CHRISTMAS DRAWINGS

As I mentioned during our last class before the holidays, I think it is important to keep up the work and the rhythm and draw during these days.
I have asked you to make 15 drawings during this time. Let me now make some final suggestions.
What should you draw?
ANYTHING.
Sometimes the silliest things can become important or interesting or fun or none of the above. Sometimes unexpected things happen when you are drawing and what turns out is much better than what you wanted to do to begin with.
Sense of humor is important, as much as culture, beauty, action, and feelings…
Sometimes we draw to try to remember something, others to change the way things are.
We may want to tell a story, or we might just want to work in an abstract way.
Beginnings are difficult until you learn to beat them by just starting things, don’t try to find the perfect idea just by thinking about it, and get straight to work.
Use any material you feel like: pencils, markers, pens, paint… and collage and different mixes are also very welcome.
I am posting some artists and their work for inspiration, but the best thing would be for you to find your own references. Spend some time in a good, big museum library and take a look at all the things you can do.

For those of you traveling, a good idea would be to carry a sketchbook with you, something small, because drawing is not just about sitting down and working on something for hours and hours. It is also about taking notes as we watch how people behave, something spills, the wind beats, a plane goes by, a table is set… it is also a way for you to create an archive from where you can find inspiration for future works.

The main thing, drawing is more about seeing and watching than about actually taking a pencil and scribbling.

So, go on, make something out of all this.

HOMEWORK FOR DECEMBER 14

1.Shades
For our next work we are going to practice shading methods.
The easiest one is blending, when you rub your graphite scribble with a piece of cloth, tissue or even the finger.
The others involve creating the shade with a mesh of lines, also known as crosshatching. For light tones, the lines are loose and spread apart. For darker tones the lines closely overlap one another.
Our first exercise will be making a grey scale.
Try with different pencils, and make it as long as your piece of paper is.
Here are three examples.

6B
HB

6H
Make at least two, and begin one from black and the other one from white, as shown in the examples.

2.Clouds
Find a picture, or draw one from the sky if you have a good view. Pick one with different shades, not just a white fluffy one or a solid grey one. You can also draw the one I have posted above. (To view the whole picture pease click on it).

3.Imagination and thought
Thinking about shades and layers, your last exercise (due also for the 14th) is drawing the scene I am about to describe:
Two men are walking through a forest. One is very near us; the other one is further behind. The trees and the heavy rain coming down make it difficult to see their faces, but the one nearest clearly has a beard.

The rest is up to you.

HOMEWORK FOR NOVEMBER 30

During this week I would like you to draw three objects or persons, or portraits, under a strong light, with their corresponding shadow for a dramatic feel.
Remember all we have talked about:
- To fit each element we need lines that define the relation between the different objects.
- To define volumes we need to study light and how it affects the surface.
- And we need to think about texture.

Also, we are going to add something personal in those same drawings. Up to you, it may be color, or Martians floating, or rain....

Check this out for inspiration, both for this week´s work and for your sketchbooks...
http://www.thepencilfactory.org
http://www.joshcochran.net
http://www.tedmcgrath.com

PORTRAITS WITH LINES

These examples also make sense for our current exercises

HOMEWORK FOR NOVEMBER 23

Here you have both a picture and an example. I have not finished it so you can notice the building stage in the left side. Note also that the mesh formed by so many lines allows one to correct lines without problem, and how a volume defines parts of the picture not defined by lines.
When drawing it, remember what we mentioned about negative spaces. You can also see the mistakes I have done when fitting everything in!

I began using a 6H pencil, it makes very fine lines, and once I had the general structure I began studying light and shades using other pencils, such as 3H, H, 3B and 6B for the darkest parts.