End of semester evaluation

I have to admit I forgot about this with the rush I have been through lately. I think this drawing class has helped me alot. It was challenging but I enjoyed it alot. At the end I got to love cross-hatching something I did not think I could have gotten into. I must admit its kind of frustrating when you cannot use value, I love to do that. I also enjoy conte and charcoal the only thing is they are very difficult to get off the paper once there. Overall I enjoyed and learned alot from this class, the semester went by really fast though.

Pencil, Conte or charcoal: What is your medium of choice?

My medium of choice is pencil after using both conte and charcoal, its frustrating and impossible to erase mistakes. As time goes by I might change my mind but I am no Ingres at this moment and cannot manipulate conte that well. Charcoal pencils need sharpening every minute and its also frustrating to start and stop a drawing I lose my focus and can't stay on track with all the interruptions. So pencil so far has been my choice I can be comfortable make mistakes and not be scared that it won't come off. I wish charcoal and conte were like that because I would enjoy both mediums more than I do now.

Blind contour portraits

First I enjoyed doing this exercise but it can be frustrating because the portraits looks nothing like me. I like exercises like this, my first was a few months ago when I read "The new drawing on the right side of the brain," by Betty Edwards and did the exercises in the book. It made me realise that you can get your eye and hand to be on the same page through constant practice. My biggest problem I think is that I don't draw what I see, I draw what I THINK I see. Those symbols I can't seem to get rid of them I try not to focus on words like nose or mouth and think of it as a line but my brain screams it out in words. I am practicing and hope that I can get past this phase. Below are the drawings that I did, none looks like me but all seems to look alike.

Brush and ink

Graphite pencil

Conte

Stick and ink

Still life drapery

I took these pictures earlier of the still life drapery that I set up. I used polyester, I recently bought this piece for a still life set up I had to do for my painting 1 class. I like the texture and the folds that the material creates. It was a little challenging to do the set up, because the material is very smooth and would not stay in place but I managed to get it where I wanted. I did my first set up on a chair, then I used tacks to put it on the wall over a dresser and take pictures too. I liked the way it came out on the chair and the dresser but I will choose one to draw now. I think I will do drawings of both and pick the one that appeals more then re-draw it on the 22" x 30" paper. After drawing I will update my blog on my findings.

I added three more pictures, I decided to take some more showing the background (room). I also took one picture with the drapery on the door just to see how it will look.

David Hockney

• Born July 9th 1937 in Bradford, England.
• Started drawing at an early age. (In his bible class he started drawing scenes and people from the bible).
• 1948 won a scholarship to Bradford Grammer school where he studied art to a larger extent.
• 1953 enrolled at the college of art in England and began painting in oil, this is where he also developed a talent for abstract work.
• He also befriended Andy Warhol when he visited the United States, this allowed him to start trying new things and learn from others around him too.
• Hockney also was a photographer and this give him more attention because his works were very powerful and received well by audiences.
• Hockney was a well accomplished artist who seemed to love to explore the possibilities, especially in photography. Later on in his life he seemed to like collages so he made a lot of trips and took thousands of pictures which he put together.

Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres

• French painter, his father was also a painter and a sculptor. (John Marie Joseph Ingres)
• He does portraits and paintings/drawing bathers became his theme.
• (1780-1887) Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres.
• I observe with his paintings, he seem to be drawn to the idea of painting women.
• My favorite is "The Source," 1856, oil on canvas. This painting is currently at Musee D'Orsay which is located in Paris, France.
• From seeing some of his works I am impressed at his ability to make them look real, I am not sure if he was a realism painter but it appears that way from my observation. For example the above painting, if you look closely the water thats pouring out of the container looks very realistic.

Zak Smith

• Born 1976 in Syracuse New York. (American artist)
• Received BFA from Cooper Union in 1998.
• Also studied at Skowhegan school of painting ans sculpture.
• Got MFA from Yale University. (2001)
• Does alot of sketches in pen and ink from my observation of his artorks.
• He also paints in acrylic.
• His drawings looks to me like illustrations that are done for comic books or related somewhere along that line.