September 21st

This week the contour line drawing was a lot more consuming than the past contour drawings. I found myself actually focusing on the figure more and trying to forget about proportions. I enjoyed the process of drawing while not worrying too much about how the whole things would turn out. That is something that I have to consciously remind myself while I am drawing in a large setting because I feel that drawing is not one of my artistic strengths but something I really need to work hard at.

one minute gesture drawing

one minute gesture drawing

30 minute contour drawing

September 23rd

The clay modeling on the skeleton is a lot more difficult than I thought it would be. With measuring the skeleton from one vertebrae to the next in order to see how long the muscle should be before I cut it out was something I had not considered before I started the process. I hope this is something that becomes easier as the semester goes on. I also had not considered how gentle I need to be when attaching other muscles in order to not damage the ones already attached to the skeleton. Eek! My long fingernails keep getting in the way and taking chunks out of the muscles already attached.

I am looking forward to how all of the muscles are going to come together. I noticed while attaching the muscles how difficult it is to see where the attachments should go when muscles are already laid down before them. It is a weird concept to think about internalizing these muscles that are overlapping and so complex and spiral that we all have inside us. It is a humbling experience to say the least. I am also looking forward to drawing back muscles and playing around with how they appear underneath the skin of the model.

September 14th

Blind contour exercise

The blind contour exercise with my shell was intriguing in how loose I was able to let my utensil wander. One student commented at the critique that my line was very whimsical and lent itself to the atmosphere of the beach. What I appreciated most about this exercise was my ability to find the shape of the shell with lines that I was not looking at but feeling instead.

Blind contour exercise 30 minutes

Continuous Contour line exercise

Continuous Contour line drawing exercise I felt was more contrived and harder to maintain the distance that I had while drawing in the blind contour exercise. When my mind gets in the way my lines get more trapped and thought out. I enjoyed the quickly rendered quality I achieved with the blind contour drawing.

Continuous Contour Drawing 30 minutes

September 16th

Gesture drawing with the figure

After standing at my easel in painting for 3 hours doing an observational exercise from the same subject matter this was a nice chance of pace. Although my arms and feet were exhausted I pushed through it. After a few minutes my mind forgot about how my body was feeling and tried to keep up with the constant movement of the m

odel. This was an interesting and overwhelming task to work so quickly on the figure. I feel uncomfortable with my skill level and self-conscious about how my drawings turned out. The shorter the length of time the more confident my lines were. It seems like right now the harder I try to control my lines the more I dislike the way they turn out. I also tried rotating my pencil to draw more like a paintbrush, which feels uncomfortable, but something to work up to to help with the movement of my body.

Gesture of the figure 1 minute

Gesture of the figure 10 minutes

Gesture of the figure 5 minutes

Overall the first week of drawing and drawing the figure has opened my eyes in how I look at the figure while brainstorming for painting. This week has made me look for the way the body is moving underneath the skin instead of just the surface. I feel like Life Drawing is already building my knowledge of the body and strengthening my painting skills. I look forward to how this shows through in my Senior Show and beyond.

I decided to major in art my freshman year of High School when my art teachers showed me a new way of looking at life that supported my creativity.

My concentration is in Art Education with my focus in painting.

I am proud of my work in that pushes the boundaries of how I’ve worked before. Some especially successful works in these adventures have been; my photography from my study abroad in Rome, sculpture class where I worked with video installation and my small paintings and photographs combining paint with printmaking. My senior show will be this semester primarily focusing in painting.

My favorite course so far at UW-Stout so far was Children’s Literature. Outside of class we read through children’s books and got to choose our favorites for their artistic and educational content and present them. I fell in love with David Wiesner’s work style interesting the way he uses visual storytelling with his background in illustration and design. We also had story time during class where the professor read to us in that exaggerated way we read to young children and had an enthralling performance just about every class. It made me feel like a kid again.

I am taking Life Drawing I in order to discover more about the body and to further my figure drawing skills. This is a class I have been looking forward to for the past few years and I am finally up to the challenge. I hope by taking this course I will have more confidence that will carry over from drawing to painting the figure.

I hope to be student teaching this spring and then following graduation to be teaching in a K-12 school district in Minnesota. I have not decided yet if I will be teaching elementary or secondary but am open to the opportunity to teach both!