I suddenly recalled seeing a series of drawings of a bull by Picasso whereby he had gradually reduced its form from naturalistic to the barest of essential elements. Because I hadn’t seen that before, I’d had no real sense of … Continue reading Part 5, project 3, exercise 2 – abstract from manufactured forms
This exercise is a real challenge because it’s about using floor space to dribble, drip, and splash paint onto from above. I have very little floor space, and five cats whose main function in life is to sit on or … Continue reading Part 5, project 2, exercise 2 – adding materials from the environment
From the course notes: [Essentially] the Golden Mean is a proportion in which a straight line or rectangle is divided into two unequal parts in such a way that the ratio of the smaller to the greater part is the same as the ratio of the greater part to the whole This site (Maths is Fun) describes the Golden Mean and its relationship to Fibonacci numbers thus: … just like we naturally get seven arms when we use 0.142857 (1/7), we tend to get Fibonacci Numbers when we use the Golden Ratio. Maths is Fun https://www.mathsisfun.com/numbers/nature-golden-ratio-fibonacci.html#:~:text=Fibonacci%20Numbers,B Sometime last year, watching … Continue reading Part 4, research point 2 – the Golden Mean
This exercise requires three drawings (paintings) of the same very familiar scene – a corner of a room, perhaps – in line, tone, then colour. The challenge then is to translate these into a painting and ask whether or not … Continue reading Part 4, project 5, exercise 1 – painting from a drawing
This task requires a review of previous work to consider the mood they may have conveyed, and then either a new painting focusing on mood, or a re-work of an earlier one. Since I almost always end up taking more … Continue reading Part 4, project 3, exercise 2 – expressive landscape
I think the previous exercise gave rise to a soft enough landscape for now, so I’ve gone for the hard version. More architectural and structural but also involving a lot of horizontals and verticals that need, even if they’re hand … Continue reading Part 4, project 1, exercise 2 – hard or soft landscape.
Probably the most timely of projects and exercises, given the current situation! The exercise is about choosing a view from a window and, after making a number of sketches, painting a final composition that reflects a mood. At the moment … Continue reading Part 4, project 1, exercise 1 – from the inside looking out
In the absence of available sitters, I turned to some sketches I made for my own interest during the Drawing module and chose a very characterful image I had found on the internet. I had drawn this person once in … Continue reading Part 3, project 2, exercise 4 – conveying character
In the absence of any possibility of a live model, I looked through a number of art books with good colour plates to find a substitute. The one that drew my eye, largely because of the sullen expression of the … Continue reading Part 3, project 2, exercise 3 – mood and atmosphere
This task is essentially one of demonstrating a grasp of linear perspective which is where two parallel lines converge on a distant vanishing point, like railway tracks disappearing into the distance. Obviously, in a house the vanishing point is likely … Continue reading Part 2, project 4, exercise 2 – simple interior perspective.
Strayfish Arts 