By Azmo Rinsler, from Frank Capra's "Lost Horizon"
Learning from the Movies. Movies, specifically old black and white movies, were crafted with extreme care. Because directors were confined to black and white, they were acutely aware of the impact of value. Additionally the illusion of space often had to be "constructed" on a stage set. Limitations in this case actually led to extraordinary visual invention. Make a drawing based on an old movie still. You might want to look at old Ingmar Bergman films, or maybe Fellini, or maybe an old Bogart detective movie. All of these are excellent sources, and there are many, many more out there. As you draw your picture, try to be mindful of the wonderful use of design elements in your source movie.
Extreme Close-up of Driftwood Root
Extreme Close-Up. Select an interesting three-dimensional object. Choose something that you can hold in your hand, something that has interesting nooks and crannies and some rich surface texture. Take a long, hard look at your object. Observe it under different lighting conditions. Enlarge the object so that it totally fills the page. If your image spills off all four sides of the page, that is perfectly ok.
Work from life, not a photograph. Some objects that might work well are: children’s toys, a cut open fruit, a pinecone, a shell, an antique hand tool, a flower, a jar of olives, bicycle gears, pieces of plumbing, an old fashioned egg beater, a fossil, a fish, an old sneaker, a saxophone, a baseball glove, a slice of pizza.
Bland, smooth industrial objects do not work well for this assignment. Avoid things like cell phones, stereo equipment, flat screen televisions, etc.
Think about your positioning on the page. Will the object sit there aligned nicely, or will it be presented on the diagonal? Use a range of marks and values to show texture.
Source artists: Janet Fish, Georgia O’Keefe, Jim Dine tool drawings
Instructor notes: O’Keefe provides a nice departure point for this drawing; however it is very easy for students to make superficial imitations of her work. I like to remind my students that this type of drawing need not be pretty. Finding a source object that has more character than beauty is a good starting point. Thoughtful lighting, keen observation, and attentive placement on the page will all contribute to the integrity of this piece.
Work from life, not a photograph. Some objects that might work well are: children’s toys, a cut open fruit, a pinecone, a shell, an antique hand tool, a flower, a jar of olives, bicycle gears, pieces of plumbing, an old fashioned egg beater, a fossil, a fish, an old sneaker, a saxophone, a baseball glove, a slice of pizza.
Bland, smooth industrial objects do not work well for this assignment. Avoid things like cell phones, stereo equipment, flat screen televisions, etc.
Think about your positioning on the page. Will the object sit there aligned nicely, or will it be presented on the diagonal? Use a range of marks and values to show texture.
Source artists: Janet Fish, Georgia O’Keefe, Jim Dine tool drawings
Instructor notes: O’Keefe provides a nice departure point for this drawing; however it is very easy for students to make superficial imitations of her work. I like to remind my students that this type of drawing need not be pretty. Finding a source object that has more character than beauty is a good starting point. Thoughtful lighting, keen observation, and attentive placement on the page will all contribute to the integrity of this piece.
Interior/Exterior
Interior/Exterior. Make a drawing that incorporates a view of both an interior and an exterior. While working on this drawing you can position yourself indoors looking outside, or visa versa.
There are all sorts of locations that might work: your house/apartment/dorm, the garage, a parking garage, a gazebo, a coffee shop, the library, the ferry terminal or bus depot, etc.
Pay attention to the quality and direction of your light as interiors and exteriors most often have different light sources. Concentrate on values. Focus also on the intimate details and patterns of the interior and how they contrast with the patterns of nature or the city outside.
Source artists: Richard Estes, Pierre Bonnard, Matisse, Roul Dufy, Connie Hayes, Edward Hopper
There are all sorts of locations that might work: your house/apartment/dorm, the garage, a parking garage, a gazebo, a coffee shop, the library, the ferry terminal or bus depot, etc.
Pay attention to the quality and direction of your light as interiors and exteriors most often have different light sources. Concentrate on values. Focus also on the intimate details and patterns of the interior and how they contrast with the patterns of nature or the city outside.
Source artists: Richard Estes, Pierre Bonnard, Matisse, Roul Dufy, Connie Hayes, Edward Hopper
By Yelena Fiske
Mark Making. Make a picture with great emphasis on mark making. Your subject will be recognizable. Warm up for this drawing by making two sketches. In the first you will make an image and overlay it- or contribute to the surface texture of the image- with marks. In the second sketch you will simply fill up the page with a series of marks, and then try to integrate an image into the composition. Think about which approach works best and utilize it in your final drawing.
Every student is familiar with stippling; the slow process of putting down dots to create different values. It is a valuable lesson and you likely learned it in middle school. In this drawing you want to move beyond that. Look for marks that straddle the line between describing the form beneath, and simply existing as expressive and amusing marks.
Source artists: Robert Arneson self portraits, VanGogh drawings, Chuck Close late work and fingerprint drawings, Keith Haring
Every student is familiar with stippling; the slow process of putting down dots to create different values. It is a valuable lesson and you likely learned it in middle school. In this drawing you want to move beyond that. Look for marks that straddle the line between describing the form beneath, and simply existing as expressive and amusing marks.
Source artists: Robert Arneson self portraits, VanGogh drawings, Chuck Close late work and fingerprint drawings, Keith Haring
By Jennie Godsoe
A Different Point of View. In this drawing we take a cue from photographers. One cardinal rule when taking a picture is to avoid, at all costs a lackluster point of view. While looking through the viewfinder, photography students are encouraged to get down on one knee, climb up higher than their subject, or place an object in the foreground that will lead the eye into the picture. Use these same strategies when composing your drawing. Find your subject, then observe it carefully as you circle around it, above it, and below it. Try placing something in front of the subject to partially block it. You might be surprised at how powerful some of these options can be. Determine the best view and go from there. The simple idea behind this assignment is that an otherwise ordinary subject can be made extraordinary if we first observe it, and then draw it from a unique viewpoint.
Source artists: Yvonne Jacquette, Chris Van Allsburg, Andrew Wyeth, Miguel Herranz, Mark English photographs, M. C. Escher
Source artists: Yvonne Jacquette, Chris Van Allsburg, Andrew Wyeth, Miguel Herranz, Mark English photographs, M. C. Escher
Juxtaposition
Juxtaposition. The term juxtaposition means "to join or combine dissimilar things". This often adds a disconcerting or dreamlike quality to an image. You might approach this in several ways: Either by combining radically different things in a Dr. Frankenstein fashion (an elephant with the head of a trout, for example). Or by putting things out of context (a Victorian woman riding in the space shuttle). Feel free to pile it on. If an image with two forms juxtaposed is good, one with five forms might be even better.
Think about how you join or combine your forms. Is it appropriate to make the junctions deliberately clunky and awkward? Or does it make more sense for the different forms to be joined seamlessly?
Source Artists: Max Ernst, Salvador Dali, Dorothea Tanning
Think about how you join or combine your forms. Is it appropriate to make the junctions deliberately clunky and awkward? Or does it make more sense for the different forms to be joined seamlessly?
Source Artists: Max Ernst, Salvador Dali, Dorothea Tanning
Self-Portrait with Text
Self-Portrait with Text. Using charcoal as your primary medium, make a self-portrait. Work from a mirror, and place a table light so that you are lit from the side. Add text to the picture that somehow contributes to the viewer's understanding of you. The text can be a straight-forward list of your attributes or the things that you like, it can be a quote that you find especially meaningful, or it can be a quirky and cryptic bit of subterfuge.
Since the text contributes to the visual impact of the picture, think about the style/font, the size of the text, and how it is positioned on the page.
Source artists: Barbara Kruger, Ed Ruscha, Basquait, Toulouse-Lautrec, Pierre Bonnard's graphic work
Since the text contributes to the visual impact of the picture, think about the style/font, the size of the text, and how it is positioned on the page.
Source artists: Barbara Kruger, Ed Ruscha, Basquait, Toulouse-Lautrec, Pierre Bonnard's graphic work
The Woman of Double Deeds
Thematic Drawings. Make a drawing with one of the following themes: "The Woman/Man of Double Deeds", "Message to the Stream", or "My Life in the Trees". Consider the narrative that comes to mind with each title. Start without making a picture. Rather, jot down notes on what each title might suggest. In most cases you can easily come up with several outcomes for each title. Settle on the best solution and use it as the departure point for your drawing. Strive to make a piece that is personal and non-derivative.
Instructor notes: Bill Edwards, an instructor at Clarion University shared this assignment with me. In a few minutes you can probably come up with several themes of your own. As an assignment, this has many possible outcomes. The titles are Rorschach-like, and there are endless possible solutions. Student drawings are likely to be all over the place. But the major point of this drawing is that a suggestive title has the potential to unleash a torrent of creativity from the student.
Instructor notes: Bill Edwards, an instructor at Clarion University shared this assignment with me. In a few minutes you can probably come up with several themes of your own. As an assignment, this has many possible outcomes. The titles are Rorschach-like, and there are endless possible solutions. Student drawings are likely to be all over the place. But the major point of this drawing is that a suggestive title has the potential to unleash a torrent of creativity from the student.
X-ray Drawing
X-ray Drawings. This assignment is inspired by tendencies seen in the art of children and some tribal cultures. Out of a naive understanding of forms, children will often make drawings of the outside and inside of something (like Mom, and the baby inside Mom's belly). The surrealists were drawn to these devices and often used them in their own work.
Make a drawing where we see both the inside and the outside of something. You can employ a cutaway view, or an x-ray view, or some other invented view. You might show a building and its contents, a head and its contents, a machine and its insides, etc. Avoid trite imagery (a head containing visions of people running on the beach).
Have fun and use your imagination. Your drawing might tell a story. It might be utterly straight-forward like a mechanical illustration. Or it might be entirely personal and cryptic.
Sources: Medical texts, Frida Kahlo, Aboriginal art, children's art, Persian art, traditional Japanese art, ancient Egyptian art, Saul Steinberg
Make a drawing where we see both the inside and the outside of something. You can employ a cutaway view, or an x-ray view, or some other invented view. You might show a building and its contents, a head and its contents, a machine and its insides, etc. Avoid trite imagery (a head containing visions of people running on the beach).
Have fun and use your imagination. Your drawing might tell a story. It might be utterly straight-forward like a mechanical illustration. Or it might be entirely personal and cryptic.
Sources: Medical texts, Frida Kahlo, Aboriginal art, children's art, Persian art, traditional Japanese art, ancient Egyptian art, Saul Steinberg
A Soul in the High Grass
Drawing What You Cannot See. There is a long history of artists making drawings, paintings and sculptures of things they believe in but cannot see. Examples abound, from Hindu sculptures of Shiva to Medieval gargoyles to the contemporary cultural fixation on vampires.
Make a drawing of something that you can conceive of but cannot see: a soul, a demon, an angel, God, a whisper, an idea, a migraine headache, Bigfoot, a nightmare, etc. The drawing does not have to be realistic, but you must be willing to defend your pictorial choices. Avoid cliches. Pictures of forest fairies hiding beneath spotted mushrooms will be burned on site.
Source artists: Hieronymus Bosch, William Blake, El Greco, Raphael, Michelangelo, Odilon Redon, Gauguin, Gustave Moreau, Goya, DeChirico
Make a drawing of something that you can conceive of but cannot see: a soul, a demon, an angel, God, a whisper, an idea, a migraine headache, Bigfoot, a nightmare, etc. The drawing does not have to be realistic, but you must be willing to defend your pictorial choices. Avoid cliches. Pictures of forest fairies hiding beneath spotted mushrooms will be burned on site.
Source artists: Hieronymus Bosch, William Blake, El Greco, Raphael, Michelangelo, Odilon Redon, Gauguin, Gustave Moreau, Goya, DeChirico