Surface Contour Drawing

Surface Contour + Cross-hatching

This assignment was geared toward the experimentation of using contour lines to create outlines of the still-life model shown in the piece.  The three types of lines include:

Actual Lines:  encompasses a variation of weight and character 

Implied Lines:  these lines are connected automatically by the viewer, but is not continuous....points and/or dashes are used to create implied lines

Psychic Lines: The text explains that a psychic line is "when one object points to another, the eye connects the two in a psychic line".  

I used mostly actual lines in outlining the objects that were placed together in my composition.  To create different values, I used the cross-hatching technique introduced to us in class for the first time.  This allowed me to place emphasis on the shadowed, or darkened, areas of the model, and leave the lit areas untouched.  It was a very fun activity and has served as a stepping-stone for more detailed artworks we have created after this one.  

Positive Negative Still LIfe

Positive Negative Still Life

This assignment focuses on the positive and negative aspects of the art piece.  However, before we get to this point,  we were supposed to have used our viewfinders to  find a comfortable composition  and draw, from where we were seated, the "structure" placed in front of us.   The idea was not to focus on each of the items that the structure was comprised of, but the shapes that it created.  We concentrated on the negative shapes rather than the positive.  And so, the end result is the now positive figure seen above.  I chose  an underwater motif for my piece.   The still-life figure has now become a sunken ship in this case.  I used a variety of values  and had also used the cross-hatching technique for shading purposes.  It was  a really fun assignment and I enjoyed incorporating my own style of art into the piece. 

Positive-Negative Bird

Positive-Negative Bird

This assignment reflects on the the differences of a positive and negative plane used in art and how with a change in value "darkness/lightness" of the plane, or background, can alter a picture/art entirely.  The class altered a photo of a bird entirely by doing just this.  By using different values as well as shapes, lines, and patterns, we interchanged the photo's positive/negative aspects.  Instead of focusing on the detail of the bird, we focused just on the shapes surrounding it, thus creating the outline of a bird, but not purposely.  It seemed a bit easier to concentrate on the shapes instead of the bird itself.  

My concept for each of the spaces surrounding the bird and the moon were to integrate the themes of space, land, and sea into them.   I used a variety of values, as well as curvilinear shapes and lines.  There is evidently a variety of line quality as well.  The darkest value is seen at the upper right-hand corner, representing the darkness of the night.  In the area of the moon, I tried to make it seem like a very lit galaxy full of stars.  This explains the difference in value between the two sides of the piece.  All in all, I very much enjoyed this project and having been allowed to explore the different values and incorporating different shapes and line qualities within the piece.  The concept was very interesting to learn about and our creativity had come alive through this piece as well.  

Upside Down Picasso

Picasso's Stravinsky

Yolani's Stravinsky drawn upside down

Picasso's Stravinsky piece we replicated is obviously made up of only contour lines drawn with pencil. We were introduced to a viewfinder and learned that by using it, we are able to "tune out" the rest of the world and focus on a specific composition, as we would with a camera. This allows us to concentrate on the "smaller" picture having us pay closer attention to detail rather than the "bigger" picture and losing sight of the detail. The use of a grid presents the same concept. "Focusing on detail" was, too, the whole idea behind this activity. It was explained to us that when turned upside down, we are not focused on the entire object (in this case, Stravinsky), but more on the placement of certain lines and other such details. We had also used a grid to help us find the proper placement for these details, as well as downsize the piece. I was very pleased to find that indeed, the use of a viewfinder, grid, and the upside down Picasso, had all helped in creating an almost identical replica of Picasso's Stravinsky.