| Bonus
Apple Squared 9" sq.watercolor crayon on paper
by JRJ
lying
to tell the truth
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One
item not required for this class is note taking. These provided
notes will be a double blessing. These handouts will show an ideal
format for note-taking. The body of the text to the right with images
& key word comments to the left, and footnotes below. This format
is designed for review, whether you take notes by hand or add comments
to the handout sheet.
Studio
artists can enrich their visual message by understanding the principles
and elements of design and incorporating them into their work. In
this course, you work with the principles of balance, harmony, and
rhythm and experiment with line, shape, texture, color, and illusion,
using a variety of materials and techniques. You gain an understanding
of design as it relates to fine art and explore personal themes
using the design vocabulary introduced in the course
Creativity
- another word for Inspiration. To think and act creatively, is
to make something original and unique, sometimes it means changing
the concept of what exists to provide a unique concept and view.
If strict adherance to the truth of an image is realism, then a
creative variation can be thought of as lying. Sometimes changing
an image to make it different from what we see is the best way to
capture a likeness. This is called lying
to tell the truth. In practice it is adding a little
creativity to how we present an image to encourage the viewer to
see the truth. Allow yourself room for creativity in your view of
the world and art-making. |
Course
plan
|
I'm
here to help you develop your own vision and voice, not to teach
you how to develop mine. I will show you process and possible solutions,
but I expect that decisions about your work will be made by you.
When in doubt, if you don't know what to do, or don't like the set
up I have provided, please draw something of your own selection.
I would prefer that the subject relate to the class work, but that
is not necessary if the drawing is good. In this class the drawing
comes first.
Keep the sketchbook
current and do your weekly homework drawings to keep pace with the
class. 15 minutes drawing twice a week is better than filling the
sketchbook the last week of the quarter. It has the effect of almost
doubling the gains made in class, if you keep pace with a few quick
drawings on the outside. Sketchbooks will not be critiqued Since
the notes are available online at any time, you will be able to
access them at any time.
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Drawing
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Drawing
is the oldest endeavor history uses to record the presence of mankind
on earth. Drawing an object or animal as a symbol for the real item
is the differentiation of human from the animals. No other animal
draws. That fact may be a better proof of higher intellect than
tool making, now that several animals are said to use tools in the
wild. [Chimpanzees use twigs to gather ants from a hole, a male
bower bird builds an edifice as an attractant to a female, a shrike
uses cactus spines to impale insects, sea otters pick up rocks to
break shells on their chest while swimming.] As drawing tools become
more sophisticated, the need for classical skills become more important.
Increasingly sophisticated computer 'Paint programs" and their
tech manuals cannot explain why some things work and some do not.
Classical training can provide those answers.
In
the general population, an average person can differentiate 5,000
shades of gray from black to white. An average artist can differentiate
50,000 shades of gray. The difference lies in training the eye.
This class will provide both eye hand coordination exercises and
critical skills you can use to evaluate what you have created. For
most students critical skills come much more easily than eye hand
coordination. Students become unsatisfied with their progress in
class because their taste improves so radically and quickly. For
this reason we provide 'first day drawings' as a reference point
for later work. Other students during the critiques will see the
improvement in their fellow students while missing it in their own
work. It is a common failing to discount your own work. Have patience
with your own progress.
We
will begin with Gesture drawing. Most drawing begins with a gesture.
Whether it shows on the paper is not important. The word Gesture,
for our purposes, means capturing the movement of the entire image
in a single stroke. This is repeated until it begins to provide
the semblance of a wire schematic of the subject in space. This
drawing is a quick way to place the figure on the page, to capture
the initial movement and to divide up the page spatially.
In
this class we will be doing gesture drawings, line drawings, value
drawings, movement drawings, drawings for another purpose [sketches
for painting, sketches for sculpture] and drawings that are an end
in themselves. Because we begin any endeavor by honing skills, we
will begin with eye hand coordination - specifically accurate rendering
of materials. Because this is a design curriculum, we will also
be honing critical skills to sharpen the eye and mind and to build
or refine a personal aesthetic. To that end, we will learn how to
participate in class critiques -- in Kindergarten this is called
"Sharing" or "Show and Tell"".
Later
in the class I will ask you to allow me to photograph your work.
The quality of your work is used to evaluate my performance as an
instructor in future teaching jobs. Instructors have to supply samples
of student work. Please feel free to say no. |
In
Class assignments
wherein we begin
to learn to lie to tell the truth. |
Drawings of
the still life set up in class in vine charcoal.
Draw
5 - 30 second gesture drawings, of the still life set up
Draw 3 - 5 minute drawings of the set up
Draw 2 or more 20 minute drawings of the set up
Sample critique at the end of class
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| Homework
Assignment |
Assignment
in addition to weekly sketchbook drawings: Do a single drawing of
something that interests you. In the sketch book, or by other means
draw: a hand, a face, an entire figure -- this is a reference set.
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| Footnotes:
|
Links
at the bottom of the page include email and web address for class
notes if you miss a class and need to get the notes.
|
| Bibliography |
Book
source:
optional textbook "Experimental Drawing" by Robert Kaupelis
|
| Links |
Experimental
Drawing by Robert Kaupelis,at MisterArt
The
Natural Way to Draw by Kimon Nicholaides
Drawing
on the Right Side of the Brain by Betty Edwards
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| Materials
|
Materials
Sources: Utrecht Art Materials,
Dakota Art, Dan Smith Inc.,
UW Bookstore
Book
Sources: Library, Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble.com, UW Bookstore,
Used book stores in Tacoma or Seattle. |
 |
Links:
for class notes www.jonraderjarvis.com/classes.htm
and email contact address jrj@jonraderjarvis.com
© 2007 Jon Rader Jarvis, all rights reserved |
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