Ink Drawing

It was interesting adding the ink to our shell drawings since it was something new. I haven't worked with ink before so it was quite a learning curve. I was sick for the class period that we practiced, so after a few trials on my own, my first real attempt was on my third large shell drawing. I underesimated how difficult it is to control the ink. Also, I didn't know what to expect because it dries a lot lighter than it appears when wet. This was good becuase so much ink, water, and paper particles built up it all seemed to be blrrying together. For our final drawing I will be aiming for more control and more defined shadows and highlights to really add dimention!

Mid Term Progress

I can’t believe that it’s already midterm, the semesters has flown by! Although it went quickly I can see that I’ve already learned a lot in Life Drawing. It was a bit of a struggle to get back into drawing since it has been three years since I have taken a drawing course. I found figure drawing to be more my style than Drawing I and Drawing II. I like that we do a combination of fast gesture drawings and longer contour drawings. They each hold their own challenges for me but I can see how I am growing with each and how they will help me in other aspects of my major and career.

I have gained a better understanding of the form of the body from the hours of close attention devoted to it this semester. This will be beneficial for me when I am designing spaces when attempting to understand proportion and scale. My ultimate goal is to design functional, aesthetically pleasing spaces which better the lives of the people who occupy them; this would be impossible without knowledge about the form of the body that the spaces are constructed for. I know the studying the body will help me with incorporating successful ergonomics in my future designs. It has been good to have a refresher in drawing since this is always an important skill to have when designing since it conveys ideas quickly.

When working on interiors projects I am a perfectionist and spend as long as it takes to get every detail the way I want it. This course challenges me in that regard since I know that it is something that I will not master by the end of the semester and my drawings will not be perfect. I think this is a good thing for me to accept so I can find a healthy balance. For my drawings I want to improve my proportion. I am still leaving too much space between the rib cage and pelvis. Also, I struggle drawing the pelvis if the model is laying or sitting; I only seem to understand it best standing.

My work so far (albums are on the right side of the page): http://www.flickr.com/photos/mccarthyk2070/

“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.