Help my class assignments to be exhibited in New York. Please like any (or all) of these three drawings. The drawings with the most likes on the Art of the MOOC Facebook Page, will be shown at the Creative Time Summit in New York on November 14-15.
Drawing 1:
The unfinished drawing features a bunch of random circles clustered loosely together. Originally I thought they looked like amoebas. How would you complete this green circle drawing? Maybe the circles need to be filled with something. Or they could be stars in the sky. Since they look like bubbles, I drew a champagne bottle shooting off a cork into the sea of carbonated bubbles.
I especially like the emotional contrast between the amoebas in the original drawing with the celebratory champagne bottle in the final drawing. Maybe you like this drawing too and you’ll vote for it. Vote for this drawing on Facebook by liking this photo.
Drawing 2:
The simplicity of this black and white drawing is reminiscent to a couple famous American artists, Richard Serra and Keith Haring.
The thick heavy black lines, along with heavy texture are much like Richard Serra’s oil stick drawings. I’m drawn this this drawing because it reminds me of the tactile qualities of Serra’s work. Also, Serra was bit into Japanese Zen Gardens, this drawing has a simple zen feel to it. The quiet zen feel inspired me to add a forest to this drawing. Serra also found influence through the Judson Church dancers. Therefore, I included a couple figures in my modification of the drawing.
The simple black lines also call to mind Keith Haring’s graffiti drawings. So graphic and bursting with raw energy. I could have gone the Haring route and made this drawing into a figure of some sort. And actually, I kinda wish I did so. But I like the quiet serene feel of the forest.
I almost go to the line of comparing this drawing to Piet Mondrian. But Mondrian used primarily horizontal and vertical lines. The curve in this one draws the comparison for a loop. But I did think about adding some primary colors of red, yellow, and blue to this drawing.
To make the forest addition work inside these thick lines, I reversed some of the trees into white, creating an optical illusion. The forms also look like they form a large tree with tiny branches or needs hanging from its branches. The little people off to the corner give size context to the forest of trees.
Vote for this drawing on Facebook by liking this photo.
Drawing 3:
The solitary hand resting downward on this sheet of paper looks so lonely. Truly this hand wants to be held. I drew another hand wrapping around this lonely hand. Due to my drawing style, the new hand has a bit more volume and life. The curled fingers give more of a holding action than the original hand hanging straight and limp. It almost looks as though the holding hand is taking care of this weary hand.
Since the original hand was rather flat, I shaded in the background to darken it up, so the original white hand would pop out more.
Also, my new hand has darker skin. Originally, I didn’t intend for this hand to be darker, but as I was drawing this, I liked the contrast this provided both visually, but also on a cultural level. A hand of another ethnicity helping another.
Vote for drawing 3 on Facebook by liking this photo.
Overall, I like how I was able to bring forth three completely different styles of drawing. I was originally thinking that maybe I could interject one style into all three drawings. But the nature of each drawing created a different direction for each.
In some ways I feel like this is an assignment a student would get in a foundation course–and why would a 39-year-old artist take part in such an assignment? But going back to foundations can be a good thing. It was fun putting together these three drawings. I got to explore many different paths and concepts on how to build off these drawings. A fun exercise indeed. Plus, it got me to take out my pencil and start drawing again!