Art 401

Some of the art students drawing landscapes.  Sept. 17/08

 

Visual Art 4012008/09

Course description:

 Visual Art 401 is an introduction to the world of drawing with some study in color and modelling. The emphasis of the course will be on the five basic perceptual component skills – “Learning to draw is really a matter of learning to see.” The course is designed for beginner drawers.

Course Construct:

* Portfolio creation

*The Five Perceptions:

 

1.) Exercises on the perception of edges

2.) Exercises on the perception of space

3.) Exercises on the perception of relationship

4.) Exercises on the perception of lights and shadows

5.) Exercises on the perception of composition

*One point perspective

*Two point perspective

Color:

*color: wheel

Intensity

Value

Technique

*monochomatic

*Landscaping

 

Modelling:

paper-mache

Art History and art appreciation:

A portion of every class will involve a study on art and art appreciation.  

Assessment:

Students will be marked on projects, exercises, homework, and class conduct.

Studio Fee:

There will be a studio fee of $25.00.A 9″x 12″ sketch book – with at least 30 pages, white paper not yellow.

Note Book, eraser – white plastic, Pencil crayons – a package with 24 colours

Pencils – you may want to have a variety ex 2H, HB, 2B.

 

 Sept. 05/08

Homework:   Due Wed. Sept. 10th

 

Pre-instruction drawings:

A valuable record of your art skills

 

What you will need:

 

 

 

* Paper to draw on – plain white bond paper is fine

* Your #2 writing pencil

* Your pencil sharpener

* Your masking tape

* A small mirror, about 5″ x 7″, that could be attached to a wall, or any available wall or door mirror

* Something to use as a drawing board – a breadboard or a sturdy piece of cardboard, about 15″ x 18″

* An hour to an hour and a quarter of uninterrupted time.

What you’ll do:

 

You will do three drawings. This usually takes about an hour or so, but feel free to take as long as you wish for each of them. I will first list the drawing titles. Instruction for each drawing follows.

* “Self-Portrait”

* “A Person, Drawn from Memory”

* “My Hand”

 

Pre-instruction drawing #1:

Your “self- Portrait”

 

1. Tape a stack of two or three sheets of paper to your drawing board or work in you pad of paper. (Stacking the sheets provides a “padded” surface to draw on – much better that the rather hard surface of the drawing board.)

2. Sit at arm’s length (about 2 to 2 ½ feet) from a mirror. Lean your board up against the wall, resting the bottom of the board on your lap.

3. Look at the reflection of your head and face in the mirror and draw your “Self- Portrait.”

4. When you have finished, title, date and sing the drawing in the lower right-had or lower left-hand corner.

 

 

 

Pre- instruction drawing #2:

A person, drawn from memory

1. Call up in your mind’s eye an image of a person – perhaps someone from the past or a person you know now. Or you may recall a drawing you did in the past or a photograph of a person well known to you.

2 To the best of your ability, make a drawing of that person. You may draw just the head, a half- figure, or the whole figure.

3. When you have finished, title, sign, and date your drawing.

 

 

Pre – instruction drawing #3

: Your hand

 

1. Seat yourself at a table to draw.

2. If you are right- handed, draw you left hand in whatever position you choose. If you are left-handed ,draw your right hand.

3. Title, date and sign your drawing.

 

When you have finished the pre-instruction drawings:

Be sure that you have titled, signed, and dated each of the three drawings.

Write a few comments on the back of each drawing, noting what is pleasing and what is perhaps displeasing, what seemed easy and what seemed difficult in the process of drawing. You’ll find these comments interesting to read later on.

Note:

 

Spread the three drawings on a table and look at them closely. If I were there with you, I would be looking for small areas in the drawings that show you were observing carefully – perhaps the way a collar turns or a beautiful observed curve of an eyebrow. Once I encounter such sighs of careful seeing, I know that the person will learn to draw well. You, on the other hand, may find nothing admirable and perhaps dismiss the drawings as “childish” and amateurish.” Please remember that these drawings are made before instruction. Would you expect yourself to solve problems in algebra without any instruction? On the other hand, you may be surprised and pleased with parts of your drawings, perhaps especially the drawing of your own hand.

 

 

 

 New Posting Sept. 15th

Well we had our first “Studio Session.”  For forty minutes we drew Picasso’s Portrait of Igor Stravinsky upside down.  That’s right while Schubert’s – Rosamunde in D 797  played in the background we drew a detailed Picasso upside down.  You could hear a pin drop the whole session and the results were fantastic!  When you enter the right side of the brain you can draw.  Its getting there that’s the challenge.

Good job students!

Don’t forget your homework assignment this coming Wed. Sept.17th – another upside down drawing.