Sketchbooking to the Max!
Preface: I definitely understand color, composition, form, balance, unity, and combining elements. I am a fearless painter, not inhibited by the idea of “messing it up”. I jump in, rework, paint over, layer and build without a doubt in my heart. But for some reason when I pick up a sketch book I am still utterly intimidated. I can’t place where this fear of the blank page came from. I legitimately filled a sketchbook in fashion illustration in fall 09, but haven’t really picked up one since. I did enjoy myself in there, but the sheer volume of drawing we produced left little time to worry or fret.
I have two main overall goals for this class. First, love the sketchbook, take it everywhere, use it daily, and get comfortable drawing in public. Secondly, I want to refine my drawing skills to where I feel like I have control, that my line says what I mean it to say, and evokes what I feel about what I see. I can definitely see improvement since I started this program, but the confidence is not yet there for me when it comes to just line and page. I can fuss it into pretty much meaning what I mean, but it’s not direct. It’s not intuitive. It’s not yet what I hope for it to be. It is not yet the line of a master, that’s for sure.
I will start by having 10 sketchbooks of different shapes and sizes, between 4"x6" and 11"x14", five smaller than 8.5"x11", five larger, various weights, brands, textures, etc. I will be able to learn more about papers and what qualities and formats I feel most connected to/interested in for future reference. I will not fill them chronologically, but I will fill them all, maybe more.
Weekly goals:
Draw at least 2 hours every weekday.
Draw at least 10 pages every day.
Draw at least one page outside per week even when it’s cold
Draw at the Virgina Museum of Fine Art once a week
Draw in public at least 2 days a week in addition to VMFA.
Each 2 weeks focus on a different artist whose drawings I see qualities in that I hope to achieve. These men I feel the most connected to based on their drawings of figures and objects in black line on paper. They have the confidence of line and the ability to evoke more than just what they looked at, but a feeling more complex and layered and profound than just a shoe or girl. But each has a different attitude, mood, and motive. I will read books, do internet research, and make a power point slide show of drawings that inspire me that I can use in the future for teaching.
weeks 1 & 2: Warhol
weeks 3 & 4: Diebenkorn
weeks 5 & 6: Klimt
weeks 7 & 8: Schiele
weeks 9 & 10: Modigliani
weeks 11 & 12: Picasso
weeks 13 & 14: Shahn
