Teaching – TONY’S ART SCHOOL TAS – SHADBOLT CTR – DRAWING – Page 2

Drawing Boats & Ships – Shadbolt Day 1 TAS, 1 OF 2-1 {Oct 4 2017}

SKETCHING VERNAZZA AND RIOMAGGIORE (Shadbolt Center July 2017))

This is a demo of drawing techniques for travel sketching using charcoal (the square-section compressed charcoal is what I use , sometimes called drawing pastel black). Actually, a cleaner, more convenient alternative for travel would be gray felt pens, such as COPIC brand, wide nibs, neutral gray, just a couple of grays plus black fineliner (Type the name “copic” into the search box on this site to see how this medium can be used to render and color images.). You can use colored pencils over the top. We first did some practice mark-making and then sketched two villages of the Cinqueterra. See the photos below the video. For the village sketches, I begin with light gesture, then build up 3 tonal values for shapes. Then finish with some contour lines/details, such as edges and windows.

Reflections Sailboat Mirror Studies

People have asked if reflections should be longer, shorter, or the same as the actual object. The annoying answer is “It depends.” I made a little sailboat (about 3 inches high) by carving a white vinyl eraser and making a sail by cutting a credit card, painting it white and drawing a curve with a sharpie. I placed the model on a hand mirror and took some shots. I have done the same thing with toys of animals, people, etc. I like to make little quick model set-ups to study such problems, including light, shadow, etc. As you can see, the height of the reflection depends on the angle of the object vs. the mirror surface. The same thing applies to mountains or trees along a lake edge.

Live Sketching Mixed Media at Shadbolt Center (May 7 2017)

Yesterday I drew as a demonstration at the Shadbolt Center Burnaby for the “Rhododendron Festival”. Charcoal and pastels on office easel paper about 24 x 36. Hyped the colors a bit in P-Shop. The idea was to promote classes and participate in the Civic Festival representing the Shadbolt Center. I always enjoy doing this type of thing as it motivates and focuses me. Making art, pretty girls, sunny day, live music, get paid – can life be better than that? If it can I don’t care!

Gesture Drawing – Make your own Human Figure Manikin

Seeing-Drawing the ‘gesture’ is a fundamental skill in being able to draw a human figure. I teach drawing at Emily Carr and elsewhere and developed a sequence for correctly scaling a gesture so as not to ‘go off the page” in life drawing. Here are some pix of an 11 inch aluminum wire sculpture armature I made to create poses for drawing without needing a live model or manikin. I also include a handout I give my classes.

To create your own wire manikin: Draw a stick figure on 8 1/2 x 11 paper first. Bend wire on top of your drawing to get a proportionate figure. Aluminum sculpture wire from an art store is best, and use a pliers to bend accurately for the initial figure. You can photo about 10 or 20 poses to create a library to sketch from for practice.