Department:
Art
Instructor: Tony Allard
Office
Hours: TBA
The
purpose of this course is to master a range of skills
and concepts which will strengthen your visual perception,
develop your sense of composition and to eventually
work with content in your drawings. The main concentration
will be
on methods and techniques to represent the illusion
of the 3-dimensional world on a
2-dimensional surface and on methods
and techniques of composing a drawing. Several approaches
to the subject will be explored through the use
of various drawing
materials while examining a wide range of subject
matter and art historical references. Some of the
techniques we will be working
with are: tonal and contour drawing, measuring and
proportion, eye-hand coordination exercises, gesture
drawing,perspective and
2 and 3-dimensional elements of composition. The
course will be occasionally augmented with lectures,
screenings of video tapes,
and, if possible, trips to gallery exhibitions both
on and off campus.
I
will hold office hours 6 time during the semester.
The place and times “to be announced”.
GRADING
Your
grade will be determined as follows:
60% - 3 PORTFOLIOS
& CRITIQUES
25% - SKETCHBOOKS
15% - CLASS
PARTICIPATION
100%
PORTFOLIOS
Approximately
every six weeks you will turn in a portfolio to
be graded. The portfolio must contain all in-class
work as well as occasional
out-of-class assignments. There will be three major
class critiques on the due dates when portfolios
are to be turned in. The final portfolio is,
of course, most important. Portfolio grades are
based on the quality of work in terms of skill,
concepts and presentation as well as your
demonstrated progress. I encourage you to date all
your drawings and maintain an orderly
and neat arrangement of the portfolio contents.
PORTFOLIO
DATES AND CRITIQUES:
Portfolio
#1: 7 weeks
Portfolio
#2: 12 weeks
Portfolio
#3: Finals week (see catalogue for exact time and
date)
SKETCHBOOK/JOURNALS
A
sketchbook/journal is required. Throughout the course,
you will maintain a sketchbook that will also function
as a journal. This book will
contain various assignments (most of which will
be completed outside of class) class notes, assigned
writings, personal observations and
incidental information. As with the portfolio, I
encourage you to date each page. Sketchbooks will
be checked on a weekly basis.
Assignments will be given on Tuesday and I will
review your sketch books on the following Tuesday
PARTICIPATION
Participation
in class discussions and critiques is essential.
I can determine a great deal of your progress by
your participation in class.
Specifically, I will be looking for your ability
to use, in context, the terminology, concepts and
historical references that are the foundation
of this course. Your sketch books should be especially
helpful in this regard. In addition, I will be looking for
your individual contributions
to daily discussions and class critiques. In addition
to the three major critiques, I will periodically
conduct un-announced critiques.
You may also set a time with me for individual consultation
during my office hours.
ATTENDANCE
It
is simple: come to class. If you miss just one class
you miss one step in a series that are designed
to build upon previous steps.
There are many assignments which cannot be made
up outside of class, therefore, attendance is critical
to your performance and
grade in class. More than 2 consecutive absences
or more than 3 in the semester may be sufficient
grounds to drop you from the class.
I should be notified as soon as possible of extenuating
situations.
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General
outline of main topic to be covered.
Note:
each of the following areas of concentration are
supported by daily demonstrations, lectures and
historical anecdotes relating
to the particular subject being covered. In addition
to class work, each student is required to keep
a sketch book in which they do weekly
assignments and take notes in class.
1)
Exercises
to break visual habits such as: drawing the subject
in isolation, putting subject in middle of the page,
working from top to
bottom and left to right, drawing not what the eyes
see but what the mind sees.
2)
Establish
eye-hand co-ordination
Blind
contour drawing, copying a line drawing upside down,
blind contour drawing with both hands, using a small
window to look through,
straight contour drawing.
3)
Fundamentals of Pictorial Space
What
is the picture plain, foreground, background, middle
ground, point-to-line-to-shape-to-plane (Kandinski’s
concept of picture space),
four primary space-making devices: overlapping shapes,
size change, diagonal lines, atmospheric perspective.
4)
Fundamentals
of composition
Symmetry,
a-symmetry, 2 D and 3 D composition, alternative
compositional strategies, center of interest, subject
dictating composition
(dynamic vs. static), working with visual weight,
working with the small window, working with paper
oriented to landscape or portrait.
5)
Perspective,
proportion, measuring
Introduce
the elements of classical Renaissance perspective:
vanishing points—one, two and three, above
eye level, below eye level,
atmospheric perspective, four primary space-making
devices reviewed.
6)
Gesture
drawing
Capturing
the action of the subject through very quick gestural
marks, drawing with search lines, working from the
general to the
specific, working with total picture plain, composition
through gesture, using small window.
7)
Light
and Shadow
Composing
patterns of light and shadow, concept of tints (white)
shade (black), advancing a gesture drawing into
an expression of light
and shadow, mood of light, working with charcoal,
pencil and graphite stick to build up layers of
shadow, using the erasure as a mark
making device, using the white of the page as the
light in the drawing.
8)
Advanced
Composition and Introduction to Subject Matter
Choosing
a subject for drawing, subject choosing you!, developing
a composition that is appropriate for the subject,
i.e. static composition
for static subject, dynamic for dynamic subject
matter, working with personal objects of positive
and negative power as subject, setting up
still
lifes.
9)
More
advanced: Experimental drawing techniques
Site-specific
drawings, ephemeral drawings done with materials
in a landscape, ephemeral drawing materials, drawing
and installation
art, drawing as a performance.
______________________________________________________________________________
MATERIALS
pencils:
2B, 4B, 6B
graphite
sticks
compressed
charcoal (2 or 3 packages)
Vine Charcoal (2 or 3 packages)
blending
stumps & rags
Charcoal
pencils: soft, ex. soft
(4B & 6B)
white
conte: 1-2 sticks
kneaded
eraser
white
plastic eraser ("Magic Rub")
Wide
Black magic marker
Bottle
of black ink, water soluble, "Design by Higgins"
is good.
Bamboo
brush or pointed watercolor brush, large (aprx.
#10 or bigger)
More
materials will be added as needed (minor amounts)
PAPER
& DRAWING BOARD:
pad
of 18" X 24" NEWSPRINT paper
pad
of 18" X 24" Strathmore 400 Series drawing
paper
sketch
pad/journal: hard or soft bound, either 9"
X 12" or 11" X 14"
Drawing Board
with bull dog clips attached at the top 26”
X 23”
OTHER
SUPPLIES
ruler
(24")
supply
box to carry drawing tools
portfolio
case aprx. 20" X 26"
pencil
sharpener, scissors, tape, glue stick, x-acto knife
can
of spray fixative or Aquanet Hairspray (this is
a must item)
Good
luck. I look foreword to working with you.
I
look foreword to working with you.
Onward!