Daily Sketchbook 8/30

You have two options for today.
Option 1: continue working on your drawing from Monday in class (the Man Ray inspired image)
Option 2: draw a series of contour drawings of your hand (approx 3-4 min each) on a double page spread in your sketchbook (these should be life size or larger and will prob overlap at least a little bit)

Note: Personally I would rather you use option 1 so that you get in the habit of multiple days of working on the same image so you know what it feels like to have little bits of work gradually add up to larger bits of work. Ultimately the decision is up to you though.

Daily Sketchbook 8/28

Yesterday was Man Ray's birthday, so choose one of the below images as your inspiration for the piece you will do in your sketchbook today.
Remember, eliminate the shadow and photograph the entire page before uploading to Canvas. Also, make sure you are uploading to the correct assignment please. Ask if there are questions.

Did you see my petit homage on the insta last night?

Painting Thoughts (Bechtle)

Just a few simple thoughts from Robert Bechtle. Quick and painless. But insightful.

Many Learned Things

I guess I should start from the beginning.
Or at least some beginning.

A few months ago I bought a book while in the bookstore at SFMOMA called 101 Things to Learn in Art School, by Kit White - maybe you've seen it in class. It's a great book that deals with so many "basic" things that I've been thinking of duplicating and adapting some of them here.
I mean, I know all of my students - yes, you - read this blog religiously, so if I can impart some good stuff, well, how "teacherly" of me.

The idea is to take one of the 101 things from that book as a jumping off point at some semblance of a regular interval and share it with you. We can all continue to learn, and even if it's something we already know, solidifying our knowledge isn't exactly a bad thing.

So without further delay, I give you v1.0

Learn to Draw
"Drawing is more than a tool for rendering and capturing likenesses. It is a language, with its own syntax, grammar, and urgency. Learning to draw is about learning to see. In this way, it is a metaphor for all art activity. Whatever its form, drawing transforms perception and thought into image and teaches us how to think with our eyes."

I have to say that I felt very vindicated when I read that passage. It didn't really dawn on me until after a few years of teaching that it kind of isn't about what you are drawing but what you are allowing yourself to see.
Too often we think we know what is in front of us and our aim is to draw that. But too often we're just wrong. Truth.
I see it time and again in student work - and even my own at times. Our brains are pretty smart things but they don't know everything, and the situations and circumstances we are faced with are constantly in flux and motion. It's nearly impossible for something to be the same in every instance. $hi* changes, and our approach and perception of it needs to change, too.

OK, 'nuff said, for now.

Since I know you are all checking this all the time :) I'll not belabor the point, but every few weeks I'll try to update this (ongoing) series.

Taking in Mr. Serra

 I found this in the drafts from when I went to the member preview of the Richard Serra drawing retrospective at SFMOMA last week - so here it is.

I think one of.the things that is the most interesting about this Serra drawing retrospective is the process.
Actually, coming from him hat should be expected - and it was, so let me back up.

I most appreciate the pieces where the texture truly takes over and, more importantly, those few pieces where the papers and the pigment join ... and don't join.
There are many places where he has taken two ordinary - though ordinarily large - sets of paper and butted them right up to one another, but the paintstick veers off at some point - though in a straight, or at least straight looking, line.
But there are also times where the pages don't actually meet, even though you expect them to or they look like they do.

Is this him keeping us on our toes? Is this him playing with our expectations? Is it just me?
Truth is that it doesn't really matter. Those particular works are just good.

And I feel totally justified in saying that because not all the work in the exhibition is. Some of it stands out cognitively - rather like a Rothko or a Newman in some regards - even though I don't find myself that terribly fond of it.
But some of it is just flat out stunning and beautiful and amazing.
Awesome!

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If you are interested in this Serra exhibit, it is now open to the public, and the details are here.