Artist Working On Toned Paper

Here are a few examples of established artists who use mark-making on toned paper similarly to the way you are using it in this class. Notice that not all of these artists are using warm toned paper and not all of them use exclusively black and white conte. Still they are good examples to observe and from which to learn.

Edgar Degas

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

John Currin

In-Class Examples Of Mark-Making On Fawn Paper

Just Because He's Fun: California Collage Artist DANGER

THIS Visits: Danger from Incase on Vimeo.

Homework Due March 28

Outside Assignment:
o Landscape on the spot
o Make a drawing from nature using crosshatching
o Materials
• Pencil, sharpened stick and ink, Bristol (18”x24” or larger)
o BRING PORTRAIT PHOTOS TO CLASS
• Portrait photo of an anonymous person
• Look for strong light source, dramatic value range
o BLOG: Take some photos of the location you have chosen to draw. Post these images on your blog and write about your experience completing the assignment.

Edward Gorey Animation

When I was a kid in the 80s, there was a show on PBS called MYSTERY! (it still exists, but it's an occasional showcase of Masterpiece Theatre now). The intro to this show had a cool little animation based on the illustrations and sense of humor of Edward Gorey. Check it out:

Creating Value With Ink Mark-Making: Edward Gorey

If you are not familiar with Edward Gorey...then WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU??? Seriously though, look him up. He was an illustrator (he died in 2000) with a very macabre sense of humor. If illustration is your thing, you should DEFINITELY research him. Here, I give some examples of his work, because if ever there were a master of building value through a series of ink marks, it was Gorey.

WELCOME BACK!

Welcome back everyone. I hope that your spring break went well and that you were able to enjoy the company of family and friends. If travel wasn't possible for you, I hope that at least you were able to make the most of your time during what I am sure was a much-need break from the grind if nothing else.

We are getting down to the wire now. The first half of the semester is gone, and we have six more weeks of class before you turn in your portfolios on May 5. THAT'S IT! Where is the semester going? Doesn't it seem like just yesterday you were giving your muscles a workout erasing through layers of charcoal, making a mess all over the studio and your home, and picking black boogers out of your nose? I should hope that you feel your work is far more confident now. And hopefully you see why it was important to START there before moving on to more advanced drawings rather than diving straight in without any scuba gear.

So, then, allow me to give you a few quick reminders here so you can be ready for what's coming up:

1. Don't forget that April 26 is the final day to turn in any assignments you have reworked for the possibility of a better grade. I know that seems like forever away, but you'd be surprised how quickly it can sneak up on you. That day I will accept any reworked assignment from any point in the semester, but I will NOT accept late drawings that weren't turned in on the date they were originally due. I don't have the time nor patience to grade, in addition to the reworked assignments, a bunch of drawings that were due weeks ago that you never turned in. This isn't make-up time. This is a final-shot chance to improve your grade through good, honest, hard work. So, don't let it just pass you by.

2. Make sure to have the correct materials for class each day. PLEASE DO NOT RAID THE STORE RIGHT BEFORE CLASS. Both groups have done a wonderful job of this so far this semester. So, this isn't really meant as a scolding. I just make sure to always give this gentle reminder at midterm every semester.

3. Remember that we have an assignment coming up in which you will create a drawing based on a portrait photo of an anonymous person. We will talk about it more in class this week, but if you haven't begun looking for possible images, you need to get moving.

4. On the whole, both groups have been progressing impressively well. So, as we proceed into the second half of the semester, please keep up (or even improve) the work ethic I've seen so far and don't slack. If you do that, you may find yourself, by the end of this class accomplishing things that will surprise even you.

So, again, welcome back! Now, let's get back to work!

YOUR Chance To Critique ME

(If you've had me in class before, you've already seen these.)

I thought this could be an interesting experiment. Below, I have images taken from old (very old in some cases) sketchbooks of mine when I was a student. Some are from undergrad classes and some are classes I took while attending grad school here at MCA (I won't say which are which). Some are from drawing classes and some are not. So, after you get your graded sketchbooks back from me, feel free to browse through my old sketchbook pages here and see if I practiced then what I'm preaching to you now. Then, feel free to critique by posting a comment. It's your turn now. My feelings aren't going to be hurt. So, anything you see that needs to be criticized, praised, or taken out into the street and flogged, you can point it out without fear.

Opening Reception At Material Art Space On Broad Avenue Friday, March 11

Erin Jennings' "ddouble take: BURLESQUE"

Time
Friday, March 11 · 6:00pm - 8:00pm
Location
Material
2553 Broad Avenue
Memphis, TN

Material is excited to announce its sixty-ninth exhibition: "ddouble take: Burlesque" featuring the work of Erin Jennings

"ddouble take: Burlesque" will be open by appointment from March 10th through March 13th. (Please contact Hamlett Dobbins at 901.219.1943 to make an appointment.)

The opening reception for the exhibition will be on Friday, March 11, 2011 from 6-8 pm.

Erin Jennings is a Memphis based photographer and film-maker, working in camera oriented mediums since 1997. Erin is co-owner of local film production company, Slaproductions, which specializes in producing documentary concert and performance films. Her photographic work utilizes film, digital photography, and the digital infrared process. Jennings graduated from the University of Memphis with a Bachelor of Arts in Film Production in 2001, a Master of Arts in Political Science (Politics in Film) in 2009, and a Master of Fine Arts in Photography completed in December of 2010.

About the show the artist writes: “ddouble take: BURLESQUE addresses how burlesque performers function within a gendered, sexual space. Burlesque offers a thin veneer of empowerment to the performer, while still retaining an exploitative quality. This promotes an ambiguity concerning how burlesque fits in the realm of sexual exploitation and how it affects the performer and the viewer. The photographs in this exhibition address this subject by negating straight photography, utilizing techniques that allow the performers image to embrace the multiplicity inherent to the complicated reality of burlesque.”

Material is located at 2553 Broad Avenue. Parking is available on both the north and south sides of Broad Avenue.

About Material: Founded by Hamlett Dobbins and Julie Meiman in late 2004, Material is a 19’ x 16’ exhibition space set in the storefront on Broad Avenue in the Binghamton neighborhood of Memphis. Taking the name from Montessori learning tools, Material was built to provide emerging and established artists with an intimate, clean space in which to share their work with Memphis’ growing arts community. The programming consists of monthly shows as well as artists’ lectures in connection with local colleges and universities. Material has served as a space for young artists to have their first shows, as well as a place for established local and regional artists to test new ideas in a public forum. In addition to serving local artists, Material has hosted artists from Birmingham to Tokyo. Come visit.

Anonymous Portrait Photos

In the upcoming weeks I will ask you to start collecting photographs of random anonymous people for an upcoming assignment. The sooner you start your search the better. Specifically you should be looking for portrait photos that have a strong light source and dramatic value range. Go to junk shops. Search old yearbooks. Scour the library. Go through someone's attic. You may use the Internet, but, if you do, please be VERY choosy, remembering that everyone has access to the same photos on the Internet that you do. Digging up little gems of actual photos in the nooks and crannies is always an interesting exercise. Go ahead and get started in your search.

So, here's the example of the in-class hatching assignment I showed you today. As I said, I'm not that impressed with it. There are a lot of problems with it. But it serves to at least show you how a build-up of marks creates value.

And below are some examples of the homework assignment. Remember when I said that people seem to get it AFTER critiquing the in-class assignment?

Outside Assignment:
o Self Portrait
o Work from a mirror
o Set up a strong light source
o Materials
• Black conte, good-quality white paper (22”x30”)

The Horn Island Expedition

Here is the video I mentioned that I was working on. It's meant as a sort of introduction to Horn Island.

Homework Due March 8

Night Drawing

Drawing must be done at night with artificial light (for example, a landscape under a streetlamp).

Materials:

* White conte, black paper (22"x30").

BLOG: Write a post about your experiences working from a nighttime subject as opposed to a well-lit daytime subject.