NO ERASING ALLOWED

STICK & INK MODIFIED CONTOUR DRAWINGS W / WATERCOLOR & COLLAGE

INTERMEDIATE 2-D ART

sharpened dowel, india ink, watercolor & paper collage

These pieces are so lovely in person

 that at Open House they sell like hot cakes if the kids choose to put them up for sale.

In fact,

our Principal's secretary,

 Suzanne,

owns at least 3 of them,

and recently framed them up so now they look incredible behind glass and over her desk.

No pencils or erasers are allowed in this assignment,

only wooden dowels that the students sharpen and dip into India ink to draw with.

Intimidating?

Yes,

really scary.

But they do a practice piece first 

in Modified Contour and find if they are silent and go deeply into Right Brian,

it can be relaxing and turns out surprisingly well.

I have the kids draw from real life.

 Senior Eileen Lee used one of my sea shells and silk flowers,

then filled in her negative space with the buoy and sun.

After the ink dries,

 the students are required to mix up 3 values of ink wash 

and brush them into areas of shadow.

They were also supposed to bring in watercolor and paper collage accents

 as you will see in all the pieces.

 Eileen also brought in real dried out rose petals that she glued down

for another delightful element to catch the eye.

Senior Jazzerie Lo drew this adorable crab lugging his shell around.

I love how she thought to do him separately and cut him out

 and then to glue him slightly over the frame's edge.

It was a good way to balance the two larger items in the picture plane.

And check out her attention to detail in the crab & shell.

This next sweet piece belongs to junior Samantha Tun. 

You can just feel the music wafting in the breeze.

Next we have senior Malaya Sithichai with this incredibly detailed drawing.

Her use of watercolor was perfectly placed,

and check out the ink washes as well in the wrinkles in the hand.

I just love the playful quality of this work and the colors she used.

In our next one,

 senior Ayesha Durrani has drawn treats everywhere for our eyes.

Check out the fun close-up below.

I'm starting to notice that in all of Ayesha's works,

 she sends a great deal of time on the backdrops.

Reminds me of the work of Alumni Brian Kesinger.

Perhaps there is a future ahead as a story board artist for Ayesha with Disney or Warner Brothers

Our last one by senior Kevin Mao is a beauty.

Great cast shadows, 

just the right amount of watercolor,

well balanced composition.

And the wonderful touches of paper collage in the plants stems.

Go Kevin,

go Kevin!

RECORD EVERY NUANCE YOU SEE

MODIFIED CONTOUR DRAWINGS

BEGINNING 2-D ART

graphite on paper

Before I share the Right Brain Before & After Profiles,

I'd like to show several preliminary exercises leading up to them.

These are called Modified Contour drawings.

Dr. Betty Edwards goes into great detail in her book

Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain about them,

and they are a wonderful exercise to learn to see every detail in an object,

 and to record it for greater realism.

To do them  you are allowed to look at the paper occasionally when drawing,

but not the entire time.

So there will be a bit of distortion and exaggeration,

but that's the nature of this technique,

 and it's OK.

We start off with hands.

I have the kids position their hands in an interesting/difficult pose

to help hold the right brain's attention.

What's very cool is that each child has a different way of touching the paper with their pencil,

so that their personal style develops right off the bat.

The hand below is the work of senior Emily Allan.

Notice that Emily almost has a pointillist way of recording line.

And these next two are done by juniors Jazzarie Lo and Malaya Sithichai.

Jazzerie took me literally (which I love),

and did indeed record every single little edge she ran into.

And check out that lovely cuff below that Mayala has drawn.

Then we go onto shoes.

These beauties were drawn by juniors Mikaela Guerrero and Eileen Lee.

Both these girls put in a tremendous amount of effort in their renderings.

I was especially impressed with the almost gesture quality of Eileen's lines.

The kids voted her drawings as some of the best and favorites in the class.

And this sneaker by Malaya.

Know that if you try this exercise with laced shoes, 

your left brain will try to take over the drawing when you get to the laces.  

I see it all the time. 

By I warn the kids ahead of time,

and Malaya stayed in right brain the whole way thru this drawing.

Pine cones are incredibly difficult 

and force you to do deeply into right brain to even attempt to record them.

The spectacular one below was the work of Jazzarie.

SHARPEN THOSE STICKS LADIES

MODIFIED CONTOUR STICK & INK

INTERMEDIATE 2-D ART

sharpened dowel, india ink on bristol board, watercolor & collage

They little pieces may be small

 but they pack a mighty wallop when you see them up close and personal.

So much so that our Principals secretary,

Suzanne Campbell,

 buys at least one or two a year at our Open House Sale.

You can view her collection on the walls surrounding her desk.

To begin this assignment

 I give the kids a piece of 1/8 to 1/4 inch doweling and ask them to sharpen them.

They are allowed to pick a subject of their own choosing,

but my collection of shells is a very popular choice.

Then they get a small piece of bristol and dip their wood stick into the ink

and draw their subject in Modified Contour.

That means they rarely look at their paper as they draw.

It's a technique that I got from Betty Edwards Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain Book.

note: I wish I had photographed them flat and not hanging on the wall,
it warps their matts

The kids are scared at first of not being able to erase, 

but they quickly come to love the technique.

I have them do a really small practice piece first to get them comfortable with the process.

This first beauty we are seeing above was done by senior Hazel Cruz.

I adore how she brought in so much background with the pier, water, and sand.

One of the many requirements was to bring in tissue paper collage.

That's how Hazel so effectively pulled off the stormy sea.

She also brought in a special ingredient,

the black salt from the grocery store

 that I bought for the kids last year for their watercolor unit.

I love that she remembered it and thought to use it for the sand.

My students were also required to bring in 25% watercolor into their work.

 We all agreed that the stunning sky and shell watercolored by senior Risha Bhakta

 was truly amazing! 

And how delightful is this one by senior Katherine Ku.

Besides watercolor they were also supposed to bring in at least 3 values of ink washes.

Katherine did a really outstanding job with those.

And the detail she brought into the shell,

remarkable!!

How pretty and sensory is this piece by senior Kyla Balquin.

Love that she thought to use a bit of bas-relief for her tissue collage requirement.

And the rays shinning thru the water,

brilliant!

But it was this one that was the most unique by senior Bernice Lin.

Bernice made several practice pieces before she began the "real" one,

then found a clever way to incorporate them into her drawing.

She is also giving us great use of color and fluidity thru her watercolors.

And I like how she solved her dilemma when it came to matting up this work

since that was also a requirement on this assignment.

Fabulous job Art Ladies of Whitney High

Mix Your Media

PEN AND INK WASH DRAWINGS WITH WATERCOLOR & COLLAGE

INTERMEDIATE 2-D ART

india ink, ink wash, watercolor, paper collage

This is such a cool assignment because the results are so varied and wonderful.

I give the kids a sharpened wooden dowel to draw with that they dip into india ink, 

(so no pencil, no erasing),

and then ask them to draw their still life object in Modified Contour.

(only looking at the paper about 50% of the time)

So right away the students are freaking out,

but I have them practice for a day,

and they end up loving the technique.

(it forces them to go very deeply into right brain)

This first piece was brilliantly created by senior Micheal Cantu.

The project requires them to bring in paper collage,

so this clever young man started off with his paper text

 and drew right on top of it rather then applying it at a later date.

Now did he watercolor before or after he drew,

I'll have to check.

What I do I know is this a noteworthy piece. 

Now we have this lovely work by junior Elias Rodriquez.

I adore his paper collaged background

 and how he has built in values to give it a really atmospheric look.

I also appreciate the asymmetrical balancing of the composition.

He has created a really moody, thought filled piece.

Senior Nathan Chong put a lot of critical thinking into his composition.

He actually created two separate works,

then cut out the head from one and superimposed it over top his other backdrop,

and anchored it with a strong cast shadow.

Are you starting to notice a theme here?

Subjects leaning towards the bizarre?

LOL

Senior Jovani Garcia worked/drew from one of my favorite student built wire sculptures.

Then he applied the gorgeous watercolor backdrop along with his paper collage

which really made the wire tree pop.

And lastly junior Jonathon Hsu has given us this eerie landscape with his beautifully

drawn wood burned gourd.

You must see the close up to appreciate his drawing skills. 

Drawings with Sharpened Sticks and Ink - Student Work

PEN & INK WASH DRAWINGS W/ WATERCOLOR AND COLLAGE

Intermediate 2-D Art

It is always a pleasure to show off these pieces.  The kids go into them very unsure and skeptical but come out so pleased with themselves and their work.  They draw their subject in Modified Contour with a sharpened dowel dipped in ink.  They do no pencils drawings first, just go for it with the stick and ink.  And surprise themselves in the process.  After the drawing is dry they come in with 3 values of ink wash, then watercolor and collage in whichever order they choose.

For senior Heather Warner, this was her best piece of the year so far.  To fill her composition and add balance she drew in her hand; great critical thinking!

This is the first time I make the kids cut their own matt to frame out their work.  I really like how senior Jasmine Zhao has double matted her lovely piece with the silver and black.

Senior Anne Allen has brought humor into her work which is always fun, but it's how she watercolored the sky with the sun's rays shining thru the clouds that has me taking a second and third look at her work.  

Brilliant piece Anne!

And seniors Alex Lee above and Justin Hwang below bring us so much beauty and sensitivity.

And finally senior Cathy Luo gives us an exquisite composition with her strong skills and color choices.  

Modified Contour Drawings - Shoes - Student Work

Here are more "Right Brain Drawings" by my Beginning 2-D kids.  These were also done in the Modified Contour Style meaning that the students are only looking at their paper about 25 per cent of the time as they draw.

The lovely skate above was drawn by junior Anne Allan.  Anne came to me with some drawing skills but now she has gotten so much better.  It's been an exciting transformation for all these kids.

The very detailed shoe above was drawn by junior Cathy Luo, one of my future superstars, and below is senior Ashley Chowdhury's boot, who is off to FIDM in the fall.  Check out Ashley's zipper, beautiful work kiddo!

Modified Contour Pinecones - Student Work

Pinecones are one of the most complex and difficult things I ask my students to draw, but I don't tell them that till after it's over  LOL.  These where done only after about two weeks into the Right Brain unit.  amazing, right?

Above we have senior Alice Zhang and below 8th grader Annie Oh again.  Annie is one of my youngest up and coming superstars. 

Modified Contour Hands - Student Work

For 2 months of the school year I take my Beginning 2-D art students thru the first half of Dr. Betty Edward's "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain " book which teaches them to draw by accessing the right side of the brain and it's functions.  One of the many exercises is called Modified Contour which means they have to stare at their hand and draw it, looking at their paper only about 25 % of the time.  The drawing takes about 45 mins.  By not looking at their paper too often they are able to record great realistic detail along all the interior and exterior edges of the hand.  The piece turn out amazingly well.  And for many of these beginners, it's their first time drawing since 1st and 2nd grade.

Above we have the incredible work of 8th grader Annie Oh.  Her attention to detail is truly remarkable.  Annie was one of my most talented 7th graders last school year.

Below is junior Cathy Luo's work.  Drawing a finger to slightly bend inside is extremely difficult, but Cathy nails it.

And then we have the very expressive left hand of junior Anne Allan, complete with wrist watch.  Fantastic job Anne!

I will be showcasing more of their right brain exercises this weekend..

Stick & Ink Drawings w/ Watercolor & Collage

I love showing off the results of this project because the assignment just keeps evolving and changing with each year that we do it.  It started off as a simple pen & ink work that grew into including ink washes, then watercolor, then collage.  What happens is a student will ask permission to try something outside the framework of the assignment, I say sure, go ahead; and then it turns out so well, I feel inspired to try it with the whole group the next year.

These works are done by my Intermediate 2-D kids.  They were allowed to pick their own subject matter, and then draw it in Modified Contour (again a Betty Edward's Right Brain thing) using only a thin wood dowel sharpened and dipped in india ink (my idea :).  So no pencil, no erasing.  This really freaks them out at first, so we do a practice piece before the original.  Then they find they love the technique, and off they go.

After the ink drawing they must mix up 3 values of ink wash and brush those in their appropriate places to create shadows.  Two more techniques remain.  Collage and watercolor to finish them off with in any order they want.  I do usually recommend collage before the watercolor though.

Now senior Belinda Wu (above and below) has taken her piece even one step farther by puncturing pin holes into her paper and sewing the heart with red thread.  Brilliant piece kiddo!  And get this, it's Belinda's first time watercoloring and look at how she took to it like a duck to water in her little mouse below.  A very talented young woman who is in the process of applying to Art Center and Rhode Island School of Design.  Should be a piece of cake for you, they will probably be fighting over you Belinda  LOL  

In this next one by senior Halah Elsahhar I really feel she has created a sensitive, lovely mood with her work.  Every time I see it I just kind of go ahhhhhh and relax.  :)

The students were required to frame out their pieces as well, and one of my favorite frames was made by senior Kevin Tang.  Plus I love his piece he created as well. The eucalyptus leaves are such a nice touch.

Junior Megan Fong belongs to this next one.  Sorry Megan that I shot it tilted.  Beautiful layers of collaged tissue with gold flecks surround her flower.  Megan totally got what I wanted with the ink washes used to shade the piece with.

And this last one was done by junior Michaela Platt, and again, I'm so sorry Michaela that it's out of focus.  I really need to work on photography skills.  :)  Look at the value range she has achieved with her tissue collage in the foreground, and her lovely use of watercolor.  Such a pretty piece. 

Stick & Ink Drawings with Collage, Ink and Watercolor Washes - Student Work

Stunning aren't they?  I pulled out some shells from the beach and gave my Intermediate 2-d kids some sharpened dowels and asked them to dip the dowels in ink and draw the shells in modified contour.

Above we have senior Janice Min with her breathtaking landscape.  

After the ink drawings were dry the kids added collage elements along with 3 values of ink washes and some watercolor pigment as well.

Above is senior Crislyn Ogawa and junior Laura Kadi.  I find these works to be highly expressive which is very difficult to achieve with students this young. 

The results were spectacular and showed off the flexibility of these kids moving seamlessly from one medium into another.

And this complex work belongs to highly talented senior Michelle Lee.  I shot a close-p so you can see all the details she brought into this piece.  Do you see the tiny pieces of shredded, dried leaves?  and the lattice work over top?  So well thought out and executed.  All of you make me so very proud. 

 Keep up the great work!