Most of the time when people draw something such as a still life, they draw the objects and then neglect everything around the objects, like the table holding it up, and the wall behind it. A drawing like this shows us a thing floating in nothing instead of an interaction of depth, volume, and surfaces inhabiting a full compositional space.
Still life sideboard with apple by Giacometti (1937)
Today’s OBSERVATIONAL Challenge:
Set up a scene, then remove the objects and draw what’s left. Find ways to describe the surfaces such as wall, table, floor or whatever else is in your scene, and make them look solid and interesting. There is no right or wrong way to do this, but if you need a little inspiration, take a look at the Giacometti drawings here. See how he makes marks across the surfaces to activate them and give them surface. #setthestage
Thank you to our drawing teachers Fran O’Neill and Lyall Wallerstedt for giving us this challenge. Interested in exploring this idea in a class? Beginning Drawing and Drawing II both start this week. I’ll be taking Fran’s Drawing II. So fun! Classes are all online so I can zoom in from my comfy spot and munch on snacks. Come join us! Class sizes are small and space is limited, so don’t wait! Click here to see more.
(detail of Giacometti’s still life sideboard)
Post it
To be eligible for prizes (yes prizes!) at the end of the month, post your work to Instagram with #30sal and #setthestage so we can find your post.
To find more followers for your page, you can cut/paste these to your post:
[image_with_animation image_url=”6088″ alignment=”” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”] Claire Putney’s layered drawings combine maps, charts, and diagrams with sewing, burning, cut paper, and ink washes. From what I’ve seen of her work so far, although she and I use different images and mediums, her process appears to be very similar to my own. She has a concept, …
This is day 4 of the 30SAL creative challenge! To learn more about this 30 day challenge, click here. Looking at only the back of this altarpiece fragment, imagine what the front looks like, and recreate it. You can draw, paint, lay out baguettes and hosiery, or anything else that inspires you. Share your drawing …
I’ve been talking about how to use hands as expressive elements within a drawing. I love this idea so much, both for technical practice and for powerful personal expression, that I made a class to study expressive hands and heads, and I started collecting examples. Some I collected because I appreciated the rendering. Some I collected because the artist …
“…What more attractive and challenging surface than the skin around a soul?” – Richard Corliss (1944-2015) Below is an overview of some of the most innovative and influential painters from figurative art history to the mid-twentieth century. Starting in Ancient Greece, through the Renaissance into Romanticism, then Modernism, these artists articulated our view of the human form. Up Next: …
Day 23: Set the Stage #30SAL
Most of the time when people draw something such as a still life, they draw the objects and then neglect everything around the objects, like the table holding it up, and the wall behind it. A drawing like this shows us a thing floating in nothing instead of an interaction of depth, volume, and surfaces inhabiting a full compositional space.
Today’s OBSERVATIONAL Challenge:
Set up a scene, then remove the objects and draw what’s left. Find ways to describe the surfaces such as wall, table, floor or whatever else is in your scene, and make them look solid and interesting. There is no right or wrong way to do this, but if you need a little inspiration, take a look at the Giacometti drawings here. See how he makes marks across the surfaces to activate them and give them surface. #setthestage
Thank you to our drawing teachers Fran O’Neill and Lyall Wallerstedt for giving us this challenge. Interested in exploring this idea in a class? Beginning Drawing and Drawing II both start this week. I’ll be taking Fran’s Drawing II. So fun! Classes are all online so I can zoom in from my comfy spot and munch on snacks. Come join us! Class sizes are small and space is limited, so don’t wait! Click here to see more.
Post it
To be eligible for prizes (yes prizes!) at the end of the month, post your work to Instagram with #30sal and #setthestage so we can find your post.
To find more followers for your page, you can cut/paste these to your post:
#30sal #setthestage #vnotes #creativechallenge #januarychallenge #drawingchallenge #drawing #art #sketch #artchallenge #artist #draw #artistsoninstagram #sketchbook #instaart #artwork #drawingoftheday #dailydrawing #oilpainting #mixedmedia #drawingsketch #artoftheday #creativity
Padlet
Don’t have Instagram? Post your work to Padlet.
DAY 23: SET THE STAGE https://seattleartistleague.padlet.org/SAL/p7q2x2le410zm3b9
DAY 22: REVERSE PERSPECTIVE https://seattleartistleague.padlet.org/SAL/zady37uhzbw40wso
DAY 21: BACCHUS & ARIADNE https://seattleartistleague.padlet.org/SAL/ae63k1leakeqttu5
Deadline for Prizes
Deadline for submissions: 3 days after each challenge post.
January prize winners will be announced in February.
To learn more about the 30SAL Challenge, click here.
Online drawing classes start this week!
Related Posts
Claire Putney
[image_with_animation image_url=”6088″ alignment=”” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”] Claire Putney’s layered drawings combine maps, charts, and diagrams with sewing, burning, cut paper, and ink washes. From what I’ve seen of her work so far, although she and I use different images and mediums, her process appears to be very similar to my own. She has a concept, …
Day 4: Altarpiece #30SAL
This is day 4 of the 30SAL creative challenge! To learn more about this 30 day challenge, click here. Looking at only the back of this altarpiece fragment, imagine what the front looks like, and recreate it. You can draw, paint, lay out baguettes and hosiery, or anything else that inspires you. Share your drawing …
Drawings of Hands: Charles White
I’ve been talking about how to use hands as expressive elements within a drawing. I love this idea so much, both for technical practice and for powerful personal expression, that I made a class to study expressive hands and heads, and I started collecting examples. Some I collected because I appreciated the rendering. Some I collected because the artist …
Figurative Art History
“…What more attractive and challenging surface than the skin around a soul?” – Richard Corliss (1944-2015) Below is an overview of some of the most innovative and influential painters from figurative art history to the mid-twentieth century. Starting in Ancient Greece, through the Renaissance into Romanticism, then Modernism, these artists articulated our view of the human form. Up Next: …