Painting 2: Written Assignment

Note: This is for Painting 2 class, NOT Watercolor 1...

PROJECT3: Visit a museum or gallery.

Focusing on a group of works, or exhibition, critically discuss your experience as a viewer (this does not have to be a painting) and critically analyze the work being shown. In other words, discuss how the work is presented, your experience of the work (good or bad, with reasons for both), and focus on one piece in the exhibition to write about further.

As you begin to think about this, try to approach your viewing as a "cold read"....

take note of anything- the room temperature, the smell, the way the work is hung, the paint color on the walls, etc. ALL of these elements point to and dictate your viewing of the work and should have been considered by any artist or curator worth his or her salt. If it doesn't work, let 'em have it!

THIS is what I'm talking about:

This is a great site in general to see what's happening in the art world, written in a very straightforward way. (artfagcity). The link below is to one of the articles in the reviews section- a great example of how to look at and approach art- and not to be afraid of stating supremely obvious things (like the smell of the gallery!). These reviews are offbeat, funny, scathing and truthful- check them out!:

http://www.artfagcity.com/2013/03/05/we-went-to-bushwick-with-gawkers-adrian-chen-part-2-of-2/

Also, for more local info, go to:

http://www.bigredandshiny.com/cgi-bin/BRS.cgi

scroll down, click on events and listings for local exhibitions.

Watercolor 1: Written Assignment

Pick an artist (can be a musician, poet, painter, photographer, whatever). In two pages, double spaced, cover these three points:

What is that artist saying? (what’s their work about)

How is he/she saying it? (technique)

Why does he/she matter to you (what's your personal connection?)

The videos we viewed in class, and way more, can be seen at http://www.pbs.org/art21/

This is an incredible resource for you guys to dive into regarding contemporary artists and their practices. You do not have to use an artist from this site, but viewing some of these artists' videos might help in reviewing the three points above.

 Due 11/18.

Rubric:
30% What is that artist saying? (what’s their work about)

30% How is he/she saying it? (technique)

30% Why does he/she matter to you

10% clear writing, grammar

Painting 2: color matching

We've gone over this in class, but thought I'd reiterate:

(click to enlarge)
match these colors as best you can- as long as you get within 80%, you're good...the only cors I used are ultramarine blue, cadmium yellow medium, cadmium red medium, and titanium white.

Rubric:
I will be grading these based on neatness (clean edges- you don't need to tape, but no stray brush marks), opacity (no transparent washes- solid blocks of color), and accuracy.
Due 10/23.
And remember, the triad project is due 10/16. I will be grading these on how well you stayed within the confines of the triad, and on the color range you were able to achieve using just these three colors.

Watercolor 1: The Color Triangle, and the Midterm

Posting the color triangle for those of you who weren't in class and still need to do it- just do exactly as I've done here:
(click to enlarge)

MIDTERM: Neutral grey grid
(click to enlarge)

The primaries are on the left, their respective complementaries are on the right. The very middle square on each row is the actual neutral grey- an equal mix of both colors, the other squares gain more of the end colors as they move from the center. For example, the neutral grey of red and green gets redder as it shifts to the red, greener as it shifts to the green.
To do this I simply filled in my two end colors as cleanly as possible (change your water often!), then got the middle grey as accurately as I could. To use the red and green example again, I then layed down a light layer of red on the three squares shifting towards red, and a light green on the squares shifting towards green. The I layered the colors until I got the gradation correct. In other words, take your time and be systematic with this- you may not get it exact at first, just keep moving along and you'll get it.
The squares are an inch wide separated by a quarter inch. This way I was able to put 9 squares on a 12 inch wide piece of watercolor paper. You can measure it any way you want, as long as you have 9 squares.

Rubric:
grading on neatness, purity of color (no dirty primaries!) and convincing gradation.
Due 10/21

Painting 2: Color Wheel Review

Above, the basic color wheel and its complementary colors.  Below, the colors to be used for the triad project:

This is a good basic triad to use...probably the easiest for this project. Simply mix these three colors and use them to paint your still life- and use white to tint the values lighter.

for this apple painting I used the triad below- same idea as the secondary triad, it just gives me a little more leeway with the blue... I combined the oranges and purples for my darks, and tinted with white for my lights.

Color Theory Video

it's a little cheesy, but very helpful...

Watercolor 1: Two Fruits

the setup: pumpkin and lemon.

establishing the local colors- brown, yellow, and orange.

shading with complementary colors: purple for yellow, blue for orange, and blue for the brown (which is close to orange in color)

Watercolor 1: for those of you who missed class

Paint this setup (from class) in black and white (in watercolor) dealing with the value ranges.

Watercolor 1: drawing assignment, due 9/23

1 object, in pencil, emphasizing value shifts. I chose to draw a small wolf figurine I got at the airport in Colorado...

Watercolor 1: value scale

I would like this assignment to be as neat and tightly rendered as this- all the way to the edge...

Painting 2: The Still Life

so- I was close:

ABOUT EVEREST HALL

Everest Hall fuses cultural references, old and new, in fetishistic and irreverent graphite drawings and oil paintings, combining “very accurate observational study with thoughts on metaphysics, memory, and history,” as he has said. Ranging from figures and still lifes to absurdist imagery and photorealistic urban landscapes, Hall draws from a wide range of source materials, including the symbols and motifs of the various belief systems represented by his immediate family—Hall’s mother is a Mayan priestess, his father a Sufi, and his grandparents founding members of the Jehovah’s Witnesses; elements of these divergent cultures come together in clashing tension in Hall’s work. A frequent motif is the use of ancient ritualistic objects and imagery, such as skulls, rattlesnakes, and candles, updated, reconfigured, and set against flat, often psychedelic backdrops or abstract forms. Hall is also known for absurdist references to popular culture, as in his transformation of a man’s genitals into Joe Camel.

www.everesthall.com

The other painters I showed you were:

Jill Grimes

Sadie Valeri

Limor Gasko

Triads! Assignment Due May 17, 2013

Class Assignment (Due May 17): Take one of the above paintings, name the triad used as the dominant color scheme in the painting (write it on the back of your piece), and create a derivative work based on the painting chosen, using a different triad. This can either be a copy of the image chosen, or an original work based on the painting. Maintain the style of the piece chosen. For example, I chose to do a painting based on the apples above, using a different triad:

triad used below:

This assignment can be done in any medium you wish: Collage, acrylics, gouache, digital media (Illustrator, Photoshop). The point is that triadic color schemes exist across a wide range of media, so use whichever medium you are comfortable with.
I'm also including a few online links as additional resources for you to use:

http://www.davidslonim.com/primary-triad-harmony/
http://www.color-wheel-artist.com/triad-colors.html
http://www.michaelharding.co.uk/colour-and-technique.php
http://www.tigercolor.com/color-lab/color-theory/color-harmonies.htm

3 typical triad color schemes:

Reading an Exhibition: Painting 2

This is a great site in general to see what's happening in the art world, written in a very straightforward way. (artfagcity). The link below is to one of the articles in the reviews section- a great example of how to look at and approach art- and not to be afraid of stating supremely obvious things (like the smell of the gallery!). These reviews are offbeat, funny, scathing and truthful- check them out!:

http://www.artfagcity.com/2013/03/05/we-went-to-bushwick-with-gawkers-adrian-chen-part-2-of-2/

Also, for more local info, go to:

http://www.bigredandshiny.com/cgi-bin/BRS.cgi

scroll down, click on events and listings for local exhibitions.

Writing Assignment(s)

To see more videos like we will/have seen in class, go to www.pbs.org/art21/

 HW: written assignment, pick an artist (can be a musician, poet, painter, photographer, whatever). In two pages, double spaced, cover these three points: What is that artist saying? (what’s their work about) How is he/she saying it? (technique) Why does he/she matter to you? - this last point is extremely important!! i want to know why. Due 4/8(Watercolor1), Due 4/17(Painting1)

 For those of you in more than one of my classes, or have been in my class before and have already done this assignment, here is your alternate assignment: Focusing on one painting, a group of works, or exhibition, critically discuss your experience as a viewer and critically analyze the work chosen. Discuss it in terms of:
 -your cold read/ what you see: the most obvious details, scale, dimensions, framing, medium, etc.
 -What you think the artist is trying to say?
 -how is it related to its time? For example,anything having to do with Surrealism in the early part of the movement is directly linked to events of the time (World War 1). same with Abstract Expressionism- it's a reaction to World War 2 and an inward look at the individual with respect to the chaos of the time- a return to the spiritual. You can say the same about any work done today- look for the connections! Research the artist, google info, follow the bread crumbs...

 This is a pretty good link to the basics of how to read a painting: http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifestyle/how-to-read-a-painting.html

Blocking in: Shapes and Value

Color Wheel/ Color Theory

here is the link to a great page about color mixing:
http://www.sensationalcolor.com/understanding-color-theory/color-theory/the-color-wheel.html


and check out this fantastic video which explains everything and more...

Watercolor 1: painting fruit or vegetable, in progress...and completed

Here's the finished painting with the shading done in a mixture of orange and blue. Paint any fruit or vegetable you want, just remember to use complimentaries to shade. So, for example, a green pepper would be shaded in a mixture of green and red, its complimentary, and so on...click to enlarge. Due 3/4.

Step 1 done- light oranges and darker oranges (layers!), no shading with complimentaries yet..and purple and yellow for the cast shadows...this will be done by the end of the day!

I chose to paint an orange...the colors in the photo are ultra- saturated and look much different in person, one of the problems with painting from photos. I painted this from life, so my colors are a little different.

Painting 1: One fruit or vegetable

paint one fruit or vegetable, in your sketchbooks, using complimentary colors to shade. So, for example, I chose a banana, so I used purple mixed with yellow for my shading. I used no black for this at all, just the primaries plus white to tint the highlights. I took the liberty of using light blue for the white if the paper it was sitting on- which makes the shadow a mix of blue and orange (complimentaries!). Due 2/27.

the final painting.

mixing the yellow and the purple for shading.

sketch, palette, and fruit.

Painting 2: Self-Portrait

one self-portrait, done in your sketchbooks, any medium you wish. I drew with pencil from my iphone...Due 2/27.

Watercolor 1 Assignment

One object, sitting on a surface, showing figure/ground relationship (paint shadows..). In watercolor, black and white (or in my case, Sepia- oops). Click on the image to enlarge. Also, refer to the previous post for an earlier look at the process. Due 2/25. Enjoy the holiday!

Painting 1 assignment

Pick 2 items to paint- this can be anything- as you can see here. A rose from valentines day....Using a strong light source, and only black and white paint, paint the 2 objects, paying particular attention to the figure/ ground relationship (how they are sitting on a surface). Remember, shadows have shapes! I'm including several steps here so you can see how approach things- blocking in shapes with washes of paint in the beginning, establishing value relationships, and finally refining things with a thicker application of paint. This is not that much different from your previous assignment, aside from the addition of another object, but I really want you to emphasize the light source here- make it as strong as you can, and think about the surrounding area more. the addition of a second object forces you to do this to a certain extent as well... also notice how I'm using the whole page....Click on the last image to enlarge. Due 2/20.

Watercolor1: also stay tuned....

Not done yet...plus I used the wrong black!!

Painting1: stay tuned...

I will post Friday afternoon...

Painting 2: Reversed Grounds

At first glance, it may appear as if there are 4 different colors here, but there are actually, in fact, only 3. The X's are one color, but the viewer's perception of color is altered by the color behind. For this assignment, imitate this effect using 3 different colors- notice how the X color is actually a mixture of the 2 grounds. Experiment with this one- try to use different colors than the one I am presenting here- the more examples we have of different degrees of this effect the better! You can paint on any surface you would like, just remember that the neater you are with solid color and hard edges, the better the effect will be (you can use tape) Due 2/20.

Painting 1: Still Life Assignment

One painting, black and white, in your sketchbooks- 1 object showing value range. Include the surface it's sitting on- notice how the shadow also has a shape. Due 2/13

Giorgio Morandi: Still Life God

Take a look at these paintings by Giorgio Morandi. For most of his life this is all he painted- still lifes- from a limited number of objects he had in his collection. By changing the arrangements and thus, the compositions, he was able to create a wide variety of moods and meanings through very simple, almost minimal means. But what I want you to notice most is how he establishes the figure-ground relationship  through his use of the cast shadow and spare linework at the base of each object.