In my current series of abstraction classes, each week we focus on a single element of art. Honing in like this allows us to explore different ways into a painting or drawing. By narrowing down, we are able to go farther into an idea. These projects were made in response to a class on line (an online class on line, if you must). For this, line was emphasized as a way to move the viewer around the page, as pathways. These “simple” sketches by students are elegant, thoughtful, and captivating. Below are a few compositional studies of debris piles by Dawn Carlsen.
Dawn Carlsen
Dawn Carlsen
Dawn Carlsen
Dawn Carlsen
This handsome and considerate study of a backyard playset by Elisabeth Tripathi looked like it might benefit from a solution to the lower two ends. We tried adding some possibilities digitally to see how we might finish it off.
Elisabeth Tripathi
(with digital edits)
“One of the line drawings we looked at was a yellow background with a simple line cube that really stuck with me and I decided to select a more neutral (by way of de kooning) background to make sure color or texture didn’t start to come to the forefront. It was a great exercise to challenge me!” “This piece came out of doing 60 quick line drawing thumbnails from my backyard. Thanks for reminding me about Franz Kline’s phonebook [sketches].” – Elisabeth Tripathi
This online format is changing the way I teach, and my classes are benefiting from it. Every week I have a slideshow of works and a collection of inspirations for a series of quick studies, then a larger challenge (using whatever materials you have on hand), and homework to integrate some of the ideas you found in class into your own personal style and interests. Since each week we have a singular focus, people are able to jump in to catch the next topic and not feel they are behind, so I have opened up these classes to welcome newcomers. If you would like to join us as we continue with our studies into abstractions, see below. We’d love to see what you make!
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, …
[image_with_animation image_url=”6644″ alignment=”” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”] Installation view of work by Raúl de Nieves, in the 2017 Whitney Biennial Raúl de Nieves What does it mean to be an American artist today? From his basement studio in Ridgewood, Queens, artist Raúl de Nieves creates an epic stained glass mural for the 2017 Whitney Biennial. Born …
Our printmaking instructor Nikki Barber has been printing posters in her basement for protest rallies and marches. “I feel responsible to stand up for my friends who are Black and my friends who are Brown, since I white-pass so easily, but am not white.” Nikki has been active in the social, political, and art in …
Abstracting Line
In my current series of abstraction classes, each week we focus on a single element of art. Honing in like this allows us to explore different ways into a painting or drawing. By narrowing down, we are able to go farther into an idea. These projects were made in response to a class on line (an online class on line, if you must). For this, line was emphasized as a way to move the viewer around the page, as pathways. These “simple” sketches by students are elegant, thoughtful, and captivating. Below are a few compositional studies of debris piles by Dawn Carlsen.
This handsome and considerate study of a backyard playset by Elisabeth Tripathi looked like it might benefit from a solution to the lower two ends. We tried adding some possibilities digitally to see how we might finish it off.
“One of the line drawings we looked at was a yellow background with a simple line cube that really stuck with me and I decided to select a more neutral (by way of de kooning) background to make sure color or texture didn’t start to come to the forefront. It was a great exercise to challenge me!”
“This piece came out of doing 60 quick line drawing thumbnails from my backyard. Thanks for reminding me about Franz Kline’s phonebook [sketches].” – Elisabeth Tripathi
This online format is changing the way I teach, and my classes are benefiting from it. Every week I have a slideshow of works and a collection of inspirations for a series of quick studies, then a larger challenge (using whatever materials you have on hand), and homework to integrate some of the ideas you found in class into your own personal style and interests. Since each week we have a singular focus, people are able to jump in to catch the next topic and not feel they are behind, so I have opened up these classes to welcome newcomers. If you would like to join us as we continue with our studies into abstractions, see below. We’d love to see what you make!
Abstracts (MINI) 2 Fridays 10:00-1:30 starts 4/24
Abstracts 6 Fridays 10:00-1:30 starts 4/24
Related Posts
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, …
Raúl de Nieves
[image_with_animation image_url=”6644″ alignment=”” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”] Installation view of work by Raúl de Nieves, in the 2017 Whitney Biennial Raúl de Nieves What does it mean to be an American artist today? From his basement studio in Ridgewood, Queens, artist Raúl de Nieves creates an epic stained glass mural for the 2017 Whitney Biennial. Born …
Call for Print Art!
Print Arts and Activism
Our printmaking instructor Nikki Barber has been printing posters in her basement for protest rallies and marches. “I feel responsible to stand up for my friends who are Black and my friends who are Brown, since I white-pass so easily, but am not white.” Nikki has been active in the social, political, and art in …