Landscape of the Face

Concepts: Value, Planes

Size: Approx. 10 x 13 inches

Media: Acrylic Paint

·       We will begin by taking portrait photographs outside in direct sunlight or using a strong light source so value contrast is strong. Print the photo in black and white, at least 8x10 inches in size. You may want to use a Photoshop filter to further assist in breaking down the planes of the face and the value structure.

·       Render your face in pencil. You may or may not choose to use a graph as a guide to draw the face.

·       Next, outline the different areas of value on the face similar to a paint-by-number image. Note even the very subtle changes in value that occur in an area that may seemingly be flat.

·       Include background information. If this is intimidating or bothersome for you, crop you original photograph so that your face occupies most of the picture plane.

·       Using at least seven different gray values from pure white to pure black, try to translate the colors of the original work into its equivalent value.

·       Paint the work using a flat, uniform surface and value (no mixing paint on the paper).

Items to consider:

·       Practice mixing your gray value until it matches the area that you are copying on the photograph to the best of your ability.

·       Your final product should include a minimum of seven different gray values.

·       Neatness is always a consideration.

Original source for this project: Mary Stewart, Syracuse University

Various classroom views featuring past supercool students.

Romantic Landscape Drawings

Medium: Chalk Pastel

Size: 18 x 24 inches

Preliminary: View paintings by Romantic Landscape Artists: Casper David Friedrich, Thomas Cole, J.M.W.Turner

Assignment: Your assignment is to create a Romantic landscape using chalk pastel. You will employ the technique of atmospheric perspective to create a distinct foreground, middle ground, and background in your drawing. What happens to objects as they move further away in space?

Find a photo source of a landscape image, or look outside. Begin by creating a minimum of 3-4 thumbnail sketches in your sketchbook to plan your composition.

Vocabuary:

Romanticism: a late 18^th through early 19^th century art movement that moved away from the formal qualities of Neoclassicism and celebrated emotions and the imagination. Romantic painters were drawn to the awe-inspiring qualities of the landscape. They often painted dramatic scenes of nature in an untamed state.

Sublime: A concept, thing or state of exceptional and awe-inspiring beauty and moral or intellectual expression — a goal to which many nineteenth-century artists aspired in their artworks. Noble, majestic. (source:www.artlex.com)

Atmospheric Perspective(or Ariel Perspective):  The illusion of depth in a composition created by changing objects’ size, value, intensity of color, and level of detail.

Rubric:

Is the drawing neat and well crafted?

Is the drawing complete?

Does the drawing display an understanding of atmospheric perspective?

Does the drawing display a distinct foreground, middle ground, and background?

Reinterpreting Guernica- Acrylic Painting Project

Sometimes, it is the role of the artist to make a political or social statement, as Picasso did in his creation of Guernica. Use the examples of details of Guernica to create a charcoal and acrylic version of your own. First, you’ll pick an issue that you want to address or imagery that you would like to represent. The image may be from real life or from a dream. Choose a subject that allows you to react against something that is dishonest, immoral, outrageous, or simply wrong that you have witnessed in the world, or that you think has taken place. Remember, Picasso’s style is passionate and filled with fury and horror. Interpret your ideas into a sketch that uses the same simplified, abstract shapes employed by Picasso.

Read more about Guernica here in this PBS document from the series,Treasures of the World.

Media: Black construction paper, white charcoal, white and black acrylic paint.

Size: 18 x 24 inches

1.     Choose an issue or image that you wish to represent.

2.     Using simple, abstract shapes similar to those used in Guernica, illustrate your idea on black paper using white charcoal.

3.     Next, use white paint for the lightest tones. Mix a gray value for the medium tones. Leave the black of the paper for the darkest areas, or add black paint to the work.

4.     You will notice that Picasso uses a lot of lines in his work. Once the paint is dry, use a Sharpie pen or charcoal to add lines back into the piece. You may want to use lines to outline basic shapes, or to add details such as facial features.

Rubric:

- The painting shows obvious evidence of thinking and care.
- It may address fairly complex visual and/or conceptual ideas.
- It has some sense of inventiveness and/or imagination.
- Materials are used well. Craftsmanship is strong. There is a strong balance of lights and darks.
- There may be evidence of experimentation and/or risk-taking.
- Composition is purposeful.
- It successfully addresses a topic in the spirit of Picasso’s Guernica.

ASAFO Flags of the Fante

With a (one) partner, create a fabric flag in the style of the flags created by the Fante People of Ghana. Depict one of the following proverbs in a visual form that is easy to read and understand. Although the flags are seemingly simplistic in design to Western viewers,  artists used design elements to create strong compositions that are aesthetically pleasing. Use the following design concepts in your flag that were used by the African flagmakers:

·       A nonrepresentational border

·       Simple, abstract forms are used to depict recognizable subjects.

·       Man and/or animals are represented in each flag.

·       A simple background color is used to allow the bold positive shapes to stand out from the surface.

·       Between four and fifteen colors are used on each flag

·       Colors are repeated to create unity in the design. A dynamic range of values.

“If you set a trap maliciously, you might end up getting trapped yourself.”

“The monkey leaps only as far as it can reach.”

‘Fish grow fat for the benefit of the crocodile.” (who rule the river)

‘It is a foolish mouse which steals from the bag of the cat.’

‘The monkey leaps only as far as it can reach.’ - look before you leap.

“No one can defeat us except God.”

“A good spirit always looks after her young.”

“Our enemies are like fish caught in a dragnet” (easily captured)

“We come in peace but are always prepared for war.”

“We can carry water in a basket using a cactus as a cushion.”

“When the eagle flies, it flies with its children.” (there is strength in numbers)

“It is a foolish mouse that steals from the bag of the cat.”

“Only a brave man will go under a big tree.” (venture into the unknown)

“Like the vine, we can conquer any problem.”

“If a child wants to pick a ripe pepper, let him do it. When it gets in his eyes, her will stop by himself.”

“When there are no trees left, birds will perch on men’s heads.” (look for reasons behind the strange behavior of others)

Baroque Mr. Potato Heads: A Lesson in Chiaroscuro

Introduction: In seventeenth century Europe, with the spiritual change in the Counter-Reformation Catholic Church, a revolutionary new style of art, the Baroque, developed. Paintings of the Italian Baroque exhibited unprecedented drama and intensity Artists including Artemisa Gentileschi and Caravaggio used the technique of chiaroscuro to render their subjects with theatrical flair.

Project Objective: As a means of introducing students to the effectiveness of the chiaroscuro technique in Baroque Painting, the idea is put into practice. The victims: the innocent Mr. and Ms. Potato Heads. Still-life setups of Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head toys were placed on white tables in the studio. Small clamp lights were used to cast melodramatic shadows on one side of the toys. The dark shadows created by the lights seemed to reveal the toys’ angst that is hidden beneath their plastic coating.

Materials:

·       9” x 12” or 11” x 14” painting surface

·       Acrylic paint including the following colors; Burnt Sienna, Burnt Umber, Cadmium Red, Cadmium Yellow, Titanium White, Pthalo Blue, Ivory Black

·       Brushes

This project may also be completed as a drawing assignment: You will need:

·       Drawing surface ranging from 8”x10” to 11”x14”

·       Charcoal or graphite pencils

·      Erasers

Steps:

·       Set Up a still life of Mr. And Ms. Potato Heads dolls using clamp lights or other devices to light the objects on one side, creating dramatic shadows. Turn off overhead classroom lights.

·       Students should begin by drawing in the outline and basic shapes of the Potato Head, trying to fill as much of the negative space as possible.

·       Ask students to take a minute to notice to differences in lights and darks that take place across the surface of the Potato Head. Does this change the emotional quality of the toy? Does it make it more theatrical?   Look for the darkest areas of the toy and block those in with a dark value.

·       Continue painting the toy, applying the darker values first and building up to the lighter values. It may help to squint your eyes to more easily identify the breakdown of lights and darks on the toy.

·       Try to create at least seven value changes in your painting.

·       Students may choose to add a horizon line in the background to identify the edge of the table.

·       Remember that the shadow that is cast on the table increases the drama of the setting. Shadows tend to be darker closer to the subject and get lighter as they move away.

·      Render the subject carefully, taking your time to be as accurate as possible. 

·      Try to make the Mr./Mrs. Potato Head toy appear scary or mysterious, applying a new identity to the playful doll.

Tips when completing the assignment as a Drawing:

·       Students may being by using a soft piece of charcoal to darken the entire surface of the drawing paper to a medium value.

·       Next, use a dark charcoal line to render to Potato Head.

·       Continue to add dark and light values by blending with a tortillon (blending stump) or using a hatching technique, and using an eraser to identify highlight.

Optional Additional assignment:

Ask students to complete a value scale before they render the Potato Head. On a small sheet of paper, have students draw seven one-inch squares. After allowing the first square to remain white and making the last square completely black, fill in the scale with appropriate values in between. Students can then use these scales as a reference when completing the Mr./Mrs. Potato Head project.

Vocabulary:

Baroque Art: Style of artistic expression in the seventeenth century which created a pattern of contrasting areas of light and shadow that give a look of dynamic, continuous movement. The works of this period suggest drama, vitality, movement, tension, and emotional exuberance.

Chiaroscuro: Italian for “light-dark.” Dramatic light and shadow, specifically using hard edge cast shadows, that helps create the illusion of three-dimensionality.

Value: Lightness or darkness

Gradations: Gradual passing from one tint to another.

Composition: The organization all of the elements of a work of art into a harmoniously unified whole.

Positive Space: The area defining the primary subject matter.

Negative Space: The area void of primary subject matter.

Aesthetics: The theory of beauty in art.

Medium (plural - media): The material of which an artwork is made (oil paint, charcoal, etc.)

Picture Plane: The surface area of a two-dimensional piece of art.

Criteria for Assessment:

·       Make your image large by filling up most of the negative space with subject matter.

·       Each drawing must have at least seven value changes, ranging from white to the darkest black

·       Drawings must be executed with as much care and precision as possible. Craftsmanship is always a consideration.

·      The drawing must make a clear attempt at achieving the drama and intensity that characterizes Baroque Art.