Introduction
Welcome to Basics 101. I have to warn you that these first few sessions will be boring but they will pay off for you if you do the projects and take advantage of the companion guest lecture series.
Each class will be divided into three sections.:
1. I will present the subject and do a demonstration. You may either follow the demonstration or improvise one of your own as long as you stay on track for the class.
2.. You will present the result of your class assignment and talk about the process and any problems that you had doing the assignment. All members of the class may participate with comments during this phase. Also, at this phase, you may also present questions to me, which the class may answer, either I will answer or non-class participants may answer.
3. The Guest Lecture Series—this series can be found at
http://www.artgraphica.net/free-art-...ing-basics.htm
Members of Wet Canvas have volunteered to provide demonstrations pertinent to the class material. I encourage you to check out this useful archive. Right now the lectures are only a few but more will be coming so make sure that you constantly check back for the lecture. If you have something that you might feel will contribute to the lecture series, please contact either Gavin (Zarathrustra) or myself by pm and we will tell you how to get set up for the series. One other thing—DO the demonstrations that have been posted—you can only benefit from doing them.
NOTE: this is a mechanics class so we are sticking to the bare basics here and we should make an effort to limit philosophical opinions. Now, on to the class:
Why drawing is important
Drawing is planning. Much of the success of any piece of art depends largely on how well it has been planned. Planning in art is dependent upon drawing and the final look of a finished piece will dictate how piece will look. I remember reading passage upon passage in watercolor instructions (Ray Smith for example) and publications like “Watercolor Magic” where great emphasis is placed upon drawing—the idea being that no matter how strong your technical skills are in your chosen media, if you have not rendered a fine initial drawing your piece will look amateurish, unfinished or empty.
This is an arguable point when you look at, say, the works of humorists like James Thurber or Jules Pffeifer whose drawings are less then awe inspiring. However, they have taken their seeming INABILITY to draw and have meshed with their words so that not only is their humor in the words but there is humor in the drawing—the two blend and that is what drawing must do for you it must blend so that only your intended idea is not distracted by a weak hand, much like a choir with the Sopranos, Altos, Bass and Tenors, your drawing are songs and the drawing and the media technique are the harmony produced.
The Masters knew this fact and as Jose Parramon writes “drawing is the mother and the father of all arts”. Drawing has long been entwined in the traditions of techniques such as painting, architecture, sculpture and even in such visual endeavors as film making. As a woodcarver, I create a three dimensional drawing, turn it into a two dimensional pattern, transfer the patter to my block of wood, bandsaw out the the shape and begin, using my gouges to shape the piece. The entire time I am carving, I will be REDRAWING or restating the drawing so that my cutting does not throw me off track.
Drawing is the dawn of the artistic process..
Threaded Mode