Homework Assignment #3, due Monday 10/3

SINGLE MARK DRAWING:

This week's assignment is a bit of a departure from what we've been doing in class for the last two weeks. It will, however, take us into our next area of study, which is volumetric form. And it bears some resemblance to the in-class drawing you did today from the slide in that it will further encourage you to see things as shapes rather than as nameable, "real-world" objects.

For this drawing you will be using only one kind of mark, which will be repeated over and over again and overlapped to achieve varying densities. The areas with the greatest density of mark build-up will correspond to the darkest areas of the object/s you will be drawing, while those areas with fewest marks (or even no marks at all) will indicate the lightest areas of the object/s. This technique is similar to crosshatching, where sets of parallel strokes of the pencil are layered over one another; the difference here is that instead of parallel strokes you will be using another kind of mark.

After choosing your mark (see image below for some suggestions), set up a small still-life on a table top with at least two volumetric objects (cylindrical objects such as bottles, cups, and vases are recommended). Choose a strong light source that will cast dramatic light on your set-up and create interesting shadows.

Make a drawing of your still-life using only your mark. You may vary the size of the mark as you wish, but don’t insert extraneous marks into the drawing (i.e., no contours around objects!). Concentrate on the various shapes that interlock in your composition (some of which will be formed by the shifting tonal values, or the interplay of light and shadow) rather than on rendering the details of your objects. Let the drawing be as abstract as it needs to be.

As always, give great consideration to your composition.

Materials: Ebony pencil only (keep it sharp!). You may erase as needed.

Some suggestions for marks:

Today's image

Dear class,

For your reference, here's the image we worked with today. It's a photograph by Dorothea Lange titled North Carolina, 1939. Several people asked if they could finish their drawing using a photograph instead of the slide, and I encourage anyone who would like to do this to do so. You might be able to find a higher-res image online.

Giorgio Morandi

(For this week's homework assignment see post below this one.)

Dear Class,

Since someone mentioned the artist Giorgio Morandi's work during our critique today I wanted to show you some images. I hope you might be inspired to do some research on your own based on what you see here!

Note how he brings his objects to life with his dynamic, wobbly edges -- and how, as in Seurat's drawings, there are no outlines around them.

And here's one of his signature paintings:

Homework Assignment #2, due Monday 9/26

DRAWING SPACE:

This week’s assignment will be a continuation of our in-class studies of negative space. Before setting up your drawing pad, find at least two objects in your room that will create interesting negative space shapes, both within and around themselves and in relation to each other. Set them up in an arrangement that will make for an intriguing drawing composition.

Just as we did in class, begin by creating an even, toned ground with charcoal. Be sure to cover the entire rectangle with this ground, since the paper’s edges and corners will be crucial players in your composition.

With your eraser, “carve out” the negative space shapes you observe in your arrangement of objects. Remember that by drawing the space around something you will also be drawing the thing itself. In the end, your composition might look completely abstract, and this is fine. The important thing is to achieve a unified composition made up of negative and positive shapes that fit together like pieces of a jig-saw puzzle.

Materials for tomorrow's class (9/19)

Dear class,

Please be sure to bring with you to tomorrow's class the following: Charcoal (both vine and compressed), a good eraser (preferably the block kind rather than the kneaded one), and your newsprint clips.

Please see below for the specs for the first homework assignment.

Werner Herzog film

(To see my "welcome" post that contains the first homework assignment, see below.)

Good news, class! The Werner Herzog film I talked about in class, Cave of Forgotten Dreams, is still playing in New York. It's playing at the IFC theater on Sixth Avenue at W. 4th St. (within easy walking distance of SVA). I *strongly* recommend seeing this film (in spite of the steep price of the ticket and some minor annoyances with the director); it's something you don't want to miss. The images of the cave drawings will stay with you for a long time.

For more information and showtimes see www.ifccenter.com.

Welcome and First Homework Assignment

Welcome, incoming class! I'm excited to be working with you for the upcoming year. My hope is that you will all participate as much as possible in all facets of the course and in so doing inspire each other to make the most of your freshman year at SVA.

As we went over quite a bit of material on the first day of class, I want to urge you to take a few minutes to reread the syllabus on your own. Please let me know if you have any questions, and if you do just send me an e-mail at the address listed above. I'll make every effort to respond to your mails as quickly as I can.

For your first homework assignment (due next week), I'd like you to purchase the basic materials you'll need for the course (see page titled Basic Materials List to the right), and then to make a contour drawing following the specifications below. Please read the entire assignment carefully.

CONTOUR DRAWING

On one of your sheets of sketch vellum, make a contour drawing using only Ebony pencil. Your contour may be a continuous contour or not, but it should not be a blind contour (i.e., go ahead and look at your drawing as you draw).

Set up some kind of familiar object on a windowsill in your room. Before beginning to draw, take a few minutes to study your object, the windowsill, and the images you see in the panes of the window, taking special note of small details. Concentrate on discerning edges -- both those that delineate the objects from the space around them and all the internal edges. As you begin to draw, concentrate on letting your pencil "feel out" the edges you see; let your hand respond to their various qualities by applying and releasing pressure, speeding up and slowing down, etc. Remember that in a contour drawing, you are working with line only (i.e., no shading or modeling of any sort).

Be as selective as you wish, but your drawing should include something of the object on your sill, the window itself, and whatever you see through the glass (foreground, middleground, and background). The quality of your line should reflect the differences in visibility (i.e., objects closest to your eye will call for bolder lines than those furthest away, etc.).

Do not use photographs for this assignment! It is important that you work from direct observation, so set yourself up in a place where you can work for several hours.