered into one POST, properly labelled with your name so that I can search it easily for my midterm comments and evaluation. The deadline for this post is March 16th- anything posted after this date will not be considered. (You may go to the 55 W 13th lab to get tutoring on how to post if you are lost- or talk to friends.)

Following are some inspirations and one demonstration on form.

Paul Cadmus

Jenny Saville

Sir Alec Isigonnis

Durer

Have a great week. Work hard, be well, Tom

Week 5 HW

1.a. This week you are required to look at 4 artists- 2 from the Contemporary List and 2 from the Historical List. b. Print out some FULL COLOR (even if they are GRAY) high quality prints for your personal files that you will share with the class. c. Draw from your favorites in a manner akin to them. Copy a section. Try to understand why they drew the way they did. What does it communicate when you do it and your “manner or hand” shows? How is it different and what can you do to make it respond to their methods better. In addition to the studies you do, make sure you also do a FULL COMPOSITION sketch of each work.

2.Also Under “Websites of Interest” go to Maucaulay, Rome Antics on TED, Perspective (familiarize yourself with the basic rules and terms, we will go over it in depth in class- you must prepare ahead).

3. Visit ONE site from Contemporary Drawing or Sketching/Sketchbooks listed under websites.

4. Test and Evaluate. When we draw, do we know what we are doing in the moment? Probably not or hopefully not! This is why reflection and review of what we did is important.

Practice drawing 20 gestures from 1 second and increasing in speed until you have spent a few minutes per drawing. Do three sets of 20.

5. You are required to post one fascinating thing you find this week on the class blog. You must include your drawing based on this thing.

Artists Known for their Drawing

Historical

Dali, Salvador

Daumier, Honore

DeChirico

Degas

Delacroix

Freud, Lucien

Giacometti, Alberto

Goya - Disasters of War

Hockney, David

Ingres, Jean-Auguste

Lautrec, Toulouse

Matisse, Henri

Picabia

Piranesi

Pontormo

Prudhon, Pierre Paul

Raphael

Rauschenberg

Rubens, Peter Paul

Rembrandt

Schiele, Egon

VanGogh, Vincent

Vesalius- Anatomical Drawings

Titian

 

Contemporary

Ali, Laylah

Bauer, Marc

Crotty, Russell

Currin, John

Guston, Philip

Johns, Jasper

Kilgallen, Margaret

McGee, Barry

Mehretu, Julie

Noble, Paul

Nordstrom, Jockum

Pettibon, Raymond

Phillips, Tom

Plender, Olivia

Stackhouse, Robert

Twombly, Cy

VonHeyl, Charlene

Winters, Terry

Websites of Interest:

Contemporary Drawing

Mag and FanZines with an art and design bent:  http://www.mottodistribution.com/site/

Drawing Center in UK: http://www.drawingroom.org.uk/intro.htm

fukt, drawing mag: http://www.fukt.de/

Making a viewfinder: http://illustration.suite101.com/article.cfm/how_to_make_an_artists_viewfinder

Website of Graphic designer Ira Robbins with everyday sketches of people: http://sketchfortheday.blogspot.com/

Portrait drawing demonstration on YouTube (6 parts about one hour total) working from the mid-tone: http://web.mac.com/thomasbutlerart/Domenic_Cretara_art_artist/Demo_Video.html

Illustration

Illustrator David Macaulay gives a lecture on how he conceived the book Rome Antics, with its unusual perspective: http://www.ted.com/talks/david_macaulay_s_rome_antics.html

David Macaulay: http://www.bookwrapcentral.com/authors/davidmacaulay.htm

If you are interested in Illustration: http://giam.typepad.com/100_years_of_illustration/

Perspective

Leonardo and perspective: http://www.mos.org/sln/Leonardo/ExploringLinearPerspective.html

Perspective: http://studiochalkboard.evansville.edu/draw.html

Sketching/Sketchbooks

Website with sketchbooks: http://www.gis.net/~scatt/sketchbook/links2.html

Website of Illustrator Danny Gregory with a YouTube journey through his sketchbooks: http://www.dannygregory.com/

Student sketchbooks:  http://blogs.dalton.org/sketchbooks/

Network of artists around the world who draw the cities where they live and travel to: http://www.urbansketchers.com/

Drawing blog (travel): http://www.stupot.com/blog/drawings/

Contemporary drawing blogs: http://photographic-narcolepsy.tumblr.com/page/4 same site: http://photographic-narcolepsy.tumblr.com/

Bibliography

Parallax, Steven Holl (architecture)

Vitamin D: New Perspectives in Drawing (Themes) by Emma Dexter

Pictures Showing What Happens on Each Page of Thomas Pynchon's Novel Gravity's Rainbow, by Zak Smith and Steve Erickson

Drawing Now: Eight Propositions, by Laura J. Hoptman

Drawing Now: Between the Lines of Contemporary Art, by Tracey

Drawing Projects: an exploration of the language of drawing, Mick Maslen and Jack Southern Drawing/Thinking, Confronting an Electronic Age, by Marc Treib

Drawing: Mastering the Language of Visual Expression, by Keith Micklewright

What It Is, by Lynda Barry

The Natural Way to Draw by Nicolaides

Treib Drawing

Treib Drawing

David Macaulay's Rome Antics

William Burroughs Cut-ups