Day 23 of our 30 day January Challenge was a drawing class trick from Fran O’Neill. The purpose is to trick artists into describing surface and surroundings that have as much interest and presence as the stuff that’s sitting on and in front of it. The most common response to this kind of exercise is “how the heck do I draw a white wall?!?” In short, you find a way across it.
Here are some of my favorite descriptive empty scenes:
@mille.ireland
@cass.v2
@barbdunshee
@gretamusland
@karldyerart
@pamelafreemanstudio
@wobblefincharts
@rozaventartist
@shannon.stoney
@gil_mendez_sf
@wendy_lumsdaine
@christianpincock
@squirrelflower
@amandaroseart
@jenniferbarnett222
Paula W
Kathryn Walton-Elliott
Ellen Borison
Karen Bell
Kathy Paul
Rey Daoed
Barb
The urge to fill in empty space with an object instead of describing the surface or space itself is sometimes too much for artists to ignore, and there were quite a few drawings that had an object plopped in. Below is my favorite drawing as the artist posted it, and then with an edit from me, so we can see how strong and captivating the drawing is without it.
Original drawing, artist’s name unknown
Doctored in Photoshop by me
This drawing was posted to Padlet without a name. If this is your drawing, please forgive me for altering your original. Contact me or post below so I can credit you, and so that I may send you a token of my appreciation for this beautiful drawing.
PROCESS UPDATE: It has been a delight to have our official “Artist Not In Residence” Patty Haller around the studios. She has been at the studio almost every day, and openly sharing her process with students and guests. Today, NPR news is playing from a little boombox on the floor. On the table, a single potted fern …
[image_with_animation image_url=”7657″ alignment=”center” animation=”Fade In” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”] In 1953, Robert Rauschenberg asked William de Kooning, an artist he idolized, to give him one of his drawings. De Kooning reluctantly agreed, and Rauschenberg….. well…. Rauschenberg erased it, and put it in a lovely gold frame with an inscription that said “ERASED de KOONING DRAWING, ROBERT RAUSCHENBERG, …
[image_with_animation image_url=”10515″ alignment=”” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”] Photo and painting of JS Sargent’s teacher Carolus-Duran. Painting not made from photo. Photo taken (possibly?) to resemble the painting. Posted by James Gurney Would you be surprised to see that a painter who depended on patrons’ funds applied a bit of painterly flattery to his portraits? Take a …
Yesterday’s headlines announced the first federal execution in 17 years. Because we needed some good news from our leadership, right? Right?!? The execution was by lethal injection, but the artistic resources in my mind recalled Warhol’s Electric Chair. Electric Chair is part of Warhol’s Death and Disaster series started in 1962. This series included car crashes, atom bombs, …
30SAL Faves: Set the Stage
Day 23 of our 30 day January Challenge was a drawing class trick from Fran O’Neill. The purpose is to trick artists into describing surface and surroundings that have as much interest and presence as the stuff that’s sitting on and in front of it. The most common response to this kind of exercise is “how the heck do I draw a white wall?!?” In short, you find a way across it.
Here are some of my favorite descriptive empty scenes:
The urge to fill in empty space with an object instead of describing the surface or space itself is sometimes too much for artists to ignore, and there were quite a few drawings that had an object plopped in. Below is my favorite drawing as the artist posted it, and then with an edit from me, so we can see how strong and captivating the drawing is without it.
This drawing was posted to Padlet without a name. If this is your drawing, please forgive me for altering your original. Contact me or post below so I can credit you, and so that I may send you a token of my appreciation for this beautiful drawing.
Related Posts
Patty Haller in the Studio
PROCESS UPDATE: It has been a delight to have our official “Artist Not In Residence” Patty Haller around the studios. She has been at the studio almost every day, and openly sharing her process with students and guests. Today, NPR news is playing from a little boombox on the floor. On the table, a single potted fern …
SAL Challenge Day 11: Erased Drawing
[image_with_animation image_url=”7657″ alignment=”center” animation=”Fade In” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”] In 1953, Robert Rauschenberg asked William de Kooning, an artist he idolized, to give him one of his drawings. De Kooning reluctantly agreed, and Rauschenberg….. well…. Rauschenberg erased it, and put it in a lovely gold frame with an inscription that said “ERASED de KOONING DRAWING, ROBERT RAUSCHENBERG, …
The Charismatic Flattery of JS Sargent
[image_with_animation image_url=”10515″ alignment=”” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”] Photo and painting of JS Sargent’s teacher Carolus-Duran. Painting not made from photo. Photo taken (possibly?) to resemble the painting. Posted by James Gurney Would you be surprised to see that a painter who depended on patrons’ funds applied a bit of painterly flattery to his portraits? Take a …
Strange Messengers
Yesterday’s headlines announced the first federal execution in 17 years. Because we needed some good news from our leadership, right? Right?!? The execution was by lethal injection, but the artistic resources in my mind recalled Warhol’s Electric Chair. Electric Chair is part of Warhol’s Death and Disaster series started in 1962. This series included car crashes, atom bombs, …