Cross Hatching Final

Contour drawings

Perspective Interior and Exterior

Planar Still Life and Planar Portrait

Planar Fruit

Final Thoughts and Musings

Here I am finishing up my first semester at Memphis college of Art.  This was the first class I’ve had focused on drawing.  In high school the art classes covered everything without going into depth on any subject.  We didn’t have to document our work, just turning it in, and we never had a peer or teacher critiques.   

Conté sticks were new to me as were the sharp sticks and bamboo brushes with India ink. 

Crosshatching must have been invented by orthopedic surgeons to beef up their carpal tunnel patients but it looks great when you stand back and look. 

Techniques like finished to unfinished and controlled contouring are not completely new to me but knowing the names is a new addition to my knowledge.  Now I have technique names to put to drawings I see.

I enjoyed focusing on perspective. My Mom taught me a little about perspective in a relaxed and organic way when I was very young but I hadn’t had the chance before to really study it in a formal setting with tips and pointers on how to keep the proper perspective when drawing.

Line weight and depth are two areas I plan to continue to explore. I felt like I was beginning to get the hang of it. Understanding and strengthening my ability to use line weight will help me because I want to try to capture depth with just using lines.

Looking at the semester’s work in this drawing class, I feel I have improved over the semester, learned new techniques, explored new media, and know a lot more about types of paper now.

I am looking forward to Drawing 2 where I can learn more about lines and move into texture. 

I had a blast in my first drawing class at Memphis College of Art.

Amanda M.

Contour Drawing

Contour drawing, is an artistic technique used in the field of art in which the artist sketches the contour of a subject by drawing lines that result in a drawing that is essentially an outline. The purpose of contour drawing is to emphasize the mass and volume of the subject rather than the detail; the focus is on the outlined shape of the subject and not the minor details. However, because contour can convey a three-dimensional perspective, length and width as well as thickness and depth are important; not all contours exist along the outlines of a subject.This technique is manifested in different styles and practiced in the honor of drawing development.
The purpose of drawing blindingly is to force the artist’s eye to move along the contour of the subject as his or her pencil moves along the paper. Initially, this type of drawing may be difficult and slow, but an artist will find that with practice, it is an effective way of defining observation skills such as identifying and underlying the structure of the subject, relating forms, and conveying the sensual experience of the subject; he/she will be skilled at drawing anything quickly and successively

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contour_drawing

Ian Sklarsky

Abstract portraits from a blind contour artist

When Brooklyn-based artist Ian Sklarsky isn't directing music videos like Luciana's Betty White-inspired dance track "I'm Still Hot", he can be found staring peacefully at the subjects of his abstract blind contour drawings. Originally from Chicago, Sklarsky became interested in the traditional method during a high school art class. Blind contours require the artist to trace his subject's silhouette without looking down at the paper, and for Sklarsky this means becoming completely zen and allowing his hand to be his guide.

http://www.coolhunting.com/design/ina-sklarsky.php

Drawing Class so Far

Planar Artists

Few Facts
(born November 15, 1920) is an American painter whose most famous works are of cakes, pastries, boots, toilets, toys and lipsticks. He is associated with the Pop art movement because of his interest in objects of mass culture, although his works, executed during the fifties and sixties, slightly predate the works of the classic pop artists.

Wayne Thiebaud's work was what caught me eye the most and as I did some looking found that I really like all of his work. Most of it is sweets and other items that bring back memories. I am also fond of all the colors that he uses they tend to be warmer and give a happy feeling to the viewer.He dose a lot of cakes and though it is simple and just a few plane's he uses paint to give the look of texture to his pieces.

Perspective Artist

Julian Beever

Julian Beever is an English chalk artist who has been creating trompe-l'œil chalk drawings on pavement surfaces since the mid-1990s. He uses a projection technique called anamorphosis to create the illusion of three dimensions when viewed from the correct angle. It is often possible to position a person within the image as if they were interacting with the scene.

Beever works internationally as a freelance artist and creates murals for companies and big institutions.Beever first designs his work on paper. Once finalised, a camera is placed at a distance from the art on the pavement which he returns to in order to observe the image through the lens a number of times, as the camera's wide angled lens can create an optical illusion which distorts the actual size of objects, which aids in maintaining perspective.

Besides this pavement art, Beever also paints murals with acrylic paints and replicas of the works of masters and oil paintings, and creates collages. Among his other work are drawings, usually themed around music.

He is a favorite of mine because his works are interactive and really make everyone happy. He uses chalk like I have never seen before.He uses chalk to put the viewer in a situations that are hard to come by in everyday life.