24 September 2009
Course work: After a period of study, I added a few little irregularities to suggest coarse sand, strengthened a few weak shadows, and called this first part of the final exercise for Assignment One complete. I then set up my arrangement for the second part (man-made objects). For this, I used a reproduction Mesoamerican clay figure jug, accompanied by a number of small, genuine Maya articles. (NB: the genuine articles were all certified by the Guatemalan inspector of antiquities as having no archeological value: they were collected by me during two seasons as a volunteer working on excavations of Maya sites.) My first study was far too busy: I removed several articles, rearranged those remaining, and did a second study, which is better, but leaves too many articles at the edge of the image. I will try moving them in a bit tomorrow.
Reading:
Claudia Betti & Teel Sale, Drawing, A Contemporary Approach (4th Ed)
Thomson Learning, Inc. (1997)
Chapter 2, Part 2 (pp 63-78)
Betty Edwards, The New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain
Penguin-Putnam, New York, 1999
Chapter 7 (pp 116-135)
Personal sketchbook work: A pocket sketchbook sketch of an unusual mushroom with convolutions that appeared almost brain-like, seen while walking. An exercise from The New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, (done in the companion workbook). A Conte’ drawing of a reproduction of a Mesoamerican bird-effigy pitcher. (Conte’ sanguine is especially well-suited for this, as the color so closely resembles that of the subject: it also gives me more experience with the medium, which I need.)
Total time: almost four hours
Friday, September 25, 2009
23 September 2009
Course work: A fifth session of work on my drawing of natural objects (sea shells) for the final exercise in Assignment 1. Have now essentially finished: will study it for a day or so, looking for things that need further work.
Reading:
E.H. Gombrich, The Story of Art,
Phaidon Press Limited, Oxford 1978
Chapter 9 (pp 125-136)
Personal Sketchbook Work: Some broken eggshells. I found it difficult to capture the relative translucency of the shells with graphite: it might be easier to do with oil paint.
Other Activities: Visits to two galleries in Augusta, Georgia, about 90 minutes away.
One was the faculty show at Augusta State University; the other was a juried show at the Gertrude Herbert Institute of Art. Comments on these visits are found in the Museum and Gallery Visits section of the learning log.
Total time: about two hours (not including gallery visits)
Course work: A fifth session of work on my drawing of natural objects (sea shells) for the final exercise in Assignment 1. Have now essentially finished: will study it for a day or so, looking for things that need further work.
Reading:
E.H. Gombrich, The Story of Art,
Phaidon Press Limited, Oxford 1978
Chapter 9 (pp 125-136)
Personal Sketchbook Work: Some broken eggshells. I found it difficult to capture the relative translucency of the shells with graphite: it might be easier to do with oil paint.
Other Activities: Visits to two galleries in Augusta, Georgia, about 90 minutes away.
One was the faculty show at Augusta State University; the other was a juried show at the Gertrude Herbert Institute of Art. Comments on these visits are found in the Museum and Gallery Visits section of the learning log.
Total time: about two hours (not including gallery visits)
22 September 2009
Course work: A fourth session of work on my drawing of natural objects (sea shells) for the final exercise in Assignment 1. Worked on two smaller shells, and did some further work on the background.
Reading:
Keith Micklewright, Drawing
Harry N. Abrams, Inc. New York (2005)
Chapters 8-10 (pp 90-108)
Other Activities: My painting group met this afternoon. I started work on a beach scene from a photo that I took in Alaska, but got little further than blocking it in.
Personal Sketchbook Work: A box tortoise shell, found while walking.
Total time: A bit over two hours
Course work: A fourth session of work on my drawing of natural objects (sea shells) for the final exercise in Assignment 1. Worked on two smaller shells, and did some further work on the background.
Reading:
Keith Micklewright, Drawing
Harry N. Abrams, Inc. New York (2005)
Chapters 8-10 (pp 90-108)
Other Activities: My painting group met this afternoon. I started work on a beach scene from a photo that I took in Alaska, but got little further than blocking it in.
Personal Sketchbook Work: A box tortoise shell, found while walking.
Total time: A bit over two hours
21 Sept 2009
Course work: A third session of work on my drawing of natural objects (sea shells) for the final exercise in Assignment 1. Accomplished the majority of the work on the most difficult-to-draw object, and did some further work on the background.
Reading:
Claudia Betti & Teel Sale, Drawing, A Contemporary Approach (4th Ed)
Thomson Learning, Inc. (1997)
Chapter 2 (Pp 31-62)
Personal Sketchbook Work: A drawing of one of the shells rejected for inclusion in my larger drawing.
Total time: About 2 ½ hours
Course work: A third session of work on my drawing of natural objects (sea shells) for the final exercise in Assignment 1. Accomplished the majority of the work on the most difficult-to-draw object, and did some further work on the background.
Reading:
Claudia Betti & Teel Sale, Drawing, A Contemporary Approach (4th Ed)
Thomson Learning, Inc. (1997)
Chapter 2 (Pp 31-62)
Personal Sketchbook Work: A drawing of one of the shells rejected for inclusion in my larger drawing.
Total time: About 2 ½ hours
19 September 2009
Course work: Transferred my selected study of natural objects (sea shells) from A4-size to A2-size paper. After drawing boldly-inked grids on separate sheets of paper, I was able to place these grids behind my working sheets, taped to a window, and easily enlarge my study without drawing lines on it or on my final-drawing sheet. I made some minor changes in object position prior to beginning to draw. The process is slow with graphite pencil: had I quit at the suggested two hours, I would have been less than one-eighth finished.
Reading:
Ian Simpson, The Complete Drawing Course
Running Press, Philadelphia, PA 1993
Lesson 8 (pp 76-79)
Personal Sketchbook Work: A partial drawing of a replica of a Mesoamerican clay figure, done in Conte’ crayon. I think that larger paper would have helped my rendering, as would more experience with Conte’ crayon.
Total time: about 5 hours
20 September 2009
Course work: Another good session of work on my drawing of natural objects (sea shells) for the final exercise in Assignment 1.
Reading:
Claudia Betti & Teel Sale, Drawing, A Contemporary Approach (4th Ed)
Thomson Learning, Inc. (1997)
Chapter 1 (Pp3-30)
Personal Sketchbook Work: A sketch of a distant tree line partially concealed by mist, and a sketch of my wife’s armchair, both done in pencil.
Weekly thoughts on learning experience: This has been a busy week. It is clear that either the time for the final exercise was significantly underestimated by the course preparers, or that I am approaching it incorrectly. With several more hours of hatching experience this week, I feel a good bit more confident about it. My sketchbook work has gone well on the whole, though my pocket sketchbook has been neglected…several days of rain has kept me from my usual wandering about.
Total time: over four hours
Course work: Transferred my selected study of natural objects (sea shells) from A4-size to A2-size paper. After drawing boldly-inked grids on separate sheets of paper, I was able to place these grids behind my working sheets, taped to a window, and easily enlarge my study without drawing lines on it or on my final-drawing sheet. I made some minor changes in object position prior to beginning to draw. The process is slow with graphite pencil: had I quit at the suggested two hours, I would have been less than one-eighth finished.
Reading:
Ian Simpson, The Complete Drawing Course
Running Press, Philadelphia, PA 1993
Lesson 8 (pp 76-79)
Personal Sketchbook Work: A partial drawing of a replica of a Mesoamerican clay figure, done in Conte’ crayon. I think that larger paper would have helped my rendering, as would more experience with Conte’ crayon.
Total time: about 5 hours
20 September 2009
Course work: Another good session of work on my drawing of natural objects (sea shells) for the final exercise in Assignment 1.
Reading:
Claudia Betti & Teel Sale, Drawing, A Contemporary Approach (4th Ed)
Thomson Learning, Inc. (1997)
Chapter 1 (Pp3-30)
Personal Sketchbook Work: A sketch of a distant tree line partially concealed by mist, and a sketch of my wife’s armchair, both done in pencil.
Weekly thoughts on learning experience: This has been a busy week. It is clear that either the time for the final exercise was significantly underestimated by the course preparers, or that I am approaching it incorrectly. With several more hours of hatching experience this week, I feel a good bit more confident about it. My sketchbook work has gone well on the whole, though my pocket sketchbook has been neglected…several days of rain has kept me from my usual wandering about.
Total time: over four hours
17 September 2009
Course work: Started on the Assignment One final exercises today, having already devoted a good bit of time in selecting subjects. For the natural forms drawing I chose a selection of sea shells that I have picked up on the beach over the years, placing them in a shallow tray of sand. I found that I could not do even the roughest of tonal studies in the 15-20 minutes suggested: one each done in graphite, Conte’ crayon, and charcoal required almost three hours.
Reading:
Betty Edwards, The New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain
Penguin-Putnam, New York, 1999
Chapter 6 (pp 88-113)
E.H. Gombrich, The Story of Art,
Phaidon Press Limited, Oxford 1978
Chapter 8 (pp 113-124)
Personal Sketchbook Work: Two exercises from The New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, (done in the companion workbook). A drawing of a hand, inspired by the previous exercises.
Total time: A bit over four hours
18 September 2009
Course work: After a careful re-examination of my first three studies, I decided that they were all weak. I tightened up the arrangement of my objects, removed two that I thought contributed less than they should, and changed the angle and intensity of the lighting. The resulting fourth study was, I thought, better than the first three, and it will serve as the basis for my drawing of natural objects. I also did several sketches of one of the more difficult-to-draw shells, in order to fix its appearance more firmly in my mind.
Personal sketchbook work: A sketch of a bark-beater, a tool used by the Maya to make paper. A drapery study.
Total time: about 2 ½ hours
Course work: Started on the Assignment One final exercises today, having already devoted a good bit of time in selecting subjects. For the natural forms drawing I chose a selection of sea shells that I have picked up on the beach over the years, placing them in a shallow tray of sand. I found that I could not do even the roughest of tonal studies in the 15-20 minutes suggested: one each done in graphite, Conte’ crayon, and charcoal required almost three hours.
Reading:
Betty Edwards, The New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain
Penguin-Putnam, New York, 1999
Chapter 6 (pp 88-113)
E.H. Gombrich, The Story of Art,
Phaidon Press Limited, Oxford 1978
Chapter 8 (pp 113-124)
Personal Sketchbook Work: Two exercises from The New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, (done in the companion workbook). A drawing of a hand, inspired by the previous exercises.
Total time: A bit over four hours
18 September 2009
Course work: After a careful re-examination of my first three studies, I decided that they were all weak. I tightened up the arrangement of my objects, removed two that I thought contributed less than they should, and changed the angle and intensity of the lighting. The resulting fourth study was, I thought, better than the first three, and it will serve as the basis for my drawing of natural objects. I also did several sketches of one of the more difficult-to-draw shells, in order to fix its appearance more firmly in my mind.
Personal sketchbook work: A sketch of a bark-beater, a tool used by the Maya to make paper. A drapery study.
Total time: about 2 ½ hours
Friday, September 18, 2009
16 September 2009
Course work: Did the exercise titled: Enlarging an Existing Drawing, page 31.
Summary Observations on Enlarging Images (Check and Log): This is a procedure that I have done many times, so it was (for me) the easiest exercise to date. I am satisfied that my enlarged images are reasonably true to the smaller original ones.
Reading:
Ian Simpson, The Complete Drawing Course
Running Press, Philadelphia, PA 1993
Information Feature (pp 64-69), Lesson 8 (pp 70-75)
Personal sketchbook work: Drew a heavily-patterned hawk feather I found on the trail.
Other Activities: A visit to the Aiken County Art Center, Aiken, South Carolina, about a two-hour drive away. This is described in the Museum and Gallery Visits section of the learning log.
Total time: about 1 ½ hours
Course work: Did the exercise titled: Enlarging an Existing Drawing, page 31.
Summary Observations on Enlarging Images (Check and Log): This is a procedure that I have done many times, so it was (for me) the easiest exercise to date. I am satisfied that my enlarged images are reasonably true to the smaller original ones.
Reading:
Ian Simpson, The Complete Drawing Course
Running Press, Philadelphia, PA 1993
Information Feature (pp 64-69), Lesson 8 (pp 70-75)
Personal sketchbook work: Drew a heavily-patterned hawk feather I found on the trail.
Other Activities: A visit to the Aiken County Art Center, Aiken, South Carolina, about a two-hour drive away. This is described in the Museum and Gallery Visits section of the learning log.
Total time: about 1 ½ hours
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