ASSIGNMENTS

ASSIGNMENT 2

Due: week 3

Paint a value strip similar to those shown in the box at the top of page 133 of the text or the example below.



ASSIGNMENT 4

Due: week 5

Make a grid of 1/2" squares like the one below, and using a 1/2" wide brush fill each square with the 2-color mixture indicated (color named along the top, plus the color listed along the side). Try to make each mixture about 1/2 one color and 1/2 the second color. If you do not have the exact colors listed, replace as necessary with similar colors.

ASSIGNMENT 5

Due: week 6

With a 1/2" brush, paint a series of stripes similar to those in Illustration A. Wait until the paint has dried, and then paint a series of stripes crosswise to the first group, as in Illustration B.

Illustration A



Illustration B



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SKETCHBOOK ASSIGNMENTS

Bring the sketchbook with you every week for review. If yours is not up-to-date, points will be subtracted from your grade.

Sketchbook artworks are not expected to be extended or elaborate paintings; only sketches. No sketch should take longer than 30 minutes to complete, and many will require much less.

Each sketch is to be on its own page.

Week Two (due week 3)
Complete 5 sketches of simple objects using only one color for each sketch.

Week Three (due week 4)
Do 5 sketches using two-colors for each. One color should be warm (such as burnt sienna) and one color cool (like ultramarine blue).

Week Four (due week 5)
Complete 3 complementary color studies. One sketch is to be red/green, another violet/yellow, and the remaining sketch blue/orange.

Week Five (due week 6)
Do 3 sketches that make use of layering or glazing of one color over another (dry) color to create a third color.

Week Six (due week 8)
Complete 3 sketches that make use of layering.

Week Eight (due week 9)
Execute 5 sketches of people and animals.

Week Nine (due week 10)
Do 5 sketches of people and animals.

Week Ten (due week 11)
Complete 3 sketches of landscape subject matter.

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MID-TERM PROJECT

Due: week 7

Instructions

This project accounts for a significant portion of your grade. It is expected that you will invest the time and effort needed to do a good job of it.

Do a 12" X 12" painting of an apple as described below.

Using pencil, divide your paper into 1" squares (12 squares across and 12 squares down) – when done it will look like graph paper.

In pencil, sketch only the general shape of the apple and its cast shadow – no detail.

Paint the first square as follows:

• Choose a square on your paper and carefully study the equivalent area on the apple (it is easiest to begin along the outer edge of the apple or at some distinctive landmark)
• Mix a color similar to the overall color of the area of the apple that you have examined
• Paint the color you have mixed into the appropriate square

Paint the next square:

• Choose a square next to the one you have just painted
• Study this same area on the apple, carefully comparing it to the area just painted. Compare relative value (is it darker or lighter and how much so); chroma (is the color more brilliant or duller); temperature (is the color warmer or cooler); and hue (is the area redder, bluer, more green, more yellow, etc.).
• Mix a color for the second square based on your comparison
• Paint square two

Continue by painting a square that is next to one of the two squares already painted

Complete the painting by comparing one area to the next and painting each new square until all the squares are painted



FINAL PROJECT

The Essay
(due week 13;
no papers will be accepted late)

Write a 250-500 word essay (1-2 pages typed; 2-4 pages hand written).
The essay should explain:

• What it is about you that the picture represents.
• In what manner the painting is a portrait of you (significance of symbols, materials, colors, techniques, etc. and their relationship to your character).
• The rationale behind your choices of materials, scale, methods, imagery and so forth.
• Brief mention of any artists, paintings, musical or literary works, or other materials you referred to for guidance or inspiration and how you drew upon them.

The Painting
(due week 14;
no paintings will be accepted late)

Complete an approximately 15” X 22” or larger painting.

The subject is a self-portrait in which there is no image of you. Instead, choose other subject matter that represents you.

Recognizable objects are to be based upon direct observation when possible, otherwise refer to good photographs.

The picture may be an illusionistic representation, an abstract treatment, an expressive interpretation, or some other approach. The approach you use must be relevant to the project.

You may combine watercolor with other painting and drawing materials if appropriate to the intent of the picture, as well as with non-traditional materials such as human or animal hair, aluminum foil or plastic wrap, crumpled newspaper, food stuffs, dirt, ash, etc.

Choice of materials and how they are used should expressively reflect the meaning of the picture. This includes how paint is applied to the paper or other material: vigorously or with care, severe marks or no marks, bold or sedate color, and so on.

You are not limited to paper as a painting surface. Museum board, cardboard, wood, plastic, or other materials may be used when they contribute to the meaning of the picture.

This is to be an independently executed work, although you may bring it to class for advice or critique while the work is in progress.

The finished work is to demonstrate an understanding of the principles of composition and painting that have been discussed and demonstrated in class, as well as a creative interpretation of the concept.



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