Tina Kraft is a talented South Florida artist with connections to our besties at the New York Studio School. It was at NYSS where we met many of our great instructors such as Fran O’Neil, Charity Baker, Catherine Lepp, Sam Wade Levy, Shruti Ghatak, and Jonathan Harkham. Our own Keith Pfieffer is currently pursuing his MFA there, and Mary Shea is no stranger to the school either. (Mary Shea’s “Drawing with Color” class starts in 2 weeks, by the way.) That was a long winded family tree, but hopefully it gives some context to why I’m looking at these branches.
Tina Kraft came specially recommended to teach with us by the very highly regarded Fran O’Neil, an esteemed instructor at the NYSS, and a star with us since 2019. Lucky for us Kraft agreed to teach a couple of workshops at SAL this summer! More about that later.
Nosing through Tina Kraft’s portfolio, I found this drawing of trees.
This drawing of trees by Tina Kraft shows some methods in common with Van Gogh. Look at the marks. See how the whole composition from each edge of the rectangle is filled with descriptions? The lines go right up to the edge. The lumpy ground is dotted with pattern and texture, circles and squiggles. The generous tree canopy brings volume and movement because they’re described with a choir of curved contours across shared undulating clouds of leaves. The diagonal trunks and branches bring form and rhythm with each angled straight structure. Nothing is at a perfect vertical or horizontal, so the whole picture is in motion, and all of it is infused with energy! See how each group of marks leads you to the next group of marks? Everything is in a sort of social relationship. Nothing is isolated. These drawings give the viewer unlimited pathways in, around, and through the composition. There’s much to discover!
A big part of why we enjoy working with graduates from the New York Studio School is seen in the way they draw. There is an intensity to the descriptive information in the marks. Forgive us for being art nerds, but honestly we think it’s thrilling. These methods are rooted (sorry for the pun) in classical approaches all the way back through Rembrandt, but they aren’t static or stodgy. These keenly observational marks propel us forward into modern ideas that describe our experiences being alive now. They even lead to abstraction. NYSS artists and instructors changed the way I think about drawing, and I love them for that. More later! For now, enjoy a few more drawings of family trees.
Yankee Doodle The paintings are credited to Archibald Willard. Color and composition versions, oddly varied, are the contributions of the internets. The original (dutch) nonsense words to “our” Yankee Doodle song: Yanker, didel, doodle down, Diddle, dudel, lanther, Yanke viver, voover vown, Botermilk und tanther. From Wikipedia:The term Doodle first appeared in English in the early seventeenth century[7] and is thought …
Exquisite Corpse is a collaborative, chance-based drawing game invented by the Surrealists in the mid 1920s. Traditionally, each participant draws an image on part of a sheet of paper, folds the paper to conceal their work, and passes it on to the next player for their contribution. This is a modern version, with the entries …
This is day 3 of the 30SAL creative challenge! To learn more about this 30 day challenge, click here. Today, study and sketch the geometry of this tondo (circular) composition by Masaccio. Don’t worry about illustrating the figures and details, just focus on the relationships of the big shapes. Media is artist’s choice. Can be …
I have been sharing works from Figure in Interior; the most unusual art class I’ve ever been a part of. I talked about Cezanne, and how making small marks distributed around the page (thank you to Fran O’Neill) can be a way to integrate time and change within a drawing. I talked about Kathy Paul and …
Drawing of Trees by Tina Kraft
Tina Kraft is a talented South Florida artist with connections to our besties at the New York Studio School. It was at NYSS where we met many of our great instructors such as Fran O’Neil, Charity Baker, Catherine Lepp, Sam Wade Levy, Shruti Ghatak, and Jonathan Harkham. Our own Keith Pfieffer is currently pursuing his MFA there, and Mary Shea is no stranger to the school either. (Mary Shea’s “Drawing with Color” class starts in 2 weeks, by the way.) That was a long winded family tree, but hopefully it gives some context to why I’m looking at these branches.
Tina Kraft came specially recommended to teach with us by the very highly regarded Fran O’Neil, an esteemed instructor at the NYSS, and a star with us since 2019. Lucky for us Kraft agreed to teach a couple of workshops at SAL this summer! More about that later.
Nosing through Tina Kraft’s portfolio, I found this drawing of trees.
This drawing of trees by Tina Kraft shows some methods in common with Van Gogh. Look at the marks. See how the whole composition from each edge of the rectangle is filled with descriptions? The lines go right up to the edge. The lumpy ground is dotted with pattern and texture, circles and squiggles. The generous tree canopy brings volume and movement because they’re described with a choir of curved contours across shared undulating clouds of leaves. The diagonal trunks and branches bring form and rhythm with each angled straight structure. Nothing is at a perfect vertical or horizontal, so the whole picture is in motion, and all of it is infused with energy! See how each group of marks leads you to the next group of marks? Everything is in a sort of social relationship. Nothing is isolated. These drawings give the viewer unlimited pathways in, around, and through the composition. There’s much to discover!
A big part of why we enjoy working with graduates from the New York Studio School is seen in the way they draw. There is an intensity to the descriptive information in the marks. Forgive us for being art nerds, but honestly we think it’s thrilling. These methods are rooted (sorry for the pun) in classical approaches all the way back through Rembrandt, but they aren’t static or stodgy. These keenly observational marks propel us forward into modern ideas that describe our experiences being alive now. They even lead to abstraction. NYSS artists and instructors changed the way I think about drawing, and I love them for that. More later! For now, enjoy a few more drawings of family trees.
4 drawings of trees by van gogh
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Yankee Doodle The paintings are credited to Archibald Willard. Color and composition versions, oddly varied, are the contributions of the internets. The original (dutch) nonsense words to “our” Yankee Doodle song: Yanker, didel, doodle down, Diddle, dudel, lanther, Yanke viver, voover vown, Botermilk und tanther. From Wikipedia:The term Doodle first appeared in English in the early seventeenth century[7] and is thought …
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Exquisite Corpse is a collaborative, chance-based drawing game invented by the Surrealists in the mid 1920s. Traditionally, each participant draws an image on part of a sheet of paper, folds the paper to conceal their work, and passes it on to the next player for their contribution. This is a modern version, with the entries …
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This is day 3 of the 30SAL creative challenge! To learn more about this 30 day challenge, click here. Today, study and sketch the geometry of this tondo (circular) composition by Masaccio. Don’t worry about illustrating the figures and details, just focus on the relationships of the big shapes. Media is artist’s choice. Can be …
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I have been sharing works from Figure in Interior; the most unusual art class I’ve ever been a part of. I talked about Cezanne, and how making small marks distributed around the page (thank you to Fran O’Neill) can be a way to integrate time and change within a drawing. I talked about Kathy Paul and …