2_14_2024

 

The Expressive Figure Assignment

Concept: Drawing the Head as Volume

Materials:

Materials

•  Vine or Willow Jumbo Charcoal ( Generals, Coates, etc.),  Graphite lead and holder
•  Dry Media Sources: Hard Pastel sticks (NuPastel, Creatacolor, etc.)  Conte Crayon, Stabilo Pastel Pencils or equivalent,
•  Canson Mi Tientes toned paper or Strathmore toned 90 lb drawing paper 12" x 19" or similar Ledger or any similar 60 to 90 lb paper
•  Faber-Castell Kneaded Eraser or Chamois cloth

Charcoal (Vine/Willow)

Red Ochre/Sanguine (Pastel/Conte)

Black ( Compressed Charcoal/Pastel)

Ivory/White (Pastel/Conte)

Starting with charcoal, quickly and lightly sketch and draw a gestural mannikin of the pose with an emphasis on proportions and action. This mannikin is geometrically analogous to a "doll" with a peanut-shaped volume approximating the torso, cylinders for limbs and neck, and an ovoid for the skull. Orient the mannikin in space by drawing a "medial line" through the center of the front and back of the torso as well as the center and back of the neck and skull. 

With the template of the mannikin pose as a guide, consider how the volumes of the "peanut", "cylinders, and "ovoid" describe the volumes "in space" and can taper as they move away from us and loom larger the closer they are to us. Be cognizant of this "in and out" spatial occupancy.

For these next exercises, concentrate on the ovoid of the skull using the medial line as a guide to fabricate the face, find the mask, and then divide the space under the mask into thirds. The bottom of the nose, the shadow under the lower lip, and then the chin.

Nicolai Fechin

Peter Paul Rubens

Astrid

The Expressive Figure 1_17_2024

 

The Expressive Figure Assignment

Concept: Trois Crayon with Hatching Duality

Materials:

Materials

•  Vine or Willow Jumbo Charcoal ( Generals, Coates, etc.),  Graphite lead and holder
•  Dry Media Sources: Hard Pastel sticks (NuPastel, Creatacolor, etc.)  Conte Crayon, Stabilo Pastel Pencils or equivalent,
•  Canson Mi Tientes toned paper or Strathmore toned 90 lb drawing paper 12" x 19" or similar Ledger or any similar 60 to 90 lb paper
•  Faber-Castell Kneaded Eraser or Chamois cloth

Trois Crayon color set

Red Ochre/Sanguine

Black

Ivory/White

Starting with charcoal, quickly and lightly sketch and draw a gestural mannikin of the pose with an emphasis on proportions and action. This should take fifteen seconds or less and be in the spirit of what Michelangelo called "the Flame". Think of it as three helixes wrapping around a central core, like ribbons or strands of flame rising and converging above.

With the template of the mannikin pose as a guide, consider how the volumes of the "peanut", "cylinders, and "ovoid" describe the volumes "in space" and can taper as they move away from us and loom larger the closer they are to us. Be cognizant of this "in and out" spatial occupancy.

Once this lightly sketched gestural template is drawn, use the red ochre/sanguine hard pastel/Conte media to establish broken contour and define parameters of anatomy. Apply the hatching duality by hatch modeling those forms that are illuminated and as the form turns into shadow use a unidirectional parallel line to "Mass" the shadow.

Use the Ivory White hard pastel/Conte media to "heighten" the form in the light- lights are applied on those planes that are more parallel with the light source. Model(hatch) the lights with strokes that conform with the geometry of the form.

Refine the drawing using the black hard pastel/Conte media by emphasizing those contours that have the most absence of light( light cannot penetrate those folds and creases. Apply black for hair and accents (irises, nostrils, crease of lips, eyebrows, eyelashes, etc.

Sherrie McGraw

Paul Helleau

Peter Paul Rubens

Dan Thompson

Robert Liberace

Sherrie McGraw

George Dawney

Dereck Overfield

Susan Lyon

Claude Monet

The Expressive Figure 1_10_2024

 

The Expressive Figure Assignment

Concept: Trois Crayon

Materials

•  Vine or Willow Jumbo Charcoal ( Generals/ Coates)" Thin, Medium, and Jumbo.
•  Canson Mi Tientes toned paper, Strathmore toned paper, or 90 lb drawing paper 12" x 19" or similar sketchbook
•  Faber-Castell Kneaded Eraser
•  Pan Pastel  Rw Sienna Tint , Burnt Sienna, or color of your choosing.
• Pastel chalk ( Prismacolor Nupastel ) or similar "hard pastel" recommended colors Ivory White, Venetian Red, Sepia, (any of the earth reds)
• Carb-Othello Pastel Pencils recommended colors Ivory White, Venetian Red, Sepia, (any of the earth reds) or colors of your choosing

Starting with Charcoal , quickly sketch and draw a gestural mannikin of the pose with an emphasis on the center of gravity (Isonomia) Rythmos (action), with the geometric approximations of a Manniken foremost, (Peanut/Torso, Cylinders/Arms and Legs, Neck, Spheroid /Head). This should take 60 seconds or less and be in the spirit of what Michelangelo called "the Flame". Think of it as three helixes wrapping around a central core, like ribbons or strands of flame rising and converging above.

With the template of the mannikin pose as a guide, consider how the volumes of the "peanut", "cylinders, and "ovoid" describe the volumes "in space" and can taper as they move away from us and loom larger the closer they are to us. Be cognizant of this "in and out" spatial occupancy.

Choose three poses and explore the technique of :

Trois Crayon

Reductive Technique on Tone Paper

Using the trois crayon technique of 

Red Ochre

Charcoal/Black

White/Ivory

Trois crayons  English: "three chalks") is a drawing technique using three colors of chalk: red (sanguine), black (a type of schist), and white. The paper used may be a mid-tone such as grey, blue, or tan. Among numerous others, French painters Antoine Watteau and François Boucher drew studies of figures and drapery aux trois crayons. The technique was, most notably, pioneered and popularised by the Flemish master Peter Paul Rubens.

The trois crayons drawing technique has its roots in the second half of the 15th century in Europe. During this period, artists began drawing with natural red chalk along with limited natural chalk. As drawing techniques evolved, artists combined red chalk with other chalks, including white chalk. The use of white chalk allowed artists to enhance lighting effects in their drawings. However, since white chalk was barely visible on white paper or parchment, artists began to use a toned background to allow the technique to work effectively. During the 16th century, artists developed sophisticated drawing techniques, such as in matita rossa e nera ("in red and black chalk pencils") known in Italy, and aux deux crayons ("with two chalk pencils") known in France. In the early 17th century, the technique developed further combining red, white, and black chalk to produce the aux trois crayons ("with three chalk pencils") technique, typically executed on blue or tan colored paper. The trois crayons technique was developed most completely in the 18th century.

The methods of blending and layering the colors in the trois crayons technique involve a step-by-step process of setting proportion and organization, introducing mass shadows, developing shadows and light, and rendering the lights with varying intensity. By combining red, black, and white chalk artists create vivid and vibrant drawings. The method promotes color harmony with its limited range of colors, making it efficient and creative. Materials used include red, black, and white chalk, pigmented pencils, and specific paper. The results demonstrate how the trois crayons technique can create compelling artwork.

Peter Paul Rubens

Antoine Watteau

Francois Boucher

Jean Honore Fragonard

Harry Carmean

Keith Gunderson