drawings

I love the plant drawings that Ellsworth Kelly is known for.

But I found this short video that resonated for me.

I love his story about loving the windows of a space more than the paintings in the exhibit. I often see the reflection in an artwork more than the piece.

Shadows are always catching my eye, too

He says, Art needs time.

I think we make up the story/content when we give shadows, windows, relfections and abstract art time.

Do a search for an artist who inspires you and listen to him/her talk about art.

I found the book Art by Design by Bill Oakes in a thrift store for 50 cents.

I was in love with the compelling black and white images on the cover.

I must confess I have not read the book, but I do flip through it and skim the pages for inspiration.

I like to embrace the elements of design in classes that I teach and  take. For example, I am playing with simple landscapes, right now in a class with Anita Lehmann.

I feel like I practice and play with line, value, color, texture, shape and space. And eventually the principles sink into my bones and will be second nature.

I think as artists we focus on different design principles differently and that is what makes our art unique.

I think I am about texture and shape,  but I am always chanting to myself to save whites and add blacks.  This way I have strong and interesting value changes.

Value changes from very light to very dark is often over looked. And just reclaiming some bright whites or adding a pop of very dark and instantly transform a piece.

If you would like help with art and design skills, check out the current classes.

Brayers are a key tool for printmakers. So I did a couple of quick drawings of my brayers on index cards.

Then today I picked two of the drawings and made copies of them, increasing and reducing the size.

As you can see in the sketch in the middle above, I overlapped and combined several of the copies to create an interesting composition.

So this is one way to get more from one littles sketch. Use your copier or computer to manipulate the size and combine to create a new design.

And then I used the combined drawing as a matrix for a couple of trace monoprints. I think that I will make a couple more and add some watercolor to them like I did in the little abstract drawing at the end.

If you would like to get more from your drawings, then check out the online class, SEE – draw – Print.

Class starts soon. It is a 3 day class designed to get you drawing and printing right away.

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Not all drawing needs to be with a pen and paper. Today I was inspired by one of Matisse’s cut out figures.

Matisse’s light blue figure looks so feminine and still very strong or powerful. I was not as easy as you might think.

Later in the day, I glued the cut-a-way pieces to a card to create even more strong female figures. This additive approach was easier for me to do than the cut away.

I think shape is one of the first things we learn when we start to draw. It can be stimulating to circle back to the basics and explore the basic elements of design like shape, line and value in isolated projects.

The Challenge

Cut and play with simple shapes to convey your message. See if you can capture it’s essence in the shape. You could:

• Simplify a figurative image of your own
• Copy a master like Matisse and then go in your own direction
• Keep it easy and fun

If you want to explore with the support of an online class then check out the current workshops that are being offered.