Term 5, Bargue Drawing, Week 3
For a description of this unit see my Bargue Drawing unit plan. For full context, see the description of my Art Home School Curriculum.
Retrospective
I took a bit of a break this week for the holidays. I joined an online seminar at the Grand Central Atelier which is an introduction to their methods. It’s Saturday mornings for 4 weeks, and this Saturday the assignment was a conceptual sphere. It’s quite a coincidence because I just did that a couple weeks ago. I was happy to do it again though, because I knew I could do a better job.
I feel like I’m at a crossroads right now because I can’t decide which direction in art I want to pursue. Part of me wants to join a traditional atelier like Grand Central and train towards academic realism like professional artists did in the 1900s, and part of me wants to go into concept art and/or comic art. I got absorbed into learning photoshop and sketchup over the holiday and I’m considering doing a digital painting unit next term.
Log
Drawings and Critiques
Monday, Nov. 22
Gouache portrait.
Tuesday, Nov. 23
Conceptual sphere.
My shadow construction is much better on this sphere than my last one.
Wednesday, Nov. 24
Conceptual sphere.
Thursday, Nov. 25
Finished conceptual sphere.
This was the sphere I turned in to the GCA class for critique. I was quite surprised by the advice the instructor gave me. It was basically the opposite of everything I’ve ever heard about rendering a sphere. The normal story I see is a dark core shadow, lighter reflected light, darker occlusion shadow, and dark cast shadow. However, the method the instructor recommended was a single shadow value (no dark core shadow or reflected light). I guess the benefit of sticking with one school is that you don’t get conflicting advice, which can be frustrating for a beginner.
Block-in of the “Homer” Bargue plate.
Friday, Nov. 26
Bargue block-in.
Saturday, Nov. 27
I worked on the gouache portrait today but forgot to take a photo. And no, I didn’t break my 17 month daily drawing streak.
Sunday, Nov. 28
Gouache portrait.
I haven’t decided whether or not I’m done with this. There is definitely more I could do, but part of me also just wants to move on to the next painting. This was really difficult.
