“Synchromy in Green and Orange”

Stanton Macdonald-Wright (July 8, 1890 – August 22, 1973)
“Synchromy in Green and Orange” 1916 oil on canvas

This piece was in the room of benches and binoculars; I decided to write about this piece because in a room full of so much art my eye kept returning to it. It is a combination of the bright colors and shapes which create a sense of mystery that make this work very interesting to examine. At first glance it appears to be a blur of colors and angular shapes; after focusing on the piece it begins to take form.
After a minute or two of looking at the shapes, a figure appeared to me; he looks like he is sitting with his left leg tucked under and his other knee up. His head is somewhat down and looking off into space; this creates a submissive or reflective feeling. The background is paler and more blurred, which causes the figure to pop forward. Because the work is created from colors shapes of varying blurriness, a certain amount of interpretation is left up to the viewer. After a little research I learned that Standton Macdonald-Wright co-founded the Synchromist movement. It is art which aimed to create emotion with color. Before knowing the definition it was easy to see that this painting was successful because it was the emotion of the colors and shadows which initially drew me to this work.

This Week...

Creating the abdominal muscles out of clay was a lot easier than the spinal column. Even though it was only the second time using the clay it went a lot faster and I knew how to use it a lot better. The abs were easier though since there were less muscles and they were larger.
I feel like I really need to focus on keeping angles accurate when I draw...the last contour drawing I did got really off and disproportionate because the sternum angle was wrong.
I thing I'm doing better with the 4 curves of the back!

Horse Conch Information

Scientific Classification:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Superfamily: Buccinoidea
Family: Fasciolariidea
Genus: Pleuroploca
Species: P. gigantea
Binomial Name:
Pleuroploca gigantea

This shell is commonly known as the Florida Horse Conch, but it is not a true conch. It is a species of large predatory subtropical and tropical sea snail. It is one of the largest gastropods in the world and the largest that lives in American water. They are found along the Atlantic coast from North Carolina through the Gulf of Mexico.
The shell is designed so the entire body of the snail can retreat into it; it can stay inside for months to stay safe from bad conditions. The shell can reach 24 inches in length. It is somewhat fusiform. A long siphonal canal is the tube-like extension which acts as a siphon when the snail is inside. It can have up to ten whorls (360 degree turn in the spiral growth of the shell), several spinal cords and axial ribs. When it is younger it is bright orange but the color fades with age.

Week 2 Reflection

I enjoyed the time we spent learning about the spinal column; I can already tell it's really going to help me understand the body better and have better proportions. It's good to understand the curves and know what to be looking for. I think I need to work on slowing down when I draw. During the 30 minute contour drawing at the end of class I kept erasing and re-drawing lines when I actually took the time to see their form. My goal is to be able to see the correct shape the first time I look and transfer it to the paper. I liked that the parts of the reading about feeling what the object feels and thinking about curves as multiple line segments rather than one curved line. I'm going to work on slowing down this week.

Bind Contour Drawing

waves. curves. suggestion.

My process for this drawing was to attempt to capture the small curves of the body; I tried to draw very slowly and only focus on little segments at a time. I tried to move the charcoal at the same speed my eyes were moving along the figure. This is evident in my lines since they show the recognizable shape of a figure, but the lines are very choppy and irregular, due to the slow speed. Certain areas are less abstracted than others. I think the hardest part of this was getting to a certain point on the body and being unsure how to connect my line or spot back into the whole.