Barbara Grossman, Blues Trio, 2015, 26×20″ charcoal
I was interested in learning some new language to talk about what is so captivating about Charity Baker’s drawings and paintings. Charity gave me a list of her teachers, Barbara Grossman was one of them.
Barbara Grossman, Islamic Tiles, 2016, 28 x 30″ oil on linen
Barbara Grossman’s artworks are impressionistic, abstracted, full of color and pattern. Instead of drawing with focal points and perspective, she describes space in a more abstract or impressionist way. In these works, you’ll see that Grossman creates interest by leading us through the composition via pathways and a variety of marks that maintain their intensity all the way through and to the edge of the composition. Pathways to the edge of the rectangle can function as a powerful tool to hold us in a drawing and painting; tools that in the process of trying to render the figure, I often neglect. I frequently emerge from a drawing session with a drawing of a face or figure, without the impact of a full composition. This is most often a mistake of a desire to get it “right” and hyper-focus on the features of the face and form. It’s something I am working diligently to change, especially now that I’m seeing the student works that implement the strength of these tools, and notice how impactful they are.
Barbara Grossman studied art and music at Yale, and in the drawings below you’ll see making music as a theme. In these artworks that describe both the experience of making music and the experience of making art, notice how the shapes, marks, and pathways hold us in the frame, and lead us around the composition, continuously giving us something new to discover in the work.
Barbara Grossman, Trio Singing, 2015, 30 x 22.75″ charcoalBarbara Grossman, Trio Rehearsing, 2005, 26×20″ charcoal and conteBarbara Grossman, Duo Andante, 2005, 26×20″ charcoal and conteBarbara Grossman, Trio – Vermillion 2002, 30 x 26″ charcoal Barbara Grossman, Trio – Blue 2002, 30 x 22″ charcoalBarbara Grossman, Duo – Bright Red, 2002, 30 x 22″ charcoalBarbara Grossman, Trio – Naples Yellow, 2002, 30 x 22″ charcoal
10 teams collaborated for this blind drawing challenge. Each team member emailed me their drawings without their team mates seeing what they drew, and I assembled them. It was fun to get these in my inbox. We are definitely doing this again. Check out these drawings! Winning team below. And the winning team is… RECKLESS LINES! …
My silence these past few days has not been intentional. I lost my mojo. Art classes are on break, human contact is absent, the news that I thought was bad, got worse. I was at a loss for what to send you. Black artists. Black artists. More black artists. The last time there was racial …
[image_with_animation image_url=”9985″ alignment=”center” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”] Wang Yuping Catch something just leaving the frame, or half absent from the picture in some way. Materials are artists’ choice. Thank you for sharing your work! I love seeing these artworks online. People who post to Instagram or on Facebook will be eligible to win prizes (see details). No matter where you post, tag us so we …
8 Drawings by Barbara Grossman
I was interested in learning some new language to talk about what is so captivating about Charity Baker’s drawings and paintings. Charity gave me a list of her teachers, Barbara Grossman was one of them.
Barbara Grossman’s artworks are impressionistic, abstracted, full of color and pattern. Instead of drawing with focal points and perspective, she describes space in a more abstract or impressionist way. In these works, you’ll see that Grossman creates interest by leading us through the composition via pathways and a variety of marks that maintain their intensity all the way through and to the edge of the composition. Pathways to the edge of the rectangle can function as a powerful tool to hold us in a drawing and painting; tools that in the process of trying to render the figure, I often neglect. I frequently emerge from a drawing session with a drawing of a face or figure, without the impact of a full composition. This is most often a mistake of a desire to get it “right” and hyper-focus on the features of the face and form. It’s something I am working diligently to change, especially now that I’m seeing the student works that implement the strength of these tools, and notice how impactful they are.
Barbara Grossman studied art and music at Yale, and in the drawings below you’ll see making music as a theme. In these artworks that describe both the experience of making music and the experience of making art, notice how the shapes, marks, and pathways hold us in the frame, and lead us around the composition, continuously giving us something new to discover in the work.
Related Posts
Exquisite Corpse Challenge 1 Winners
10 teams collaborated for this blind drawing challenge. Each team member emailed me their drawings without their team mates seeing what they drew, and I assembled them. It was fun to get these in my inbox. We are definitely doing this again. Check out these drawings! Winning team below. And the winning team is… RECKLESS LINES! …
More Black Artists
My silence these past few days has not been intentional. I lost my mojo. Art classes are on break, human contact is absent, the news that I thought was bad, got worse. I was at a loss for what to send you. Black artists. Black artists. More black artists. The last time there was racial …
SAL Challenge: I’m Outta Here
[image_with_animation image_url=”9985″ alignment=”center” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”] Wang Yuping Catch something just leaving the frame, or half absent from the picture in some way. Materials are artists’ choice. Thank you for sharing your work! I love seeing these artworks online. People who post to Instagram or on Facebook will be eligible to win prizes (see details). No matter where you post, tag us so we …
One Monotype by Georgie O’Keefe
This is a monotype by Georgia O’Keefe. I could not find another. If you’ve seen one, let me know!