Art 4 Daily Drawing for 3/10

How long has it been since you busted out your pen & ink?
Probably longer than you would like to admit. So...that's what we're using today.

Supplies:
Large Pen, ink bottle, paper towel, mirror

Directions:

• read all of the directions before beginning
• Draw on the page you did last Wed. and Fri. (with the stream of conscious writing and the teardrop pattern)
• position your mirror so that you are in the center of the field of view
• begin by drawing the outer contour of your head (head, shoulders, etc)
• do not make your self so large there is no room for any negative space
• do not draw your face or any detail in your head
• only draw the negative space that you see in the mirror
• only draw directly with the pen (do not sketch in pencil first)
• draw as informatively and neatly as possible
• set your timer and draw for only 11 minutes (it only takes 2 min tops to get your materials and get set up) so that you can be totally finished and uploaded before 15 minutes of class has expired

Go!

Art 4 Daily Drawing for 3/6

Last time you did some stream of conscious writing regarding balance. Today I want you to use the below image to create a pattern on top of the writing you did last time.
You may use watercolor or colored pencil but this image is to be layered on top of your text.
Note: the teardrop shape on the right is just a detail of the full piece on the left.

Art 4 Daily Drawing for 3/4 (Creating Balance Writing Exercise)

In life we all strive for balance. Sometimes this is super easy, but more often than not it proves difficult.
I mean, physically there is this:

Cool I know.

But physically creating balance is only one way to approach the idea of creating balance.

Read the below questions, close your phone and then do some stream of conscious writing on a blank page of your sketchbook.

Don't think about what is "right" or "wrong", just write. Get as much written as possible until I tell you to stop. Please also cease your conversations because we all know that if your are super focused on letting the words flow you can't carry on a conversation at the same time.

What are some of the most important things in your life?

How do you engage with one or more of these things?

How would you ideally engage with one or more of these things if nothing else "got in the way"?

What are some of the "have to do" things in your life you feel consistently obligated to engage in?

How do you engage in these things?

Do you feel you do these things well?

Do you feel you do these things efficiently?

Art 4 Daily Drawing for 3/2 - Blackout Version

Austin Kleon is a favorite. Much about the career he has constructed for himself is crazy great, and he is someone I suggest you investigate/look up at some point.

He first became "known" online for creating what he has termed "Newspaper Blackouts"

I want you to watch the following video (volume not necessary) and use the provided magazine pages to create your own.
(If the video doesn't play, try clicking on THIS LINK)

When you are finished you should use rubber  cement or glue stick or scotch tape to attach your blackout poem to the next available page in your sketchbook.

As an added bonus, I will call on a few of you to read yours aloud to the class!

You are being timed...Go!

Art 4 daily Drawing for 2/26

Look at these cute felines:

For your daily drawing today I want you to recreate this project in your sketchbook in your sketchbook.

Cutting out cat heads from magazine pages without drawing then out first, and then use a marker (or marker type object) to add the features so it actually looks like a cat. 

Then use the rubber cement, glue sticks, or scotch tape to paste them in a page of your sketchbook.

You will need a page or two from a magazine (I have a pile of them ready for you), some scissors, a sharpie or other marker, and some rubber cement or a glue stick.

How many can you create in 15 minutes? Go!

A Little Something for the Juniors Out There

One day, probably soon, your parents will start bugging you about college.
I've seen over the past 4-5 years how the manifestation of this application process has sort of spiraled out of control. Meaning, y'all get way more stressed out than you need to, and your peers and parents don't help.
Short truth, you will all get in to college.
Maybe not your first choice, but my almost automatic response to "Why do you want to go there?" is, simply, "Why?"

"Because it's a good school" is usually the response, and that is a terrible response, so my next question is almost always, "But is it a good school for YOU?"

Maybe.
Maybe not.
And that's ok. Really. Trust me.

I think this article by Scott Anderson is fantastic. He is a Senior Director at The Common Application, so he might be familiar with the process after all.

Let's cheers to no working yourselves up too much next fall!

Monday Warm Up

Art 2's, welcome back.
We'll start our time together by getting the ol' arm moving quickly.

Step 1: Set your timer for five minutes and draw the following image on a fresh page of your sketchbook (orient your sketchbook horizontally please).

Step 2: Set your timer for another five minutes and draw the following image on the same page as the above quail in your sketchbook.

Step 3: Set your timer for two minutes and create a "conversation" between the two fowl.

Step 4: Smile. You are done.

Art 4 Daily Drawing for the week of 2/9

What does 45 mins of solid drawing look like?
At this point in your studies it should be pretty significant. You should be able to get a lot of high quality work done as you have a lot of practice under your belt.

This week you will work on the same image for the first 15 minutes of class all three times I see you. My expectations are that the drawing not only be accurate in proportion but also in things such as value and texture.

Begin with the children and what they are holding/using, and work from there. The points for these three days will be based off the progress and product both.

Art 4 Daily Drawing for 2/5

Last time you drew one of the two pictures in THIS POST from 2/3. You should have been focused on getting an accurate image and one with clean lines without getting to any (or maybe very little) shading.

This time I want you to take the OTHER photo and incorporate the head/face of that person as an addition to the head/face of the drawing you did on Tuesday.

Please use pencil again, and focus on accuracy of proportion, line, shape, etc. before beginning shading.
Yes, it will look strange. That's the point - to get you to expand what you think of as a portrait.

If you have time to begin shading, perfect, but approach that slowly - as you would a more finished piece.

Art 4 Daily Drawing for 2/3

Below you will find two photographs by the amazing Irving Penn. If you don't know his work - well, you probably do but don't realize it - you should look it up with the above link.

I want you to choose one of the photographs and begin to reproduce it as accurately as possible in pencil only.
At first focus on line. Don't worry about shading until you have your lines/shapes finished. We will be spending more than one day on this drawing so don't try to rush through and "finish" in one 15 minute session.

 

Just think about the figure in this exercise. I don't care so much about the background, and intentionally picked images with, basically, nothing there. Cheers.