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Shading 6/6/2011 |
During the first week of our trip, we focused on utilizing values as a means of recreating a scene in front of us. Sitting around Jess and Bonnie's living room, we each gazed intensely at the center table, choosing one grouping of kitchenware to sketch. I chose two cups and attempted to use the value scale at the top of the page to guide the shading of my drawing.
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| Matisse |
Henri Matisse was a French artist who was known for his expressive, fluid drawings. While in Dublin, we visited the Chester Beatty Library, which was housing a Matisse exhibit from May 26 until September 25. Showcasing Matisse's art books, the exhibit highlighted Matisse's illustrated version of James Joyce's
Ulysses. Above is a sketch inspired by one of the drawings found in the book: They were simple, yet detailed enough to clearly state the subject. The works seemed almost like gesture drawings, capturing more the essence of the subject rather than its aesthetic precision.
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| Francis Bacon |
While in Dublin, we visited the Hugh Lane Gallery. The gallery had a focal exhibit on Francis Bacon, an English statesmen, philosopher, artist, scientist and juror. Before viewing his paintings, the Gallery showed an educational video, and offered a recreation of Bacon's studio. Bacon was hygienically clean and materialistically dirty, a duality I can wholeheartedly relate to. The mess in the studio represented the mess that is our mind, as Bacon's works attested. In the above sketch, I tried to recreate the body in the same way as Bacon: darkly unrefined, the works captured the essence of the self through gesture, as rapid brush strokes radiate emotional intensity.
