How did it happen that all of our drawings and paintings are in rectangles?
In my online figure drawing class last Sunday, I showed drawings by Matisse, Modigliani, and the very Matisse-like Pierre Boncompain. I talked about positioning the figure within the rectangle, thinking about how the shape of the figure and the shape of the spaces around the figure interact with the shape of the compositional rectangle.
Matisse
Modigliani
Color pencil figure drawing by Pierre Boncompain
Looking at the drawings by Pierre Boncompain led me to his ceramics, and I remembered something my painting teacher Ed Bereal asked: What if the shape you’re painting on isn’t a rectangle, and what if the surface isn’t flat?
In Fran O’Neill’s recent online drawing class, she had us draw quick thumbnail sketches in a variety of rectangular, triangular and circular compositions. In most cases, the sketches drawn in triangles and circles were the most interesting… and then once released we all went back to drawing in rectangles, because a habit is a habit. Darnit!
With that in mind, here are some figure drawings on ceramics by Pierre Boncompain (born May 17, 1938, in Provence, France).
Pierre Boncompain: figures on ceramic vessels
It could be said that some of these are decorations for the pot. Were the drawings above decorations for the paper?
Matisse observing a vase by Picasso. Photo by Henri Cartier-Bresson
Happy Thanksgiving Americans! Here is a selection of my favorite artworks from the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s online collection. And, if you find yourself in the mood for a song or two, here’s a collection of Thanksgiving songs from Smithsonian Folkways. Depending on your taste, you may happily skip the first song and start with …
A pioneer in 20th century printmaking, Glen Alps was the professor and creator of the Printmaking Department at UW. Alps coined the term “collagraph” for his prints in the 1960s. The process was much more involved then traditional printmaking methods such as engraving, serigraph, or etching. Collagraphs are a low-tech, low toxic, and accessible printmaking process. …
[image_with_animation image_url=”10122″ alignment=”center” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”] Mahala Mrozek, Quick Time New Participants for Week 2! The SAL Challenge is growing! Happy creatives have been posting work all over the everywhere on Facebook and Instagram pages. You can look for them by searching for #salchallenge and #seattleartistleague. Great stuff! Artworks I found were by Margot Booth, Madeline Mimi Torchia Boothby, …
If you’ve taken a drawing class, you might have learned to draw with 1 point, 2 point, and 3 point linear perspective. With this perspective method, objects that are farther away are drawn smaller, and perpendicular lines recede to common vanishing points in the distance. In inverse perspective, objects that are farther away are drawn …
Figures on Vessels: Pierre Boncompain
How did it happen that all of our drawings and paintings are in rectangles?
In my online figure drawing class last Sunday, I showed drawings by Matisse, Modigliani, and the very Matisse-like Pierre Boncompain. I talked about positioning the figure within the rectangle, thinking about how the shape of the figure and the shape of the spaces around the figure interact with the shape of the compositional rectangle.
Looking at the drawings by Pierre Boncompain led me to his ceramics, and I remembered something my painting teacher Ed Bereal asked: What if the shape you’re painting on isn’t a rectangle, and what if the surface isn’t flat?
In Fran O’Neill’s recent online drawing class, she had us draw quick thumbnail sketches in a variety of rectangular, triangular and circular compositions. In most cases, the sketches drawn in triangles and circles were the most interesting… and then once released we all went back to drawing in rectangles, because a habit is a habit. Darnit!
With that in mind, here are some figure drawings on ceramics by Pierre Boncompain (born May 17, 1938, in Provence, France).
Pierre Boncompain: figures on ceramic vessels
It could be said that some of these are decorations for the pot. Were the drawings above decorations for the paper?
Related Posts
A Selection of American Thanksgiving Art, from the Smithsonian Collection
Happy Thanksgiving Americans! Here is a selection of my favorite artworks from the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s online collection. And, if you find yourself in the mood for a song or two, here’s a collection of Thanksgiving songs from Smithsonian Folkways. Depending on your taste, you may happily skip the first song and start with …
Glen Alps
A pioneer in 20th century printmaking, Glen Alps was the professor and creator of the Printmaking Department at UW. Alps coined the term “collagraph” for his prints in the 1960s. The process was much more involved then traditional printmaking methods such as engraving, serigraph, or etching. Collagraphs are a low-tech, low toxic, and accessible printmaking process. …
SAL Challenge Week 2 Winners
[image_with_animation image_url=”10122″ alignment=”center” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”] Mahala Mrozek, Quick Time New Participants for Week 2! The SAL Challenge is growing! Happy creatives have been posting work all over the everywhere on Facebook and Instagram pages. You can look for them by searching for #salchallenge and #seattleartistleague. Great stuff! Artworks I found were by Margot Booth, Madeline Mimi Torchia Boothby, …
Day 15: Inverse Perspective #30SAL
If you’ve taken a drawing class, you might have learned to draw with 1 point, 2 point, and 3 point linear perspective. With this perspective method, objects that are farther away are drawn smaller, and perpendicular lines recede to common vanishing points in the distance. In inverse perspective, objects that are farther away are drawn …