Results for ARTSTUDI141

Plein Air (Outdoor) Painting is a wonderful way to build skills, explore your relationship to site, and unlock your voice and hand. We will paint at different locations on and off-campus, learning a variety of painting techniques in changing weather and light. This class is great for both true beginners and advanced students. Basic painting skills are incorporated throughout the quarter, with advanced options at each stage. Acrylic paint is versatile and fast-drying; we will use it to get a range of effects from washy watercolor, blended oil effects, and building the surface sculpturally, painting on different surfaces. As we move, we will consider the elements of site and the materiality of paint: water, earth, architecture and the nuance of human gesture. History and memory are parsed in both the visible and hidden worlds around us. On-site paintings are not touched after class; rather they exist as an ephemeral moments in time. Three outside projects allow each person to paint at their own pace, and spend more time developing ideas and skills. In this class, process is privileged and ¿failure¿ is embraced. Adventure is our priority; weather is our co-creator. Final projects will be based on individual concepts, allowing each person to stretch creatively and develop their own voice.

The subject of this course is Life as we know it, and artists at all levels will learn to communicate their questions, concerns, and perspectives on paper. The drawing process empowers students to express themselves in their already unique visual languages, while the objects will be testimonies to their personal, cultural, spiritual, and revolutionary experiences. We begin by developing or refining students' fundamental techniques through indoor and outdoor observational drawing. Our focus shifts toward representational and conceptual strategies for storytelling that reference students¿ archives, popularized content, literature, historical references and more. Through drawing, we discuss and examine a diverse range of contemporary art to address the legacy of visual art. All preparation must be done between class meetings, and all artworks will be made during class to maximize the studio art-making experience.

In this introductory class, we take drawing out into the world, exploring different environments, techniques, and approaches as we go. The fundamental nuts-and-bolts of basic drawing techniques: light logic, depicting depth and drawing the figure, are integrated into each environment. From the Stanford campus: its cafe's, architecture and landscaping, to redwoods and water, to more urban settings, drawings will range from high-speed gestures to longer, more contemplative work. Through pen, graphite, charcoal, ink, watercolor/gouache and mixed media, we explore dichotomous relationships, as well as those in seemingly perfect harmony. We move from the inanimate to animate, figure and architecture, motion and stillness, to the micro and macro, considering how even the smallest patch of earth may be as monumental as Hoover Tower. Both beginning and advanced students are welcome. Summer.