I just couldn't help myself

I found a couple of images of Claude Monet's Rouen Cathedral Facade series, and they are just so lovely next to each other in color that I decided to post them on my blog for all to see. When we discussed the time of day that we were to do this assignment (a.m. or p.m.), I immediately thought of Claude Monet because I knew he had painted a series of a cathedral facade at different times of the day. I think it's very interesting that he chose to paint an impression of the cathedral's facade about 12 different times on one day, just to study how the time of day would change the lighting and shadows of the paintings. Here are two of them (I didn't check to see what time of day these two are):

Decisions, decisions...

This video has an interesting viewpoint and treatment of space. Instead of being in the belfry or right up on the castle, the viewer is seeing the castle from a distance, as if standing on the edge of a precipice. The surprise is that the bat, which is the main subject of this video, flies out of the viewer's space and circles around to the castle. The castle is perched on an bow arc-shaped cliff and overlaps three mountains. The bright full moon is the lightest value, followed by the ghostly drifts of fog at the bottom of the foremost part of the picture plane. There is a subtle modulation in value, from unadulterated whites to grayish-blues and bluish-grays to dark blues and finally black. The curved forms also give this composition energy and a fluid sense of movement.

The thing I particularly like about this music video is the lighting and the occasional inclusion of red objects. The black-and-white color scheme appears, in some scenes, almost blurry, and the whitest whites almost cast a glare. The sweat on the DJ's high-resolution features adds to the dramatic mood the videographers were shooting for. The best relationships between positive and negative spaces in the video, however, are in the shots that contain architectural facets, for instance, the stairwells.

This short clip has an interesting perspective and point of view; the angle it is filmed from creates a right diagonal. The crow itself is the darkest value in the picture; however the modulation of the grays, whites, yellows, and greens make up for the lack of dramatic lighting. The relationship between the space in the landscape is fluid in parts, with curved cross diagonals, and a little more crisp in others, hence the fence, the fence pole, the airplane rudder, and the crow's legs. The emphases are placed in the mid ground planes and the vegetation of the foreground planes.

Images of works by Francisco Goya, Albert Bierstadt, Willem Claesz, and Paul Klee

 

 

 

Messy, messy, messy!

That's all I can really say about this. The end product of charcoal erasure drawing is beautiful, but the process quite frankly vexes me. Well I'll just have to get over it. But I do have good news. I'm in 2D and 3D design this semester, so having already taken Drawing I has been quite helpful to me, particularly where sketchbooking is concerned. Also, right now in 2D we are basically talking about and working with the same ideas as we are in Drawing II! It excites me to have similar types of homework assignments for two classes.

I just read the most fascinating article on CNN.com about video games and art. It includes brief allusions to Michelangelo's David and Van Goh's Starry Night. Whether or not every one agrees with the notion of some video games being called "art" the article points out some interesting considerations and makes a good point, and the opening paragraphs consist of Webster's and Oxford English Dictionary's definition of the word art. It's just an article I happened upon, but unfortunately I would have to sign in to CNN.com to have transfer it to the blog, and I am not getting a membership for that. So, if anybody is interested, please go to http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/gaming.gadgets/08/31/video.games.art.steinberg/index.html?iref=NS1 (this is not an active hyperlink).

Newly refurbished!!

     Hello, drawing 2! I am a returning student to MCA, but I'm still considered a freshman because I don't have enough credits. Anyway, I am here, primarily, so I can get the training to become a cartoon animator, and, hopefully, to eventually become a producer. I came to MCA because during my senior year in high school, a representative of MCA came and gave a presentation to our art class. I was an APAC (Academic and Performing Arts Complex) in high school, and I feel very privileged to have been in the APAC Visual Arts program. Obviously, once I receive my degree, I would like to get a job that will give me a decent financial start, and then, carve my pathway to animating and producing cartoons.
    Despite my huge ambitions, I am open to other career paths and am glad to receive the opportunity to attend MCA. As a bonus, it is relatively close to my home in Jackson, Mississippi. It is the closest art school to my home, and art school is where I wanted to go when I graduated. Hoorah! So, I am trying to stay as close to home as possible, and hopefully, I will be as blessed as I have been so far and get the opportunity to found a cartoon studio in, of all places, Jackson, MS! Work hard, dream big, and do what you love! (Always have some back-up options, in case your first dream doesn't work out.)

HELLO!!

I have returned, folks. I...am reborn!!
I don't have anything neat and newfangled to post yet but after a month's deliberation and respite I decided to return to the blog, if only for less than a handful of followers. snicker, snicker But, since my site already has such a cool name, I won't be changing the title. (I should change the note under the title though, since I'm not in Drawing I anymore). I hope someone, other than myself, is enjoying the site. Ciao for now!
P.S. This blog is still going to be about art.