Series of Interest

This is an installation view of a series of charcoal drawings by a drawing student named Anna Claire Shapiro. I don't know where she is a student, but I thought her series was pretty impressive. She began the series with drawings of coral on 18" x 24" paper. Her goal was to do 50 quick drawings from observation in order to get to know the coral and its visual potential. She engaged in a process of toning, erasing, toning, erasing, pulling form forward and pushing it back. The installation if made up of several finished drawings 22" x 30" and up to 40" x 60" that were not part of the 50 sketches. Of course this is a very ambitious project and one that is the result of a full 16 week semester, but take a look at how it evolved.

This is one of the more finished drawing included in the installation. Each drawing has it's own strength and stands on it's own. The installation was an after thought, and not part of her original intention. Be open to those possibilities.

This is another of the finished series and you can see how she took the forms and responded to the lights and darks to create these surreal and abstract images.

This drawing also grew out of the 50 quick sketches and remains more closely connected to both the coral and the abstraction of the coral.

This is one of the original 50 sketches when Shapiro was "learning" about her subject. You can see how the finished pieces above grew out of these sketches.

This is the first of the 50 sketches, now look back at the installation to see how it grew into something much stronger and much more engaging. Shapiro left open the possibilities for the unexpected. This is a good example of the artist "listening" to the drawings, letting one drawing lead to the next, a sort of "let me start here and see where it takes me." Scroll back up the page so you can see the development.

The forms modeled with strong lights and darks and the skilled creation of space show a strong grounding in basic drawing methods, but Shapiro also pushed much further toward a personal statement. They are not just drawings of coral. She built an imaginative world where the coral forms became a metaphor for skeletons and suggestions of images appear in the abstraction.

It'll be interesting to see where we are on Tuesday and hear about the potentials that are evolving your series.

Happy Memorial Day.

Drawing From Life

We had our first session with the model yesterday, and for the most part, there were some positive results. It is a building process, so please be patient. As mentioned, drawing from the human figure has been going on for centuries, and it gives us the tools, or vocabulary, for creating drawings, paintings, sculptures, or prints, from Renaissance classical to contemporary abstraction. It's because drawing from life provides such an essential foundation for all other creative expressions that we spend some time with the subject every semester. Of course a summer session compresses the experience considerably so you have to utilize your sketchbooks for additional experience.

One cannot learn how to draw simply by having someone describe the process or explain how it's done, as we did with gesture yesterday. Just like learning to play a musical instrument, learning to draw requires an investment of time spent in diligent practice, and looking at the drawings of other artists who are exploring the same subject. Check out this website for a lot of information and examples by many artists who use the figure. Be sure to hit the "Figure Drawing" and "Life Drawing" buttons as well as the "How to..." buttons. It will help you to see many possibilities.

Mid-Session Critique

On Tuesday, June 1, we will have a mid-session critique over the series in-progress. A group critique for the series will be different than ones for specified assignments. Because individual work on unique ideas and each person will be presenting his or her work to the group. It's a good idea to be prepared to talk about your ideas, how the series has progressed or changed, and what you think the next step might be. The following are some things to think about in preparation for discussion of your work.

• Are enough time and commitment being put into the work?

Remember, at least seven hours per week should be devoted to this.

• Is a clear direction emerging, or do you sense several different possible directions?

If several, what are they? Which one makes the most sense to you and why?

• Does the size of the work and the media being used seem to be working with the ideas?

The scale of the works should speak volumes about your idea.

• Are there signs of a breakthrough or are surprising new directions emerging?

Are these good surprises (possible potential for development) or bad surprises (unforeseen problems or contradictions)?

• Is the work invigorating, that is, dos it excite you?

Do you feel fully engaged with it? Would you rather be working on your series than just about anything else? Does the work interest other people (your audience)?

Summer Series

I hope you're all giving your series some thought over the weekend. Please don't procrastinate on this, it's not the kind of project that can be hammered out the weekend before it's due. Basing the process on your previous drawing experience is important, and focusing on an idea for your series will take some time and effort and involve decisions on many levels. The information I've passed out to you along with the examples of some past bodies of work should help you in your journey.

Why do you think it's important to work in a series of related drawings? First, staying with an idea or theme over a period of time helps us to establish a definite and considered attitude in our work as possibilities in the subject are discovered. It is that attitude and the possibilities that are pursued that distinguishes one artist's work from another. Look at the examples again, the differences between Hillary Brace's Clouds and Nate Stormer's still life drawings on one of the handouts. Both have a remarkably contrasting attitudes, and they are both powerful bodies of work.

Work that remains on the surface of an idea only goes where many other artists have been before. If you're considering portraits, for example, look at other contemporary artists who explore that idea, such as John Currin, or Zak Smith, (be careful with Smith's web site, he gets a little saucy at times) or even the modern painter, Alice Neel. There are very distinct attitude about the same subject. However, if you push your ideas in a focused direction, you will get to a place in your work that you didn't realize existed.

In short, working in a series often will lead you to drawings that you never would have created otherwise. Drawings that will communicate your ideas, insights, feelings, your gut responses in greater depth. With this level of involvement it stands to reason that you ill have more invested in your series that in the three days per week class sessions because you will determine the direction. So don't just remain on the surface of your idea.

Some other interesting series to look at and consider, Stephen Talisnik, and Mark Milloff's Moby Dick series.

It is important to look at an artist's work as a body of related pieces in order to discover the influences, sources materials, processes, expressions, and use of media. Whatever your idea, spend some time looking (Google it) and see how other artists, especially contemporary artists, have dealt with the same subject. It will help you to find your way, the honest way of your expression.

Have a good weekend.

Summer I Drawing

The first summer session begins on Tuesday, six weeks of intensive drawing. Like last summer's very successful 'series' project, we will again work on developing individual serial images based on individual ideas, and the only themes are commitment and imagination.

The four images above are by Hilary Brace. They are each created with charcoal on frosted mylar, with the largest dimensions being roughly 3.5" x 9". Although they are all small in scale, the sensation of space is immense. The drawings have a sense of the real, capturing the forms of nature. However, they are invented images and the compositions were built from imagination. Even if these views had been drawn from specific places, the shifting formations of clouds would never look the same for long; each scene would ultimately be clarified in the mind's eye of the artist.

Brace drew skies, mist, and clouds; nevertheless, the real subject is invented light, dramatized with chiaroscuro and atmospheric perspective. Light and dark values compose each image. They are created reductively by erasing into the darks of the charcoal.

Some issues and ideas concerning a series:

Artists work with the ideas that have meaning for them on a personal and/or societal level.

The time period in which the work was done often determines relevant social issues that influence the artistss attitude in their drawings.

As an artist you must move beyond exercises, connecting your drawings with personal concern and stylistic approach.

It's a Wrap!

The final critique consisted of four groups evaluating the drawings of four drawing enthusiasts with no group critiquing their own members. This is the second time I have employed this process in a group critique and it was, again, successful. Each member of each group was a designated spokes person and presented a brief analysis of one of the drawings. It presents a creatively healthy situation in which the person being critiqued listens to comments, responds to those comments, and then the whole group briefly discusses their reaction to that interaction. They all seemed to be very honest and constructive in their impressions, and the use of the studio vocabulary was honed even further. It also allowed those who tend to be more reserved to feel comfortable, maybe empowered, to stand up before everyone else and present their group's impressions and suggestions. Below are a few of the final projects. My photographic abilities were severely hampered by defected batteries, so please bear with the under/over exposures. Trust me, they really look much better than what is represented here, but at least you'll get an idea.

Sadie's drawing was based on the "worm's eye view" of orchids and some drapery and furnishings. She executed it in graphite and really pushed the value range into a convincing illusory space.

Natasha did a self-portrait with mask, also with graphite. This shot, as well as Sadie's, is darker that the actual piece, but she did a fine job capturing the mystery inherent with this particular project.

Jennifer also took the idea of a self-portrait with mask by using a camera as the mast. It was an inventive approach to the idea of a mask, and well executed.

Adam took the worm's eye view of a curio cabinet, looking up through the glass shelves and the objects sitting on those shelves. Adam's approach is very soft due to his process of pushing graphite and then refining details.

So the spring semester is now over and we're about to head into first summer session. A condensed six weeks session of in- and out-of-class beginning to advanced drawing projects that I hope will prepare everyone for continued study in drawing as well as the other creative avenues they wish to explore. Drawing is about design and composition, it's about ideational fluency and expanding critical thinking, it's the essence of most art forms. See you soon.