Value Patterns

Students made drawings representing a deep space by using Value, Overlap, Size, Diagonals, Location and Atmospheric Perspective. Students had to incorporate a value scale somewhere in their design and use only "closed-values".

Concealing and Revealing

Josselyn Torres

Students continued working on their value drawings. Josselyn's drawing above exhibits a playful, energetic arrangement of the elements. The white pathway traversing across the composition establishes a movement that is complemented by the rhythmical placement of the circular and jagged edge motifs. The use of open-values or gradations within the negative shapes instead of closed values provides a sense of depth.

Overlapping Contours

Trey Smith-drawing in progress

Today we began VALUE; the study of light and dark. We began by drawing value scales of 10 different values employing the rendering or shading technique. Next students made drawings traced from a stencil that was overlapped many times filling the whole paper. From there lines are erased or added as needed and the shapes are filled with contrasting values.

Parts of the Puzzle

Mike Koonce

Here are a couple of examples from the composition project. Mikes collage above has made excellent use of line movement as well as similarity. His three elements are: a pointed, wavy line, an open rectangle and a concave star. The line movement is actually established by the open rectangles rather than the wavy lines. The star has been the most strategically cropped. In the upper left it is the gray area, the blue area in the panel below (middle left) and the blue area in the bottom right.

Gee Gee Connel

Gee Gee's collage illustrates a primary triad color scheme. Notice how your eye is led left to right by the spheres. You then drop down the green triangle onto the blue dotted line. The green sphere catches your attention and then throws you back over to the red half sphere on the left to repeat the movement.

Parts of the Puzzle

Students have been working on a composition problem for the last two classes. I'll post pics tomorrow.

Distortion vs. Representation

Matt Vella

Today we discussed Shape Dominance and Asymmetrical Balance again. Remember that rectilinear shapes in a rectangular format are very conforming. Circles and shapes with protrusions retain their individuality better. Dominance in a shape may be shifted by location on the picture plane, value, color,  texture and pattern.

The project consisted of two parts. 1. Make the background of 5 rectangles. 2. Place a representational silhouette in one compartment, then continue to distort the shape filling the remaining spaces. The goal was to achieve the principle of Notan, harmony and balance between dark and light. Matt's collage exhibits some very well balanced areas, primarily in the center. Notice how the positive form curving inside the negative has created a profile that mimics the object itself.

Expansion of the Square

Mary Rolls

Today we discussed Notan; the interaction of light and dark, or positive and negative, with the intent of creating an harmonious and unified composition where one does not dominate the other. Mary's collage is an example of a symmetrical arrangement of triangular shapes. By using only one shape family, Mary has created a very cohesive design. Furthermore, the slightly concave design and strong diagonals bring depth.

Mike Koonce

Mike's collage is an example of asymmetry. Notice how he has used similarity in shape (circles), scale or size change and variety (rectilinear and curvilinear shapes). The circles on the left dominate the composition by size as well as character; circles retain identity better than rectangles and squares because they contrast the format. In addition, the placement of the circles throughout establishes a rhythm that moves the eye.

SHAPE

Mary Roll

Today we began exploring the characteristics of shape. There are two umbrella terms for the different types of shapes, Geometric (man-made shapes governed by the rules of mathematics) and Organic shapes (shapes from nature).  Geometric shapes can be rectilinear and curvilinear with very regular proportions whereas Organic shapes are irregular like bones, rocks and leaves. Biomorphic, or amoebic shapes, fall under the category of organic. After drawing a Shape Inventory in sketchbooks, students made drawings of one of the following families: rectangular, triangular or biomorphic.

The drawing above is an example of the biomorphic family. The irregular, wavey contours are indicative of crustaceans or sea shells. The rippling lines and overlapping forms add depth to the composition whereas the dark spots help in establishing a rhythm and movement.

Parallel Lines Project

Lily King

Class began with a discussion on the Principles of Design. The principles consist of the theories of: unity, similarity, variety, movement, scale, dominance, economy and closure. From there, students made thumbnail sketches containing a limited number of squares, circles, half circles and rectangles. After sketching out the best on large paper, parallel lines were employed to delineate the various shapes from one another and the background. The objective was to work with line/ weight variations.

Lily's drawing above exhibits strong contrasting tonalities developed by the closeness of the lines and varying the value of the line. By changing scale, overlapping shapes and employing cast shadows, Lily has suggested a deep sense of space. The wavering line applied with accenting along its path creates a sense atmospheric texture.

Dana DeLuca

By keeping the shapes relatively close in size and placing larger shapes higher on the picture plane, Dana has created a shallow or limited sense of space. Like Lily's drawing, Dana's exhibits strong contrasting values that bring clarity to the composition. Notice how Dana has balanced the composition by implying a triangle starting at the tilted square in the bottom right moving up to the large, dark circle over to the half circle in the upper right and moving the "eye" back down to the tilted square. Remember that similarity works through shapes as well as values. So you can move from one type of shape to another if they share the same value or color and texture for that matter.

Line Dynamics

Mike Koonce

Class began with a brief discussion on how to create the illusion of depth. Here is a list, albeit limited,  of some possibilities:
1. line weight; dark lines advance while lighter lines recede
2. overlapping lines and shapes; establishes foreground and background
3. location; elements lower on picture plane = closer, higher up = further away
4. diagonals; may suggest one end is closer
5. gradations; dark values recede while light values advance
6. size/ scale change; larger objects appear closer, smaller further away

Keep in mind the most dynamic compositions with the greatest sense of depth have all these strategies working together. It usually takes the pairing of two or three of these to be successful.

Mike has created a very dynamic and varied composition above by employing zig-zagging lines in the foreground complemented by arcing bands in the background. Notice how he has used bold, heavy lines in the foreground gradually thinning as they recede along the edge of the ribbon.

Susan Potter

Susan has also used line weight variations in her drawing. The image is basically a grid which generally speaking adds organization and stability to an image but the bending and curving lines animate the surface, causing it to rise and fall like waves or a hilly terrain.

LINE

4 Lines, 4 Times, John Walters

Class began with a discussion on the art element LINE. Of the five art elements - line, value, shape, color, and texture - line is the most personal because it is so closely related to our writing. The concepts of contour, gesture as well as the characteristics of line were discussed. Lines may be straight, angular, curved and implied. Our first project, Line Inventory, was an investigation in the types of lines possible.

John's drawing above is an example of the second project from this morning. The problem was to make four variations based on the four types of lines established in the first row. The objective is to make the design more dynamic as you move down the column. Note in particular the increased use of implied or broken lines as well as variations in line weight.

Darlene DuCharme, 4 Lines Expanded

For the third project students chose one of the previous drawings and expanded the scale of the image. Darlene has achieved an asymmetrical balance by placing the looping lines closer to the right edge. The change in line weight adds depth by suggesting darker lines advancing while lighter lines receding. The spring-like, jumping lines create a very lively, playful and animated image.

Day 1: Syllabus and Materials

Today we discussed the class syllabus and materials list. For the first week of class we will discuss the art element LINE. At the minimum students will need:
1. sketchbooks
2. graphite pencils
3. white plastic eraser
4. black pens
5. 14 x 17 in. Drawing Pad

Additionally, India ink and brushes for covering larger areas of ink as well as templates for drawing circles.