Madison Artists from the Leff Collection

Our first Furlong exhibit of the academic year:

Madison Artists from the Leff Collection 1950-1990

Opening Reception
Thursday, September 24th
5:00-7:00 p.m.

This event is open to the public, free and refreshments will be provided.

Freed(Draw)ing: Some of my work

see it on youtube!

Check out this Type in Motion project by Andrew in Life Drawing I, Section 2 (11:15 class)! I love it.

Freed(Draw)ing: Some of my work

Georgia O'Keeffe: Abstraction -- New York Magazine Art Review

Georgia O'Keeffe: Abstraction -- New York Magazine Art Review

blog this!

Here's a great bookmarklet for all you bloggers.

• Click on the link and then drag the "blog this!" link up to your bookmark toolbar.
• Then when you come across something you'd like to share on your blog, all you have to do is click on your bookmarklet and it creates a post for you.
• One drawback--it only creates links to images, doesn't actually display the image--but it's a nice way to start a post.
  

muscle study, richard morris

Found this drawing ar Richard Morris Gallery. A lot of the work I find to be too academic in the sense that it is quite accurate and even beautiful, but has little uniqueness or life to it beyond that.

However, this drawing of the muscles from a sculpture is nice and shows the muscles of the posterior body that we will be learning via clay and drawing.

cameras

If you do not have a good quality digital camera, check one out from the UW-Stout library:
http://www.uwstout.edu/lib/services/circ.htm#av

or the Visual Resources Center just down the hall and around the corner from the Life Drawing room:
http://www.uwstout.edu/cas/artdes/fac_vrc.shtml

Aimee Sue Mikl is in charge of the Visual Resources Center. Here is some VRC info:
323A Applied Arts, (715) 232-1187
MF 7:45-12:15, W 7:45-5:15, TTH 1:45-5:15

Equipment may be reserved ahead of time by either Art & Design faculty or students by coming in, calling, or emailing mikla@uwstout.edu

Take advantage of these two resources.

photo edits

I'm using Emily's example from her blog here––not because she is the only one with this issue––but simply because she was top on the blog roll tonight as I checked back into Life Drawing I.

I've got before and after photos here from one of Emily's pages of gesture drawings. The after drawing is one I cropped and edited for exposure and contrast. See what a difference it makes.

Make sure you edit your photos before you post them on your blog. You can crop and make edits for exposure, contrast, etc. on preview, photoshop, or any other online photo editing site.

beginning the spinal column

We will be starting work on the spinal column next week. We will do this first by learning the four curves of the spinal column: the cervical, thoracic, lumbar, and sacral; and how each of these counteract each other, how they are created, what they mean to movement of the body, and how to use the line of the four curves to create the very first line in all your drawings from now on (at least those that have some view of the back and/or side of the figure).

We will start by see and utilizing that long axis quickly, in gesture drawings and then move on to using the spinal column line and curves as the long axis for longer cross contour studies of the torso.

In a few weeks, you will have the spinal column down by memory and it will become a new habit for you to see how the rest of the body's gesture is determinate on it.

This is a great image (left) and excerpt from a forum on the website of The Society of Figurative Arts, which is a great resource. The drawing and text are both right on.

society of figurative arts (forum on rib cage)

"I have heard many times in forums like these that, I hate school or I am not good in school and all I want to do is art.

Let me tell you that it is all very important. Learn as much as you can about math, (especially geometry) physics, biology, history, literature, English, music, dance, architecture, botany etc. etc. etc.

The more you know the better your art will be.

In dealing with the rib-cage remember that the important thing is its over-all form and as far as the details such as individual ribs note the insertion points the angles and fine the first, fifth and tenth ribs is probably enough for a starting point.

The rendering of detail is not as important as understanding that function creates form. 

Most medical skeletons have spinal columns that do not have as much curvature as in a live person (look at x-rays if you can) most anatomical text drawings are done from these inaccurate skeletons.

So try to make sure you understand the correct curvature/vitality of the spinal column because that vitality will put more life into your drawings."

Homework Assignment, Due Tuesday, Sep. 22

Cross Contour Drawing of Shell

Due: Tuesday, September 22

Spend at least three hours doing a cross contour drawing of your shell--whatever takes that amount of time for you: an entire shell, part of one, more than one, etc.

• Use a diagonal long axis
• No outlines
• Draw larger than life size, fill the paper with your drawing
• Use conte, charcoal, conte or charcoal pencil (sharpened tool)
• Use at least 18" x 24" white paper with a 1" margin on all sides
• Write/sign name on BACK
• Use value only in the context of line value: darker lines for closer parts of the form, lighter for farther away
• Use one line (this can be made up of broken, overlapping lines to imply one line) at a time, drawn around the cross-ways of the shell
• Draw carefully, slowly
• Be as precise as possible
• Exaggerate all form changes
• Draw cross contours over plane changes to reveal 3D form
• Look for and draw each cross contour line with variety. Each line should be different than the one before and after it.
  

the country teacher

thought you might enjoy this movie trailer--for the movie itself, but also for the scene where he shows the shell to the students, especially as you work on your first shell drawing.

the country teacher