Beginning Drawing Class Week Five

In my fifth basic drawing class at Barnsdall, we used a fountain pen and India ink to draw with for the first time.  It was fun to change the nib based on the width of tip we wanted to use.  Our instructor, Rolandas, had a few handouts for us to practice sketching different textures.

On the left, covering half my page, is a handout.  On the right are my doodles. 

One of the handouts was parts of birds, mostly beaks and feet.   I used to draw birds a lot when I was a kid.  I was excited to find something I could do reasonably well.   

 

Rolandas had gotten some fun seasonal items from the dollar store to make a still life for us to draw, but many students in the class never got to the main portrait.  It was so much fun to doodle and practice with the pen and ink.  Before we knew it, the classtime had been consumed.  I took a photo so I can do the assignment as homework at my leisure.  Till next week!

Beginning Drawing Class Week Four

For my fourth week in drawing class, we did essentially the same as last week, using charcoal pencil and mechanical eraser after smudging the paper to create a drawing.  To put a twist on it,  our instructor brought some watercolors for us to experiment with underneath the smudged charcoal dust.  The added pop of color gave a different dimension to the still life.

The instructor had this example drawn by another student in an earlier class to demonstrate the powerful effect:

This was my perspective of the still life from the left side of the classroom:

The color was meant to be free-flowing and impressionistic rather than exact, but I was surprised at how much it showed after the smudging.  Another student took the time to sketch basic shapes before watercolor treatment, and in the end I wished I'd done that, rather than free-handing it. 

I'm not very proud of this drawing - nor do I consider it finished - but it's a useful exercise.  While I think I can sketch forms a little bit, I'm still learning how to interpret and implement values.   Only three more sessions left!

Beginning Drawing Class Week Three

For my third drawing class at Barnsdall Art Park (technically week four as I missed the first one), we used charcoal to draw a birch forest.  Our instructor had a display board that laid out the steps, as well as his classroom demonstration.

We first smudged the paper with charcoal dust, giving a darkly valued surface to work with.  We were provided an example to copy, but encouraged not to hold strictly to that image.  Once we had an idea of placement, we lightly sketched the foreground and background trunks, then used an eraser to remove the charcoal where light fell in the image.  Detail was added with charcoal pencil 6B.  Then lastly highlights were added with white charcoal pencil.  A commercial fixative or hairspray is used to set the drawing once complete.

Beginning Drawing Class Week Two

Week two of drawing class at Barnsdall (technically week three as I missed the first class). We smudged the entire paper with graphite, then used a mechanical eraser and graphite pencil to draw. My perspective was at a harsh angle as I moved my seating bench way off to the side for a couple of ladies who knew each other to sit together. First time drawing flowers. I think I’d rather go back to grapes!

Double Strand Seahorse Necklace

After staring at a bowl of grapes for three hours in my first drawing class, I needed to complete something tangible. 

I just went to a bead show at Veterans stadium, and had focused on picking up findings there, so I had a double strand magnetic closure.  I also picked up some czech glass beads for a dollar a strand.  Michael's craft store had a 70% off sale, and one of the things I found were this really cool strand of stone composite beads with seahorses on them.  Seahorses happen to be my personal totem, so this strand was made for me. 

I love making my own jewelry, and wear necklaces often.  How do you mix it up when you need a new accessory?  

Beginning Drawing Week One

I've started taking a beginning art class at Barnsdall Art Center.  Barnsdall is a nonprofit devoted to providing affordable, quality arts education to the Los Angeles area.  The Barnsdall Art Park was donated by Aileen Barnsdall to the city in 1927. The Spring session lasts eight weeks, and their prices are quite reasonable.  

I missed the first week of classes due to my Easter vacation to see family.  I'm told they worked on perspective by focusing on boxes.  For this class, the focus was on ellipses. 

The instructor set up a nice tableau of grapes and a water glass with one Mole light that cast a distinct shadow.  After a short lecture, we were on our own to begin sketching.  The instructor came around to each of us with individual comments and demonstration when we needed help.  

My biggest take away from the day is to always have lunch before class.  I'm sure it'll get a lot more fun as the projects get more involved, but on this first day, I had a really hard time staring at a bowl of grapes for three hours.  Anyway, practice makes perfect!  I've never taken an art class like this, so I'm really excited to learn.