Week of April 13 Exercises

Class Exercise

This week you are to explore painting fabric and folds.  Fabric and folds offer one two big problems to solve—one is a “drawing” problem and the other a “painting” problem.

The Drawing problem is one of structure, understanding a bit of how folds are made, and how to tackle them.  There’s a PowerPoint about the different types of folds that I think will be very helpful.  Go through it before you paint.

The Painting problem is one of the texture of the fabric.  Different types of fabric look different because of how they REFLECT light.  Some fabrics have a glossy sheen, and others are very matte.  Some are fuzzy and some smooth, but what is it that makes a surface look fuzzy or smooth?  The way the light reflects off of the fabric.  To analyze the way light reflects, you need to look at 3 things:

1. The amount of contrast between the lights and the darks, both in value and in chroma. A glossy fabric might have lights with a 9 value, and darks with a 2 value, but a matte fabric might only have a 7 to 5 (or 5 to 3, depending on the value of the local color) value range.
2. The abruptness of the shift from lights to darks.  Glossy, sheeny fabric might have nearly hard edged transitions from bright lights to deep darks, but matte fabrics might have much gentler, softer transitions.
3. The actual color (both hue and chroma) of the lights and the darks.  They may not just be light or dark versions of the same color. Sometimes the color might shift from bright, orangy reds in the lights to deep violets in the darks. Or bright warm yellow lights to cool, blue-green darks. 

If you solve those 3 color problems in addition to the drawing problems, you should be able to make very convincing paintings.

What to actually Paint

I think of this as a not-a-still-life still-life. In other words, even though you will be painting an inanimate subject, you won’t be held to still life conventions. You are to set up drapery of several different types of fabric, being careful to arrange it so there are a variety of types of folds.  Make it interesting, elegant, and dynamic.  Any non-fabric stuff should be essential to the drapery (see the wooden hand in my demo video).  The emphasis of the painting is on fabric textures, though.  Don’t be distracted from this!

This will probably be a pretty involved painting.  It should also have some scale to it—paint a bit larger than you are comfortable.  At least 24x30 or so.  Therefore you are welcome to spend two weeks working on it instead of just one.   It won’t be due until April 24.  See examples below of how different artists deal with fabric and folds.  In the last 4 Portraits, notice how the Masters Titian, Sargent, Ingres, and Holbein all handle different types of fabric.  Try to analyze what makes them convincing . . .

Demonstration Videos

Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qw1FuUIUDnA

Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_X52867Znw

Part 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kulF_3BMwMI

Examples Images

Week of April 6 Exercises

Wash Approach

This week we are going to examine an approach to painting that I’m sure I’ve mentioned in the past but I don’t think we’ve done it formally yet.  The approach to painting that I refer to as the “wash approach” gives some of the best opportunities for interesting color and surface of any approach that I know.  It’s often my “go to” painting approach that I utilize when I’m painting on my own.  The video links below take you through the process pretty extensively.  Watch them all before you start painting, and then watch each stage again in turn as you are building your own painting.

My example painting is a self portrait, and you are welcome to make a self portrait.  However, if you can convince someone close to you to pose that’s okay too (what else do they have to do these days?).  Be sure to set up lighting dramatic enough for rich lights and deep shadows.  It’s up to you to do this.  Be creative.  Your lighting might be as simple as grabbing a lamp from the other room and setting it temporarily near the person (or yourself) posing.  Whoever is posing should wear interesting clothes with plenty of color.  Have fun with it, maybe even using interesting props!  Take cues from great works from Art History.  Maybe even make a painting that references some of them.  Have fun and good luck!

Example Videos

Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-fpVwVsXBw&t=7s

Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8PpiN891Hg&t=5s

Part 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqpwe80VTW4

Part 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3P6Y_i2Q_c

Part 5: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvN6un7oT98

Part 6: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_1g_tC10Ks&t=6s

Part 7: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SihwYoc4hEM

Week of March 30 exercises

This week we are going to focus on turning form by controlling edges.  You’ve heard me talk about the importance of edges in the past, but I’m not sure we done class exercises that truly focus on it.

Edges draw the eye.  They also suggest contrast, bringing the area forward even if the two colors coming together are very close together.  Soft edges create space and enhance the illusion of turning form and atmosphere.

You are to choose an interesting (group of) object(s) and set up a still-life that is somewhat monochromatic (I don’t want you to be distracted too much by color).  Your object(s) should have enough curving planes to serve our purpose Be sure to light it with directional light so there are clear light and shadows.  Then make a painting of it using any painting approach with which you are comfortable that focuses on edge quality.  Downplay anything that happens in shadow, and play up the lights and their transitions into shadow.  See the links to my demonstration below

A couple of principles

·         If in doubt, make an edge soft. 

·         It’s easier to harden up an edge once the paint has dried than to soften a dried hard edge

·         If one side of a form needs a hard edge, make sure the opposite edge is soft

My demo

Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYT1NUB5S_0

Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hkPlIeRYz8

Part 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGKuKx0mNG0

Part 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMOSm39wlFQ

Part 5: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ee-bhbfHjcY

Assignment #5: Pop/Lowbrow Culture

Due April 30

You are to make a painting about consumer culture that prominently uses Branding imagery.  That means that the logos and color combinations that we see in corporate branding will figure prominently in your composition. This could mean a variety of approaches to making paintings.  Your painting may be realistic or somewhat abstract, using believable illusionistic space or flat pictorial space.  Below are some examples of artists using brand/consumer culture imagery.

There are many more ways to handle branded and consumer culture imagery than the examples below.  These are just some of the ways that artists have dealt with such imagery over the last several decades.  Find a way that make sense to you using imagery and approaches to painting that you understand and are interested in.

Douke. Heinz

Zoey Frank. Orange Glo

Kaws. Simpsons

Lichtenstein. Look Mickey

Warhol. Campbell’s Soup Cans

Sachs. 3M Tape Dispenser

Assignment #4: Multiple Figure Composition

Due April 30

You are to design a composition that involves at least three human figures physically interacting with each other.  Your painting must be of a size that is larger than you are normally comfortable with. The narrative that combines these figures is completely up to you. The figures may be any scale necessary as long as they are formally essential to the composition (for example, I don’t want you making a painting where there is a single prominent figure with a couple tiny figures stuck in the background). You may use any visual reference necessary.

Think about the kind of narrative that might work with multiple figures.  There are plenty artists that have dealt with such a subject.  Below are a few examples from Art History.  Borrow as much as you need to from other artists! However, don’t merely mimic the solution from another artist.  Come up with a solution that is YOURS.  Make work about the stuff that interests you and that you tend to think about. Find your solution from your well of experience.

Stevenson. After Matisse

Freud. Large Interior

Kadevsky. Party

Pontormo. Sacred Family

Breugel. Blind Leading the Blind

Spencer. Apple Gatherers

Picasso. Demoiselles D’Avignon

Currin. Thanksgiving

Fischl. St Barts

Katz. Round Hill

Demo Video for Class Exercise

So I just posted links to a series of short videos demonstrating what I've asked you to do this week.  I hope they help!
Here are the links as well:
Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYXiUIgxh-s&t=53s

Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFRI4QQRA8I

Part 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2ArXTfEQOw&t=23s

Part 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKMoVfOnMO4

Blackboard is LIVE!

Hi All,
From now on we will do business through Blackboard, so be sure to familiarize yourself with it.  Check out our course shell, and note that Project #3 is due this week.  Please submit an image of it through the assignment post in the Lessons section.  I'm still working out how to effectively post demo videos through Blackboard, so even though I'm trying to that might not happen this week (sorry!).  I realize none of us signed up for this, but here we are. 

Be sure to stay safe, healthy, and SANE!