Perceptions of Color: Finished

There are some subtle differences between these pictures because I thought I was done after the first one, but my teacher thought differently. Ha, it always feels like it's never really over when I'm drawing. Even with drawings I've supposedly "finished," I wouldn't feel bad about going back and revising. Anyway. Onto the final product, ta-da! It's not something I would hang in my house, it's just not my choice subject matter, but I'm proud of what I have accomplished and what I've learned about drawing in color. The most complicated parts of this drawing were the most rewarding and after weeks and weeks I'm glad to be done with it.

art is giving

Drew this today on a whim for a friend's birthday. It's just dinner at a restaurant, but I still feel like I should show up with something. It's of her, and it's from a picture I had on my computer. I got nupastel allllllll over my laptop. It'll be pink for a month. I'm appreciative of keyboard covers, though. Anyway, I used the same techniques we used in my drawing class awhile ago doing the "erased head," and I added more colors to it. I think it turned out nicely. All I care about is if she likes it, though! Happy 21st birthday, Chelsea!

Perception of Color: Progress

Today I made some progress on my perception of color drawing. Worked a lot on the stick and filling in more of the background. I'm saving the glove and the glass of water for next week so I can tackle them both and have enough time. Looking at this picture now, I feel I need to dull down the color on that fuchsia paper. It's less "electric" in real life. I like the way I did some of the contours in the wood, but it could use some highlights and it loses its 3-dimensionality on the left side.

Contour Drawing

What I love about contour drawing is how well it gets you in the artistic mood. I used to hate it, but I've found that when I take my time with it, it really switches my brain over so I'm more prepared to draw. I used to think of drawing as a relaxing thing, but it requires full attention and concentration and can be a stressful thing. However, that being said, the reward I feel once I've completed a drawing is worth the "work." Here are some contour drawings I've done this semester.

Modified/Pure Contour of Shoe
(the modified is unfinished)

Modified Contour of May

Modified Contour of Brian

Modified Contour of Myself

Modified Contour of Myself
(2nd attempt)

Gesture Drawing

Earlier this semester, we did gesture drawings. The goal of this lesson was to learn the perception of the whole, also known as perception of the gestalt and that subject + form = content. We as humans can empathize with the way materials are applied in drawings, as they indicate the expressive quality. These drawings were done quickly, at arms length with continuous marks.

Mass Gesture and Mass & Line Gesture

The drawings above and below took about 4 minutes each. They're done on 18"x24" newsprint with vine charcoal.

Line Gesture & Scribble Line Gesture

 Of all the gesture drawings I did, I think the line gesture was my favorite.

The one below is sustained gesture and took about 13 minutes.

Sustained Gesture

Desk Chair

Desk Chair
1/28/11

For this assignment we had to create a technical drawing of a desk chair. We were supposed to add areas of interest in the background, but I ran out of time. It is 18"x24" and is drawn with sharpened yellow chalk on black Strathmore. To create accurate proportions, I used sighting methods with a ruler. As irritating as sighting can be at times, it really helps to create realistic looking drawings. Sighting has helped with my Head of David and Erased Head drawings. I'm sure we'll use this concept all semester.

Valentine

I drew this for my boyfriend for Valentine's Day. Obviously it's a drawing of us, and he loved it. I listed reasons why I love him beneath it. He keeps it on his nightstand. Anyway, in terms of the drawing, it's definitely in our likeness. More-so him than me, but it's us for sure. It's fairly small, about 10"x6", mostly hatching, and in graphite. I had to do a head handout for my drawing class, and it helped me with facial features a lot. It's drawn from pictures I had on my cellphone. I think there's a bit too much concern in my expression, namely my eyebrow, but he insisted that I leave it that way. I wish I had a better quality picture of this!

Heads

This is an assignment I did for my Art 212 (Drawing I) class. I have it every Friday from 10-3. It's a really long class, but we get a lot of work done. For this assignment, the Erased Head portrait, we had to create a monochromatic portrait of a classmate using nupastels. The drawing focuses on subjective drawing with mass, perception of light and shadow shapes, and light logic. The paper is Strathmore, and is 18"x24".

Here is what I accomplished after the first portion of class:

blue format & outlines of Charity's face

Then after lunch, I came back, added to the drawing with my darker nupastel, and erased into the drawing to create the highlights.

Completed Erased Head - Charity
2/11/11

I wish the quality of the pictures was better.

Last week we did a drawing of the head of David. The aim of the assignment is similar to that of the Erased Head portrait. We concentrated on light and shadow shapes. This drawing is also on Strathmore and the format is 9"x11". The medium is graphite.

Head of David
2/4/11

With the head of David, I definitely feel I need to go back and eliminate lines, but it is on its way. The proportions look correct, but the overall drawing just needs a bit of touching up. I'm quickly learning about drawing faces and I'm loving it. After finishing the Erased Head drawing I wanted to go home and draw huge portraits of my friends. I just love the zone I get into when I'm drawing. It's a total shift to the artsy side of my brain.