Mia Dix, Memory of an Object “The loss of a tangible object, that was dropped and broken.
It was a glass bird. This ink painting is what I remember of it.”
—–
For today’s challenge, you will need a timer, drawing/painting tools, and 2 pieces of paper.
Choose a simple object that you see every day, something that brings you some happiness. Without looking at the object, sit and spend a minute or so trying to draw it from memory. What are your associations around the object? How does it feel? What do you remember about it, and from what angles? Sketch as much as you can. Notice all the things you can’t recall, but draw what you can anyway. It doesn’t have to be realistic. When you are ready to move on, this first drawing is done. Leave your paper, and turn your attention to the object or scene. Set your timer for one minute. Look at the object. DO NOT DRAW. What are the proportions? What are the angles? What is the weight, the rhythm or patterning? Squint down to see the basic shapes in value. See the large mass before you focus in on the details so you can take in the whole object. What are all the elements you could not recall when you first sat down to draw? Focus on the object for one minute. After your minute, then get out of your chair and pretend you are the object. Try to mimic it’s shape with your body. Ask yourself again: Where is the balance? Where is the weight? What are the angles? Imitate it as best as you can, and hold that for 30 seconds. Now it’s time to draw. WITHOUT LOOKING AT THE OBJECT AGAIN, draw it! Draw as much as you can.
Add both drawings to this post on our Facebook page. (#salchallenge)
The January Creative Challenge: 15 minutes, once a day, for 30 days.
Alan Honick contributed a beautiful photograph of his collection of moon snails. His statement described walks on the beach, and how the number of shells found by his friend decreased and eventually ended in the last fifteen years. The shells were beautiful, arranged in the spiral as they grow… or dwindle. The story was simple, …
In the interview below, you’ll also see mention of “Ekphrasis.” In the days where each Thursday painter gave a brief presentation to the class, Skillman inspired us all with her presentation about ekphrastic poetry – a poem based on a work of art. In an ekphrastic poem, the writer describes the work of art, and may …
Thursdays are vocabulary days for our 30 Day Creative Challenge, and our inspiration for today comes from Greek Mythology. Argus-eyed Vigilant. ‘The young salmon in the Orkla and Sokna rivers are monitored with Argus-eyed vigilance.’ (Source: Lexico) Origin Early 17th century in Greek mythology Argos was the name of a watchman with a hundred eyes. …
Here’s a little video explaining why Expressive Portraits is my favorite online art class at the Seattle Artist League. Last quarter, participants studied how to sketch a face quickly, and how to add expressive descriptions of what makes a face not just accurate, but interesting. We looked at portraits by Alice Neel, Rembrandt, Lucian Freud, …
SAL Challenge Day 14: Memory of an Ordinary Object
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Mia Dix, Memory of an Object
“The loss of a tangible object, that was dropped and broken.
It was a glass bird. This ink painting is what I remember of it.”
—–
For today’s challenge, you will need a timer, drawing/painting tools, and 2 pieces of paper.
Choose a simple object that you see every day, something that brings you some happiness. Without looking at the object, sit and spend a minute or so trying to draw it from memory. What are your associations around the object? How does it feel? What do you remember about it, and from what angles? Sketch as much as you can. Notice all the things you can’t recall, but draw what you can anyway. It doesn’t have to be realistic. When you are ready to move on, this first drawing is done. Leave your paper, and turn your attention to the object or scene. Set your timer for one minute. Look at the object. DO NOT DRAW. What are the proportions? What are the angles? What is the weight, the rhythm or patterning? Squint down to see the basic shapes in value. See the large mass before you focus in on the details so you can take in the whole object. What are all the elements you could not recall when you first sat down to draw? Focus on the object for one minute. After your minute, then get out of your chair and pretend you are the object. Try to mimic it’s shape with your body. Ask yourself again: Where is the balance? Where is the weight? What are the angles? Imitate it as best as you can, and hold that for 30 seconds. Now it’s time to draw. WITHOUT LOOKING AT THE OBJECT AGAIN, draw it! Draw as much as you can.
Add both drawings to this post on our Facebook page. (#salchallenge)
The January Creative Challenge: 15 minutes, once a day, for 30 days.
Below:
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Alan Honick contributed a beautiful photograph of his collection of moon snails. His statement described walks on the beach, and how the number of shells found by his friend decreased and eventually ended in the last fifteen years. The shells were beautiful, arranged in the spiral as they grow… or dwindle. The story was simple, …
Judith Skillman; interview on poetry, painting, and the League
In the interview below, you’ll also see mention of “Ekphrasis.” In the days where each Thursday painter gave a brief presentation to the class, Skillman inspired us all with her presentation about ekphrastic poetry – a poem based on a work of art. In an ekphrastic poem, the writer describes the work of art, and may …
30SAL Challenge: Argus-eyed
Thursdays are vocabulary days for our 30 Day Creative Challenge, and our inspiration for today comes from Greek Mythology. Argus-eyed Vigilant. ‘The young salmon in the Orkla and Sokna rivers are monitored with Argus-eyed vigilance.’ (Source: Lexico) Origin Early 17th century in Greek mythology Argos was the name of a watchman with a hundred eyes. …
Why Expressive Portraits is my favorite online art class
Here’s a little video explaining why Expressive Portraits is my favorite online art class at the Seattle Artist League. Last quarter, participants studied how to sketch a face quickly, and how to add expressive descriptions of what makes a face not just accurate, but interesting. We looked at portraits by Alice Neel, Rembrandt, Lucian Freud, …