Yellow Barn Studio Acrylic Abstract Painting

Transcription

1 Tuesdays, 9:30 12:00 Instructor: Eric Garner Yellow Barn Studio Acrylic Abstract Painting Objectives and Basic Course Approach Through four projects, we will explore purely non-objective painting and semi-abstract painting. We will have a critique associated with each project. Students will develop greater facility and confidence with the acrylic painting materials, increase their knowledge of historical approaches to abstract art, and continue to refine their own individual approach to art making. Historically and still predominantly, painting is a time-demanding, craft-intensive pursuit. Take your time! I urge you to work as much out of class as your schedule permits, and anticipate that most paintings will not be 100% complete when we have our critiques. General Principles to Keep in Mind Start your painting with an Idea, a Plan. Work your plan while being alert for the point where the painting starts to indicate its own solution, then serve the needs of the painting. Keep your paint films as thin as possible. Think sheer. Proceed in the manner in which you are confident and enthusiastic. If you are unsure, do nothing, and wait until you are. It helps to have multiple paintings in process; that way, you should be confident in your direction in at least one, and you ll be able to work productively. A painting is both an image and an object. A frequent challenge in painting is to maintain a beautiful surface while making the changes necessary to make the picture work. A common mistake in abstract painting is to use saturated color excessively. In purely abstract painting, the push and pull of juxtaposed saturated and unsaturated colors is virtually the only tool available to create space, a key objective of all painting. Strive consciously to use neutralized colors in conjunction with saturated ones. Be willing to perform a laborious task if you know it will make a painting stronger. These hard challenges are also the opportunities to make your work stand out.

2 Materials and Methods Canvases: For the course, pre-stretched canvases are recommended. If you d prefer to stretch your own, see me for tips. Medium size canvases are the most practical for class. Usually a square format (or rectangle close to square) works well for abstract painting; 20x24, 24x30, 30x30. Have at least 2 canvases on hand at each class. Brushes: In particular, flats in a broad range of sizes are recommended. Have a few very small, pointed brushes for tight areas. Paint: Genuine pigments (ex: cadmiums) are preferred over the paint sold as hue. Essentials: Cadmium yellow, cadmium orange, cadmium red medium, yellow ochre, burnt sienna, titanium white, mars black, burnt umber, pthalo blue, permanent green. Matte medium for sealing tape edges. Jel additive. (We ll experiment with this late in the course.) Other useful colors: Cadmium red light and deep, alizarin crimson, cobalt blue. Drawing materials: Pencils, templates, compass, stencils, ruler, small sketch pad. Other materials: Plastic sheeting, paper towels, rags, jars and jar lids, masking tape. Material sources: Michael s (various area locations look for 40% off coupon in the newspaper) AC Moore (various area locations look for 40% off coupon in the newspaper) Pearl Art & Craft (various area locations) Plaza Artist Materials (various area locations) Utrecht Art Supplies ( I Street N.W. (13 th and I) Washington, DC

3 Online: Cheap Joe s: Daniel Smith: Dick Blick: Methods/Studio Rules: We will have extensive discussions on methods and processes, but here are a few thoughts: We have both easels and tables to work from. The choice will often depend on the painting task being performed. Feel free to use either interchangeably. Thin your paints with water. Knowing how much to use will come from experience, and will depend upon the needs of the painting. Keep a couple of jars of water at your work area, as painting medium, and for brushes. We ll experiment with hard-edged painting using tape, and with gel additives. Please put plastic down whenever you re doing a task that s likely to get paint on the floor. Please clean up any spills right away. It s OK to wash brushes in the studio sinks, but please don t put any bulk paint down the drain. Please don t wash brushes in the restroom sinks. Calendar Week 1: September 21 st Introduction and review of course syllabus. Homework, part I: Image review pure abstraction. See Image Research below. Homework, part II: Preparatory drawings for Painting #1. Based on your image review in part I, work through ideas for a purely abstract painting with drawing studies. Select an idea, and complete the under-drawing for Painting #1 on the canvas surface. Any remaining class time at the end of the first session may be used for individual discussion and review of any work in progress that students may have on hand. Week 2: September 28th In-class work on Painting #1 Pure abstraction. Week 3: October 5 th In-class work on Painting #1.

4 Critique Painting #1 at end of session. Homework, part I: Image review semi-abstraction. See handout. Homework, part II: Preparatory drawings for Painting #2. Based on your image review in part I, work through ideas for Painting #2 with drawing studies. Select an idea, and complete the under-drawing for Painting #2 on the canvas surface. Week 4: October 12 th In-class work on Painting #2 Imagery from imagination and spatial ambiguity. Week 5: October 19 th In-class work on Painting #2. Discuss Painting #3 and distribute image review list. Week 6: October 26 th Critique painting #2. In-class work on Painting #3 Imagery from the scientific world. Week 7: November 2 nd In-class work on Painting #3. Discuss Painting #4 and distribute image review list. Week 8: November 9 th Critique Painting #3. In-class work on Painting #4 Painting with systematic patterning, text and/or graphics. Week 9: November 16 th In-class work on Painting #4 and experimentation with gel additives. Week 10: November 23 rd Final critique including critique of Painting #4. Painting and individual discussion at students preference.

5 Pure Abstraction (Non-Objective Art) Image Research Before the next class, please review the work of the following artists/art traditions. Google image searches are an efficient way of doing this. Browsing the art section at Barnes & Noble may also be helpful. Looking at art is tiring, so I recommend doing this review in several short sessions rather than fewer long ones. There will be additional review lists later in the course focused on additional topics. Amish Quilts (Pennsylvania) Australian Aboriginal Art (some is also figurative) Ross Bleckner (also paints fields of representational imagery) Richard Diebenkorn (Ocean Park series is abstract - also a figurative painter) Gees Bend Quilts (Alabama) Andy Goldsworthy (abstract sculpture) Hans Hofmann Franz Kline Morris Louis Brice Marden Agnes Martin Robert Motherwell Bridget Riley ( Op Art ) Frank Stella (some work is 3-D) Turkish Tribal Carpets Cy Twombly (sometimes includes text)