Drawing 2

The next drawing project is figure drawing. We were supposed to have 3 days of class with a nude model, but our model never showed up. Anyway, the project is to draw a torso, head, and one other body part in a single composition. Medium is any black & white media of your choice.

This is a 15 min. sketch I did. I think I want to use it for my final composition. My idea was to use the repeating shapes of the body to tie it all together. The twisting back can look like a face in profile and the lower back/butt looks like the bottom, meaty part of your hand.

Can't Be Without You

The first drawing project of the semester was to draw two things that go together (like PB&J, eggs and bacon, etc. but take it a step further, be more creative) and draw them in ink in a composition that shows them interacting in some way.

My original idea was to show the magnifying glass burning the ants, but from the sketches I did, I liked this composition the best. You had to have the actual objects to draw from, so i bought a mag. glass at good will, and some plastic ants from a teaching store in Newark.

The two methods you could use were to draw with a quill and ink (cross-hatching), or use ink wash, which is watered down ink applied with a paintbrush like watercolor. Or you could use both. I used the quill for the ants and the wash for everything else. The quill takes a LONG time, and a lot of patience.

My teacher wants us to make improvements and resubmit them. For that reason she said she graded them extra low and the highest grade she gave out was a B. I got a B! I am going to add crosshatching to the grass and make the shadows from the grass darker to match the ants' shadows.

I finally snapped some pictures of Dave today. He was suspicious but I told him that he could see my secret project at the end of the semester. He guessed it had something to do with aging, lol.

Here is the basic concept I am working on but it will probably get more textured once I have more words to work with. Also, blogger always dulls the colors, this image is really a pure black and white document, not this strange brownish gray.

"Again"...again

Dave Spoke again this week, so the count has gone up!

2/10 30

2/17 90

2/24 00

3/03 62

Total 182

I will try to snap a picture of him this week so that his face

will start to become visible in the image.

...again

The first research studio project of the semester (or the last, depending on how you look at it) is to record the deterioration/growth/evolution of something over the course of the semester. It was set into motion last week and will culminate at the end of the semester in May.

I have chosen to count how many times my professor says the word again in my colloquium class which meets for up to two hours every tuesday. Sometimes he is one of three instructors speaking and only uses about 30 minutes. Sometimes he is the only speaker and uses the whole class. Sometimes he does not speak at all. However, I have noticed that he says this word A LOT.

I started doing this on October 17 last semester and I am excited it has turned into an art project. (I will only use the count starting from this semester however). At the end of the semester, I will total up the amount of times he said the word and create a portrait of him using that specific amount of words.

I will keep an updated tally of the amount he says it. Check back each week if you are intersted.

Feb. 10

30

Feb. 17

90

Feb. 24

0 -- He did not present today.

Semester Total

120

Jumpology

This is an interesting concept I learned about recently in Art History. The photographer Philippe Halsman did a lot of work for Life Magazine in the 1950s. He usually would ask his subjects, which were celebrities, politicians, scientists, etc. to jump. He believed that at this moment, the person's "mask" was removed and you could see their true personality.

Philippe Halsman and Marilyn Monroe

This type of psychology analyzed such things as arm and leg positions, and facial expressions.

Edward Steichen

IDK who this is :/

For an extra credit assignment, we had to take our own jump portrait and analyze it using Halsman's techniques. Here's what he probably would have said about me:

*My arms suggest that I am trying to support something, such as family or friends. They are also trying to propel me upward, suggesting I have a plan or purpose in mind.

*My open hands tell the viewer I am relaxed.

*My legs are not held together but not spread far apart either so I am not reserved but I am not concerned with appearing masculine either.

*My smile says I am open to new experiences (such as jumping for a photograph) and me looking at the photographer means I am interested in what other people think of me.

Well at least that's what Philippe Halsman probably would have said.

Half & Half

First Design Project of the Semester:

Splice two images together 50/50 in a meaningful way.

Iceberg Cone

Italian Leather

Birth and Death

Science vs. Religion

Spring will come!

I HATE HATE HATE the winter. Its cold and miserable. I'm definitely a spring/summer boy. This Tree reminded me that spring will be here soon enough. If it can make it through the winter and still have such a beautiful, warming color hiding underneath of its white outer skin, then I can surely make it a couple more months too. I can't wait for warm sunny weather and the lush colors of spring!

I hate the cold, but the snow isn't so bad...

What do you mean no color!?

A friend of mine suggested I make this a black and white image. I am always afraid of going in that direction because I love color and I suppose I think black and white photography is more difficult. I feel as though it requires more talent.

I agree that this puddle looks great in black and white; it lost the golden quality that I really liked but still remains its luminosity which is really strong in these shots.

I want to venture more into the realm of Black and White photography, but I really need to go out and shoot some more. Maybe I will once it gets a little warmer; I really hate winter!