Ideation and Invention

So far students have developed the skills, sensibilities and competencies that allow them to objectively view, analyze, and represent three-dimensional reality through the practice of drawing. Now they are equipped to apply this knowledge into the realm of the imagination. In this open-ended exercise students will work with the instructor and propose their own individual project program and work plan. This is the first opportunity to apply their knowledge of drawing practice and conventions, in a more creative manner. The standards of evaluation will be tailored individually and determined by the success in accomplishing the particular project objectives as agreed by student and instructor.

In this portion of the course we will explore the process of inspiration and concept, method, and finished drawing. Through this process the goal is to expand the boundaries of drawing while seeking to find personal voice. Below are several examples of artists approaching drawing and ideas from different perspectives.

Below we see Mark Lombardi creating a drawing diagraming a conspiracy theory or the flow of information. His concept is not traditional but uses drawing as a method to track his ideas.

Mark Lombardi

Mark Lombardi

Robert Rauschenberg made the example below by ERASING the drawing of DeKooning, a Abstract Expressionist painter. The idea of 'un drawing' is unique.

Robert Rauschenberg

Cia Gou- Qiang , below, uses the unusual material of gunpowder to maek his drawings. Some are representational, others more process imagery.

Cia Gou- Qiang

Below we see Dane Patterson mixing highly skillful drawing with absurd subject matter. Dane create these 'performances' and photo documents them. He then makes these intense drawing of the event.

Dane Patterson

Dane Paterson

Appropriation- Old Master Copy/ Self Portrait

Appropriation is a fundamental aspect in the history of the arts (literary, visual, musical). Appropriation can be understood as "the use of borrowed elements in the creation of a new work."^[1]
In the visual arts, to appropriate means to properly adopt, borrow, recycle or sample aspects (or the entire form) of man-made visual culture. Strategies include "re-vision, re-evaluation, variation, version, interpretation, imitation, proximation, supplement, increment, improvisation, prequel... pastiche, paraphrase, parody, homage, mimicry, shan-zhai, echo, allusion, intertextuality and karaoke." ^[2] The term appropriation refers to the use of borrowed elements in the creation of a new work^[1] (as in 'the artist uses appropriation') or refers to the new work itself (as in 'this is a piece of appropriation art').
Inherent in our understanding of appropriation is the concept that the new work recontextualises whatever it borrows to create the new work. In most cases the original 'thing' remains accessible as the original, without change.
From Wikipedia


Please chose a painting that was made Post Renaissance and Pre- Impressionism. Some names to consider: Caravaggio, Georges De LaTour, Velasquez, Ribera, Théodore Géricault, Eugène Delacroix,
Gustave Courbet, Corregio, Jacques-Louis David, Ingres, Rembrandt, Poussin, Artemisia Gentileschi, Élisabeth Sophie Chéron, Mary Beale

Below we will see examples of students work. Each student was asked to find a Master painting and reproduce it as a large scale charcoal drawing. In addition they were to replace one character with their own self- portrait. As we can see the meaning is then changed. Not only is the context redefined, but the psychology of the artist choice is highlighted.

Facial Features

The eye is an important yet complex element within a portrait. A great deal of emphasis is placed in the eyes as they relate to likeness and psychology. Understanding its form is the beginning of depicting it properly. In words, think of its structure, a ball settle into a bone socket. The brow bone or ridge overhangs the ball slightly. This ball is then draped, above and below, with two lids that have thickness. To the center of the face and slightly below middle we find the tear duct. These lids do not make an opening like a symmetrical football, but rather peak closer to center on the upper lid, and slightly toward the outside in the bottom lid. In the eye ball we the sclera (whites of the eye) the iris (the eye color), pupil (dark spot the resides in the iris), and the cornea (the lens on the surface). While drawing the eye it is important to remember these structures as light falls across all differently.

In the mouth we find a structure that wraps around the cylinder of the teeth and head. It is composed of three masses in the upper lip, a center flanked by two wings. The lower lip is composed of two masses parted slightly in the middle. The upper lip tappers quickly at the corners and curls down. The upper lip is usually in shadow since its top protrudes and then rolls under as it meets the opening. The lower lip receives light, along the two masses, and sharply descends to shadow along the middle underside, yet descends to shadow slowly along the edges as the lip rejoins the facial mass.

The nose is often one of the hardest features to capture. Again think of its structure as an aid in depicting it properly. There are three basic masses to consider- the ball, nostrils and bridge. It has four basic planes- one top, two sides, one bottom.

SKULL and HEAD

The skull provides the basis for understanding the form of the head. The three large masses of the head are the cranium, the skeleton of the face and jaw. Consider the forms of these masses simply. The cranium as a sphere, the face as a flat plane that descends off the cranium and tapers toward the chin and the jaw as a horse shoe shape that hinges underneath. Notice where the skull protrudes to provide landmarks, where it recedes under the flesh. (Following two examples are from Szunyoghy's Human Anatomy for Artists)

The profile of skull. Notice the ear hole location, not centered but 2/3 of the way toward the back. Also see how the head rests slightly forward on the neck.

Below we have an example from Bridgman's Constructive Anatomy. Here he illustrates some of the muscles in the head. Good to consider as for developing from and gesture in the face.

BEGINNING THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE HEAD

In the construction of the head, it is better to begin with a cube in stead of the familiar oval. The oval is non -specific, the eye won't rest on a curve and cannot find a register point. The cube gives a sense of mass, perspective, foreshortening, angle/ tilt. Also importantly, it gives a sense of the third edge. From this starting point we can begin thinking of planes as they relate to the head - top, front, two sides, back, and bottom.

The basic measurements for the cube are 2/3 wide, 3/3 high. The side of the cube (profile) is 7/8 of the height. ( From the profile it looks ALMOST square, from the front (face) it is a tall rectangle.)

The basic proportions and location of the facial features can be constructed as the example demonstrates (Example is from the website Draw23.)

-A Vertical Line down the center from top of head to chin. Through this line we see the Bilateral Symmetry of the features.

-A Horizontal Line is placed at the halfway point. This indicates the lower lids of the eyes.

- The whole height can be again divided, but this time in thirds. The upper horizontal line indicating the middle of the forehead, the second the base of the nose. In the bottom third, two thirds of the way up to the nose is the center line of the mouth.

- The corners of the mouth line up vertically with the center of the eyes.

- The top of the Ear lines up horizontally just above the eye at the eye brow.

-The bottom of the ear lines up with the base of the nose.

Most of these guidelines can be drawn in on the cube, allowing you to place the head spatially and in perspective.

Below we see an example from Bridgman's Constructive Anatomy demonstrating the planes in the head. These are very basic, but a good way to begin to refine your head form.

Below is an example from Szunyoghy's Human Anatomy for Artists. It further illustrates some of the agreed upon proportions in the head. Included are the space between the eyes equals one eye width. The whole width of the head is five eye widths. Also illustrated is the top and bottom of the ear as they relate to the eye brow and nose (good marker). The width of the nose is also illustrated to be approximately the space between the eyes.

IMPORTANT NOTE*- All these proportions were largely agreed upon during the Renaissance, and are considered guides, not hard and fast rules. they do not necessarily account for the variation of people, races, ages, etc.

Below is another Bridgman example providing some insight into the neck and head the muscles track and connect with the skull. Of particular note is the Streno -cleido- mastoid (#8) a great reference point in figure drawing, spanning from the clavicle to behind the ear.

Student Example

Student Example

Student Example

ANATOMY- MUSCLES OF TORSO

ANATOMY- TORSO

The strength of all figure drawing comes from a mixture of formal skill and anatomical knowledge. Understanding the human body, interior as well as exterior, is essential. Through out history many cultures have preoccupied themselves with depicting the human form. Western Civilization Art reached its investigative height during the Renaissance, also a coinciding focus of science and art. Below is an example of Leonardo DaVinci's Vitruvian Man. This is a clear demonstration of the need to make sense of the human form- in this case the perfection of human form and its relation to the perfect language of Geometry, the perfect circle and square. The figure is inscribed with its proportions measured and reach touching these shapes. Also note Leonardo's proportions for the figure using the measure of a head.

In 1747 we see the example of one of the most accurate representations of the human skeleton in the work of Bernard Siegfried Albinus- Corporis Humani. The following three examples are taken from Drawing Lessons from the Great Masters, Robert Beverly Hale. Here we see the human skeleton displayed not as static, but as if in motion. All bones and structures are presented in fine proportion, accuracy and rendering. Of specific interest is the TRUNK, or the area composed of the Cage and Pelvis. Please note the volume and form of each of these structures and how the artist represented them using line and value. Below is the Ventral position.

The Dorsal Position.

The Lateral Position.

The following four examples are taken from Human Anatomy for Artists by Andras Szunyoghy and Dr Gyorgy Feher. Below is an example focusing on the trunk. Note the relationship of the shapes, proportions, and location of the cage and pelvis. Also see how the top of the cage tapers and slips up into the shoulder girdle (a horizontal ring composed of the clavicles and scapula.) Notice the hollow in the pelvis as it completes the volume of the cage.

Below is an example of just the Cage (or Thorax.) It is important to note the volumetric shape of this structure (the space inside is loosely egg shaped). Again we see the taper at the top, and the opening at the bottom. All ribs radiate from the spinal column and MOST attach at the sternum, some being short arcs others being long loping arcs. It is important to note that these ribs are not cylindrical curves, but thick flat curves, and in most cases with flex joints (look just to the left and right of the sternum to see a plane shift at that junction.)

Below is the Dorsal View of the Cage. Here we see the spinal column and ribs reaching around to the front. Again we see a plane shift on these flat rib shapes- they are not round rings, but a segmented arc (think about breathing and how important it is for some flex to happen.)

In this and the last example note how the artist presented the sense of volume inside the cage, through the ribs we see the continuation of each rib but it recedes through value shift and line (possibly atmospheric perspective!)

Below we see the Dorsal trunk (back) focusing of the shoulder girdle. Note the shape and form of the scapula, where it lies on the cage, the angle at which it rises to meet the clavicle on the front.

Below is an example of the Pelvis take from The Human Figure, Jon H. Vanderpoel. Here we see a good description of contour line as it relates to the undulating form of the pelvis. Notice the butterfly shape of the structure and the hollows within. Important landmarks are the ilium crest(upper most point of the pelvis, the semicircular shapes) and the Ischium (rings at the bottom) and the Sacrum (on the backside the area around the Coccyx)

Here is an example of the Spinal Column (Human Anatomy for Artists) illustrating the three views and most importantly the gentle S- like curve. Notice the shapes of the vertebrae, cylindrical in front and wing protrusions in the back. Also observe the relative size of the vertebrae big to small top to bottom.Another Example from John Vanderpoel illustrating the angles of these forms with the body. Note how and where they open and constrict on opposite sides.

Please take a moment to see Robert Beverly Hale give a lecture on basic anatomy.

Rib Cage 1

Rib Cage 2