Resources for Identity Project

This post is just me throwing you a myriad of inspirational resources for your Identity painting project.  Feel free to check out the following illustration/painting blogs while you ideate in the computer lab.

illustrationmundo.com
fecalface.com
newamericanpaintings.wordpress.com
booooooom.com
beautifuldecay.com
butdoesitfloat.com
blog.drawn.ca

Keep in mind that you can limit the search parameters on a lot of those sites to just painting, illustration, etc.  And most importantly, don't forget Google Image Search!  That bad boy will save you tons of time; get specific and see what you can come up with.

Sketchbook Assignment #6 (Due 10/23)

Hello all!  So last week we watched a portion of the Art 21 Episode "Identity" and discussed the theme of identity in contemporary art (if you'd like to re-watch a portion of the video it's available at  http://www.pbs.org/art21/watch-now/episode-identity).  Your sketchbook assignment for this weekend is a short writing assignment along with a project proposal.  I'd like you to answer each of the following numbered questions with just a few short sentences (numbered in your sketchbook as well) as they will guide your painting project.

1) How do you see yourself (personal interests, experiences, cherished objects and places, etc)?
2) How do you think others see you (superficial impressions)?
3) Who would you like to be (goals for yourself as a person, future aspirations, etc)?

Take these questions into consideration and allow them to inform your painting project.  Keep in mind that we'll be painting on a larger surface this time around; at least 18" x 24" and larger if you so desire.  Which brings me to the final question!

4) What would you like to paint for your final project?  You can include as much information as you like, but at the very least I would like for you to explain how your subject matter connects to your personal identity.  I know in class we discussed foregoing representational imagery in favor of more conceptual faire, but I am all about you enjoying your project!  If you want to paint a grandiose dragon or a soccer ball that's entirely fine, but on Tuesday I'll be discussing with you individually how we can beef up your ideas.  I'll also cover the process of ideation and thumbnail creation next week, so consider this project proposal merely a starting point.

Blogs of note!

I present to you three of my favorite blogs for contemporary art and general visual anthropology.  Take a gander and make yourself of what speaks to you (and for whatever reason)!

http://butdoesitfloat.com/
http://www.fecalface.com/
http://www.booooooom.com/

Sketchbook Assignment #5 (Due 10/9)

It's that time again!  Your next sketchbook assignment (due Tuesday, October 9th) is to draw a pile of your dirtiest laundry.  It doesn't have to be laundry necessarily; you can use a bunched up comforter or sheets, towels, or anything made up of fabric.  The idea is to fill your page with a drawing of a mound of fabric (no tiny drawings off in the corner) and to use varying line quality.  You don't have to shade anything; I just want you to explore all of the interior lines and fill your page with varying lines (lost and found, pure, bold, etc.)

Sketchbook Assignment #4 (Due 10/2)

Okay, now it's time to try something painfully new!  I want you to render an object in your household using strictly ink (preferably sharpie as it creates large lines that keep you from getting too finicky).  The idea is to imply three dimensional form via shading, but since you're limited to only black and white you have to get a little creative and pay attention to your negative space.  Make sure at least one area of your piece is fairly dark (more black space than white space).  Check out these examples that utilize different types of linework:

Sketchbook Assignment #3 (Due 9/18)

For this round of sketchbookery I want you to draw something you love... something you desperately and hopelessly love until the end of days, but with some STIPULATIONS!  You need to draw a 7" by 7" square in your sketchbook and this will become the outer border for your drawing.  If your sketchbook is silly-small then you'll have to just fill the page.  Herein lies the stipulation: the object of your undying affection needs to go past three of the borders (you can even draw the object outside of the borders if it helps you to visualize what is happening).  You can have it extending past all four borders, but at a minimum I want it to expand across three.  For example, let's say you have a weird necro-crush on Pope John Paul the 2nd.  Note how he extends past three of the borders, but the fourth is left open.  There's no need to shade your drawing (definitely put some detail/effort into it, however), but you get the idea!

Sketchbook Assignment #2 (Due 9/11)

Hello again my fellow arteests!  Just as we did in class on Thursday, I want you to complete 10 gesture drawings (in pencil please).  For your reference I want you to do your best to find candid subjects (someone sitting in a bench, someone standing at an intersection, or any pose that's relatively stationary).  The more exagerated the pose the better (arms extended, legs somewhat spread or crossed).  If you can't find any candid subjects then try enlisting someone to do a few poses for you.  Each gesture drawing should only take about 30 seconds.  Also, try to fit as many as you can onto one or two pages instead of having 10 spread throughout your sketchbook.  Some examples below! 

What do I NOT want to see?  I'm glad you asked!  I don't want to see any deliberation over structure or an attempt to build up the figure through skeletal structure or geometric volume.  For the love of all that is good and holy, DO NOT DO THIS (see below)!

The above drawing is a fine way to approach the figure, but it is not gesture drawing.  Give me your loosest, ugliest, most free-form attempts at rendering the figure!  

Sketchbook Assignment #1 (Due 9/4/12)

Happy Saturday everyone; for your assignment due on Tuesday I requested that you draw at least three rectangular prisms (make sure they're large enough to fill up a page in your sketchbook).  These can be anything in your home from a book, to a shelf, the refrigerator, even a CREDENZA!  Do your best to utilize the measuring, sighting, and angle checking techniques we learned this week.  If something looks subconsciously wonky/weird about your cubes/prisms then it probably means their perspective lines are all wonkadoo.  Remember, the top and bottom edges of your prisms should be receding towards each other in space.  They may appear to be parallel, but they'll actually be slightly askew towards the horizon line.  Take your time and don't get discouraged!  I am there with you in spirit, but not in a creepy overbearing way.

Just felt these were important

Latest sketchbook assignment

Note:  This will not be due until Wednesday, April 11th, 2012


Alright peeps, for this assignment you will once again be using sharpies!  It's similar to your previous sketchbook assignment in that you will be defining value with strictly black and white.  The only catch is that on this assignment I want you to use MORE black than white.  By doing so you'll learn how to create a print that has a lot of surface area for support and will make for a stronger image.

Mark off a 6" by 6" square in your sketchbook; that will become the border for your "print".  You can choose to draw an object, a design, or anything from your imagination: as long as there is more black than white in the final image.

Assignment #5

Okay, now it's time to try something painfully new!  I want you to render an object in your household using strictly ink (preferably sharpie as it creates large lines that keep you from getting too finicky).  The idea is to imply three dimensional form via shading, but since you're limited to only black and white you have to get a little creative and pay attention to your negative space.  Make sure at least one area of your piece is fairly dark (more black space than white space).  Check out these examples that utilize different types of linework:

Assignment #4 - Upside down as all get out

(Find a black and white family photo or a photo you like with at least one figure in it. You can even use something stylized or illustrated; as long as it's as complex as Picasso's drawing of Igor Stravinsky. Turn it upside down, and without mentally labeling the image, try to reproduce the image as accurately as possible.  If you're having trouble on the shading feel free to just focus on the lines. Only when the image is complete, turn it over to look at the result.)

Assignment number, wait for it, 3!

Soooo as discussed in class, your next sketchbook assignment (due Monday, February 19th) is to draw a pile of your dirtiest laundry.  It doesn't have to be laundry necessarily; you can use a bunched up comforter or sheets, towels, or anything made up of fabric.  The idea is to fill your page with a drawing of a mound of fabric (no tiny drawings off in the corner) and to use varying line quality.  You don't have to shade anything; I just want you to explore all of the interior lines and fill your page like we did with the palm drawing.

Assignment #2: Due Monday February 13th, 2012

So, the idea is to draw the interior of your room (no shading unless you want and just contour lines to define the forms).  Make sure to have at least one corner of your room visible, but don't put it in the center of your page.  You are free to draw any other part of your house/apartment if you wish or even a room in another building entirely.  The only requirements are that you again, pick a corner to display in your drawing and that there be a fair amount of visual interest (no empty rooms free from signs of human life).  Have some examples!

Sketchbook Assignment #1: Gesture Drawing

I want you to (ideally) go to a public place and do 10 gesture drawings.  The idea is to draw 10 figures that are moving very loosely and gesturally for 30 seconds so the assignment shouldn't take very long to complete.  Don't worry about capturing proportion or likeness, just fluidity of movement and the angles of the limbs like we practiced in class.  If you can't find enough human subjects then attempt drawing some inanimate objects while retaining a gestural quality.

There's a more in-depth explanation at Wikipedia.

Some examples:

Art 21 Video

The full Art 21 video shown in class (Yinka Shonibare, Cindy Sherman, Paul McCarthy).

Art 21 Episode: Transformation

Drawing assessment video

Just in case you dreamt about it for days, here's the first video I showed you in class.

Assignment #8 - Plant based lifeforms

Oh Dear Lord it's what it sounds like!  For our final assignment I want you to utilize contour drawing (no shading, just very detailed exploration of the form) and explore the forms of a plant.  This means ignoring any shading and focusing on the undulation of form and lots of little details.  This also means no single leaves or a lonely twig in a field of snow, but a detailed drawing of a semi complex plant.  Also, no hand turkeys.

Seriously, talk to your kids...

Interview with Walton Ford

I haven't mentioned him in class yet, but if you're interested in representational and figurative art you should take a look at Walton Ford!

Interview with Walton Ford

"Walton Ford appropriates the crisp, descriptive style of 19th-century naturalists and artists—John James Audubon, Karl Bodmer, George Catlin—but he puts their conventions to work in an investigation of natural history itself.

Repurposing a field-guide aesthetic, Ford composes dense allegories that make sometimes pointed, sometimes sidelong allusions to everything from conservationism and consumption to war, politics and imperialism.

While staying uncannily faithful to the natural history mode, Ford paints on a much larger scale, producing outsize watercolors with epic compositions. He renders his scenes with operatic drama, capturing moments when the natural order changes, such as the last member of a species struggling just before extinction."