Sir van Dyck and paint quailty

Sir Anthony van Dyck (1599-1641), Painter

Sitter associated with 31 portraits
Artist associated with 1003 portraits
Sir Anthony van Dyck was by far the most influential painter to have worked in Britain during the seventeenth century. Flemish by birth, he found patronage in a number of European countries, but his longest stay was in England, which he made his home from the beginning of his second visit in 1632 until his death in 1641 (with a break back in Antwerp in 1634-5). While his predecessors from the Low Countries had brought to Britain hints of what painting might become, it was van Dyck who decisively turned British portraiture away from the stiff, formal 'iconic' approach of Tudor and Jacobean painting. In England he developed the distinctive fluid, shimmering style that was to dominate portraiture in Britain not just during the seventeenth century but right up until the early years of the twentieth century. Rewarded by his most famous patron, Charles I, with a knighthood, his enduring influence - and a sense that it would be impossible to better him - was universally recognised and remarked on not only by his contemporaries but also by his successors. 

http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person/mp04604/sir-anthony-van-dyck

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ll6kXhHWDmw&feature=youtu.be

Source: NPG London

Art 116 FALL 2018 schedule UPDATED 11/04

Professor Zeggert
Week 4
09/17-Crit. Paint stick, In class- 8 x 10 .2 study- Consider distance and level.
Newer concepts: use (3 x greatest dim.) as a guide to help determine distance from the still life. Avoid pit-falls like level change and easel shift- (mark the floor to match the position of the easel).  Measure the distance from the floor to the surface of the still life and match the strength or power of your light source.
09/19- 8 x 10 study.3 in class
Homework: Complete an 8 x 10.4 oil study. Select two objects, correctly illuminate the still life with the goal to paint your objects with sculptural weight. 2-3 hour painting. Due next class.
Bring two objects to class on 9/24 to be used as props for an in-class project.
Bring to the next class, a (16 x 20 inch canvas.1)
(pre-ground or toned ground your canvas, review paint definitions)

Week 5
9/24- Class 1: Start the Skills painting in class for a grade

due at the end of class 10/1- (review assessment form)

9/26- Class 1: Complete the Skills painting in class for a grade

due at the end of class 10/1

(pre-ground or apply a toned ground to your canvas, review paint definitions)

Week 6

10/1- Class 1: Complete the Skills painting in class for a grade
due at the end of class 10/1
Bring to the next class, a (16 x 20 inch canvas.2)
10/3 Class 2: (Drape): 30 minute lecture, (take notes)

Colors:  Raw umber and white, objective is to match value, chair drape including gravity and half-lock folds

Bring toothpaste tube and 8 x 10 re-use to next class.

Week 7

10/08-Class 1: NO SCHOOL

10/10-Class 2: Complete drapery study-studio and/or begin toothpaste study-8 x10 re-use
Prepare for next class: Bring a (16 x 20 canvas .3-for color chart)- toned ground canvas-strive to achieve a middle value-Mandatory attendance.

Week 8
10/15- Class 1: Palette lecture, note taking and mixing exercise entire class-Mandatory attendance

HW: Bring to next class four Possessions, a crate size box, drape (color, size your choice) and your clamp light (optional).  (Pit-fall to avoid:  If you forget any of the items, you will be marked absent).

Four Possessions Portrait assignment:

This project includes a painting and two written statements, (typed and printed) to be completed for a grade.

(each element worth 100 points)

Due at the beginning of next class: First statement-based on study/research of French painter, Chardin, 1699-1779.  Type a 400 word statement profiling Chardin's life and work. Investigate and describe something you discovered about the artist related to still life painting and how it could be applied to your next assignment. 

Second Statement (reflective) due  at the beginning of class 10/29 and it must be typed/printed, min. 300 words. 

Content should include and define choice of objects, and how the they represent you. Decribe the paint process, use of color temperature, value and the physical properties of the paint.  Discuss problems, solutions, successes and failures and what adjustments you'll consider making for your next painting.

Bring pre-grounded or toned grounded (20 x24 canvas.1) to next class 

Color scale assignment:

Create color scales of your modified Zorn palette- use the palette page as reference-

16 x 20 inch canvas.3

Goal: First, mix the color in your palette, then paint the scale-

Due for a grade-Monday 10/17 at the beginning of class-

10/17- Class 2: Four Possessions, in studio paint day

Week 9

10/22-Class 1: Four Possessions, in studio paint day  

10/24-Class 2: Four Possessions, in studio paint day

Week 10
Week 10
10/29-Class 1: Four Possessions, in studio paint day (Painting due at the end of class)
Bring to next class (16 x 20 canvas .4)- toned ground
Also, bring your (16 x 20.3) color scales
10/31-Class 2: Bread and Water study-Ultramarine Blue and Burnt Sienna plus White- Begin exercise in adapting colors.
Objectives: Color scales
Paint opaquely
Push the development of color options, examine warm vs cool, light vs dark.
Be aware of your mixture, devise a recipe-quarters, thirds, etc.-you decide- just know how to get to a color if requested.

Week 11
11/5- Bread and water oil sketch, in studio exercise completed at end of class
Assign Bread and Water narrative
Research: Thumbnail sketches and begin creating your reference photo board
Bring 22 x 28 canvas to next class plus three thumbnails for approval-(graded)
11/7- Bread and water, Narrative
Prep Museum visit: 
https://museum.cornell.edu/
https://www.arnotartmuseum.org/
https://www.metmuseum.org/
https://www.binghamton.edu/art-museum/
or suggest a museum for approval

Note taking

https://www.npr.org/2016/04/17/474525392/attention-students-put-your-laptops-away

Please read- class notes need to be taken in a traditional paper notebook.

Analysis of folds

One of sixteen drapery studies by Leonardo da Vinci

http://www.louvre.fr/en/oeuvre-notices/drapery-seated-figure

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/leon/hd_leon.htm

Analysis of folds:
We will identify the basic/general types of folds and the characteristics that are associated with them.

In order to make your drapery study successful, it’s critical that you apply what you’ve learned through out the term. Consider the study of value, and light as the foundational aspects used to construct your paintings, as well as the fundamental elements that support the realization of drapery.

Key points:
Folds are impacted by the underlying form or structure. (ie, clothes on a figure, clothing draped over the back of chair, etc.).
The point of impact is also called the point of origin; fabric at the point of origin will have tighter, more taut and even linear characteristics.  Conversely, the further away from the point of origin the more the fabric will billow out, appear open and flow(ie), and subsequently less linear.

At its core, folds will take on the shape of a triangle. As a fundamental practice (tool) adhere to the concept of general to specific, and one would seek out triangular shapes to help establish the initial phase of the drawing.


Types of folds:

·       Gravity inspired (pipe-like)

·       Dual point of origin (diaper fold)

·       Half lock

·       Dead fold

Gravity inspired has a traditional look and feel and is best described and identified as having a tight and defined point of origin.  As the fabric flows from the point of origin the individual folds resemble a pipe or half-pipe shape. (ie, window drapery, fabric cinched at the waist, think pleat or waist area of a dress or simply, a piece of fabric hanging from a nail on the wall).

Dual point or diaper fold, I prefer to use the term dual point. Historically, a dual point fold was referred to as the diaper fold, either works.  Dual point folds have several points of origin have the same properties as gravity inspired folds.  Typically, between the two points you’ll encounter unusual qualities, somewhere between tight, linear folds and a billow. This is often called a Half lock, which I’ll cover next.

The primary characteristic of a Half lock fold is that the fold turns in on itself and acts as a strong indicator that something has changed.   A common place to find half lock folds is inside the bend of an elbow, back of the knee, bend at the waist.  The half lock possesses hard and soft edges plus tight characteristics that slightly billow out.

Dead fold is as it sounds, maybe the toughest fold to tackle, it consists of a bit of everything with limited direction.  Many dead folds are lumped piles of fabric with various folds responding to and acting as points of origins. (In short, it's defined as a mess).

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/387994

https://www.metmuseum.org/blogs/now-at-the-met/2015/neoclassical-drapery-studies

Painting folds:
As mentioned the fabric should be correctly illuminated revealing to you the value pattern of the fabric, it also allows you to see the pattern and characteristics of the folds. The energy and anatomy of the fold is a direct result of compression and expansion of the fabric.  Note the pipe folds resemble a wave like pattern, one portion compressing the other expanding; this pattern should correlate with a light/dark pattern.   As you investigate and discover the patterns, look for the characteristics that identify the action of the fold.  Also be cognizant of the recurring theme of change and respond to it.

A great indicator of compression and expansion is to sit or stand up straight and bend side to side.  One side of your torso will expand and the other will compress. This exercise resembles the energy of the folds you're describing.  

Review
Paint from general to specific: Address bigger, basic forms first-

A core requirement of painting from observation requires the artist to investigate the subject with the goal to see and analyze the subject.  It's reasonable to say that we will understand the subject better after continued study especially in contrast to the immediate response, (ie, your brain will have more visual information after two hours of observing the subject compared to five minutes of observation).  This observational concept supports the idea of painting from general to specific.

Being mindful of changes is a good rule (tool) of thumb when establishing major planes or shapes and defining values from observation.  The core idea is that you identify and react to the subject that you're painting.  In most cases if you identify a shift in value, seek out a planar change or change of direction. Conversely, if an element has changed, seek out a shift or transition in value. The changes or shifts could be a result of the subject turning away from you based on your position in space or it could represent a change in the physical structure of the subject.  Regardless, something has changed, respond to it and use the information defined as changes to help describe your subject and achieve sculptural weight.

Contributing source: Drawing drapery, Vilppu

Open studio:

Everyone welcome!!!

Location: Room 205 Old Science building

11/02-11:00 am-2 pm
11/30-11:00 am-2 pm
 

Munsell and the achromatic value scale: Updated 09/05

Achromatic value scale:

The study of value can be elusive and impacted by relevant but subjective factors (i.e.; strength of illumination, pigment, experience and application). Establishing a standard tool such as a value scale is useful in the pursuit of understanding value and the study of light and shadow.  The achromatic scale is a great tool for the beginning artists as well as experienced ones. Often experienced painters use the scale as a way to sort out color and value questions as a means to picture making.

In our case, understanding and applying the concepts of the value scale is considered a foundational tool when establishing sculptural weight, also defined as the primary goal of the class.

Our standard will be an eleven step achromatic value scale modeled after Albert Munsell’s color system.
(more on Munsell, see link)

Transitional steps and form:
Evaluate the degree of lightness and darkness in both scales but be cognizant of the value shift between the
transitional steps in both keys, this should underscore the subjective nature of value.

As noted, value is elusive and subjective but we need to be able to discuss it using common visual language.  The format of the the scale consists of 11 transitional steps and two keys; high and low.
The low key consists of transitional steps labeled 1-4 and the high key consists of steps 6-9.
Zero is black, 10 is white and five is viewed as the middle value.

Elements of the value scale: 

• 11 total steps or squares
• Low key values: 1-4
• High key values: 6-9
• Middle value: 5
• Black: 0
• White: 10
   

Practical value application and theory:
The pursuit of understanding value requires you to see and record degrees of light and dark. The artist must learn to see value relationships, rather than be influenced by what is known as local value, which can be perceived only when seen free of illumination (the effect of light and shadow). (source: The Guide to Drawing)

When Using Rembrandt style lighting to illuminate your object, the object will reveal to you its value structure. You should be able to see the low key values on the dark side of the object or in the shadow area and the high key values on the illuminated side.

Black will be visible where the object comes into contact with its surface and your brightest highlight will be white.

Pit-falls:

Avoid recording the color instead of the value, however color has inherent value

Control illumination, remember additional light sources will make it difficult to record value

Don't lose sight of the primary goal of the class

Determine the real mass or volume of the subject and be mindful of its value structure

About Munsell

http://munsell.com/about-munsell-color/

Due: 0910:
achromatic scale- complete in paint or graphite

Due: 09/17

Obtain a paint mixing stick and use it as a substrate to create a value scale (complete this before class)

For Monday's class bring white, raw umber, walnut oil, palette paper, your stay wet palette plus your palette knife, brushes and a 8 x 10 canvas.

Review value related link updated 9/3

https://vimeo.com/227462986

Due: Monday 09/10- graphite achromatic scale and sphere, approx. 8.5 x 11 inches
Due: Wednesday 09/12- supplies (bring to class -8 x 10 canvas, brushes, raw umber and white paint,
palette knife, palette page and stay-wet palette plus oil.

HW: Due at the beginning of the 9/17 achromatic paint stick