Sketchbook Assignment

A good way to learn a language is to study those who have mastered the vocabulary and have a command of the tools needed to express his or her ideas.To help you do this you need to look up the work of the following artists throughout the semester: List of Historic Artists: Albrecht Durer Michelangelo Leonardo Da Vinci Matthias Grunwald Peter Paul Rubens Rembrandt van Rijn William Blake Francisco Goya Dominique Ingres Honore Daumier Edgar Degas Vincent Van Gogh Henri Matisse Katsushika Hokusai Henry Ossawa Tanner Egon Schiele Pablo Picasso Kathe Kollwitz Henry Moore Alberto Giacometti Edward Hopper Alice Neel Keith Haring Willem De Kooning Eva Hesse Ernst Haeckel Jacob Lawrence Lee Bontecou Richard Long Adolf Wolfli List of Contemporary Artists: Jim Dine Lucien Freud Ellen Gallagher Susan Coe David Hockney Shahzia Sikander Julie Mehretu Kara Walker Matthew Ritchie Paul Noble Amy Cutler William Kentridge Kiki Smith Chris Ware Ernesto Caivano Marcel Dzama Trenton Doyle Hancock Julie Mehretu Gabriel Orozco Cai Guo-Qiang Vija Celmins Chuck Close Louise Bourgeois Your pick Most weeks of the semester (see class schedule below for which weeks) you will look at a variety of work from five of the artists listed above.When you turn in your sketchbook on the final class, it must include: 1) Drawings from Observation You will be required to complete 20 drawings in your sketchbook by the end of the semester.

From these five artists, you will chose two each week to write about.

Please make at least one photocopy or print-out of each of the two artist’s work chosen.

You will gain a broader knowledge of important historical and contemporary artists.

In your written responses to each artist please consider and discuss why you picked the particular piece you chose. Think about the terms we have discussed in class and use some of these terms in your written statements.

The more time spent on your journal, the better your overall grade will be. You will find that the more you draw, the better you will become.

All of these drawings and the weeks to do them are listed in your class schedule below.

Fill the whole page with your drawing, but find a way to bring EMPHASIS to the object you chose.

It could be with scale (maybe the object is the largest thing in the drawing- think worm’s eye view) or it could be with contrast (maybe the object is dark and everything else is light or vice-versa), or with color, or position, or by using leading lines… From direct observation, draw a still life with 3 objects. Try to use different weights of pencils to get a variety of shading. In the spirit of the bookjacket re-brand we are starting to work on…. You can incorporate typography, but it is not required.

This is a great resource and is recommended for the research portion of your sketchbook.

Emphasis is a design principle which occurs any time a component of a composition is given dominance.