Making Marks

Penguin Love

As I work on developing shading and adding different values to my work, I've been taking successful sketches to translate into color. It's more challenging than I would have guessed. It's much easier for me to think about colors than value. However, in a class I took from Fred Mullett, he said that all color is subordinate to value. I can see how this is true and I need to adjust my vision.

These penguins are oil pastel on watercolor paper. I will be interpreting the same image using at least one other mixed media technique. My goal is to compare what I like and don't like as my style and media preferences continue to evolve.

More Metamorphosis

Here's another painting that I revised with oil pastels on top of watercolor. In this case, softening the background helped to push it back and keep it from competing too much with the bird. I also added some landscape details in the front which added some interest. The biggest improvement, however, was adding highlights and deepening colors in the bird.

Here's the original drawing.

I like the original, but I like the revision better. I need to pay attention to the backgrounds from the beginning of work on a piece.

Developing Sketches

In a continuing effort to add values and details to my work, I took this one in to the painting class. Ann Altman suggested that I add some even darker areas, hence the bottom counter. I think I need to abandon my mechanical pencil and carry some good softer graphite pencils around with me. It took a lot of effort to get the dark areas, and I don't think I'd have to work that hard with other tools.

I find myself gravitating toward drawing bunnies, elephants and penguins these days. They are inherently charming and they can be pretty easily anthropomorphized, which I think is funny.

Back to Painting Class

You may remember that in a previous post that I used an idea from Carla Sonheim about making squiggles into drawings. Here's an example of how an elephant drawing started. I like how playful the image is, so I developed the idea into a watercolor painting.

This painting ended up as one of the images I used for the first set of houses I sent off to Art-o-mat.

I liked the picture, but I thought it could be improved. So I took it to the painting class that I go to that's taught by Ann Altman.

I also took oil pastels to class to see what I could do to further develop the image. Ann suggested that I soften the black lines in the background since they shouldfuzzier because of the distance. She also asked me to consider adjusting the highlights and lowlights on the elephant's back. I set to work. . . and evolved the work.

I liked how removing the black lines in the landscape helped it settle into the background. I also like how the shading near her rump is more refined.

Maybe I should just let the watercolors go and stick with oil pastels. Some of difficulties with the shading was because of dealing with the watercolor medium. I can see how developing watercolor skills is a life-long pursuit.

Upcoming Class

I'm getting very excited about a class I'm taking soon. This one has a drawing focus and is taught by Carla Sonheim. I'm also taking a full day class from her on Sunday. I think she has a unique approach to teaching drawing, and I'm ready to give it a try. I took drawing classes ages ago, but I never felt very successful. After that, I focused on more on what I'd call design (such as the blossoms card shown  here). Now that I'm working in oil pastels and capturing landscapes, I think it would be useful to hone my drawing skills.

If a little of Carla's style rubs off on me, I'd like that, too! Her work seems very fresh to me. I'm afraid my images can seem over-worked.

What workshop would you enjoy taking at this point in your life?  

Embossed Metal Class

I recently took an embossed metal class from the renown Elaine Woodhouse in which she taught us how to use a variety of tools to shape 36 gauge sheet aluminum. Elaine is a delightful teacher who encourages student experimentation.

I decided to try the techinque using some images I've been sketching. The images are a combination of some Zentangle-type designs in a lanscape format. I do like parts of this piece, and I may try a few more examples. However, I think the designs might be better suited to a medium that incorporates more color. (I know the metal can be stained and colored with a variety of inks. . . I'm just not ready to buy MORE supplies right now.)

Art Class Project #2

Art class has been fun on some days and a challenge other days. We have been working in black and white only, and this giraffe assignment was to create a design with "transparent" layers so that each element of the design could be seen (such as the branch and leaves are in front of the giraffe, and the branch color changes when it goes over a giraffe spot). This was difficult for me to visualize. Then we had to create at least three "color shifts" by drawing lines through the images. An example of this is near the top of the giraffe's head where what was black changes to white. After all the struggles, though, I like how the final product looks.

P. S. It was made with a product, called Contrasto paper, which is made from two layers of plastic film. When you use an Exacto knife to cut through the top layer (of white plastic), you reveal the black underneath. Cutting this so carefully  was a challenge!

New Art Class

I decided to take a basic design art class this quarter. Since I work at a college, it should be convenient and fit into my schedule. But, I'll admit I was ambivalent - college classes take a lot of time. And, I didn't want to be in a class with any students I knew. That would just be weird.

It turns out that I do know a student in class, and it's not as uncomfortable as I thought it might be. I also see how this experience will benefit my work outside of class. Also, since I teach in a program that prepares students for college,  it's good to have recent experience being a student.

Our first assignment is an interesting approach: we're taking elements of two artists' work and making our own design with them. I picked some basic shapes and am working on sketches. (This class requires a sketchbook, and that will reinforce my desire to build a habit of working in a sketchbook.) I'll post work that's fit for consumption.