How to depict cuts in arts education?

Posted on July 29, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Art, Drawing, Idea, Illustration, Important, Learning, Life, Picture, Schooling, Sketching, Teaching, Work in progressLeave a comment

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I thought I would try and share my idea about possible cuts in art education. It’s along the lines of the hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil images. In this case the image is of a school child. Maybe with one eye peeping out. Covering his head are the hands of other children, stopping him seeing art equipment, or hearing music or poetry. Stopping him speaking things like lines from plays or novels.

Art and creativity are so important to the world. Maybe you can push a button and get a car design? Maybe not. At the moment it still takes the efforts of designers, artists, illustrators, musicians, and much more to bring out the creativity of the world.

What are we doing if we consider removing Art from the curriculum? If we make it just the perogative of the rich? What happens if normal, ordinary people aren’t taught to have a critical eye, to have the ability to see beauty. I see a world which is almost turning into a 1984 situation. Dumbed down and quiescent?

Going a bit ‘van gogh’

Posted on July 27, 2020July 27, 2020 Posted in Sketching, UncategorizedTagged #uskstoke, Art, Drawing, Edited, Fun, Inspiration, Instagram, Mobile, News, Photo app, Photodirector, Sketching, Van gogh style2 Comments

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I looked at last night’s sketch and wondered what I could do to maybe tie it more together? I decided to use one of the style options in photodirector. This is a phone app that allows you to edit your photos and drawings and change their appearance.

I was very pleased with this. I definitely think it has a Van Gogh feel to it. Probably having the chair there with my easle on it adds to that feeling.

The new normal?

Posted on July 23, 2020 Posted in Fine Art, Sketching, UncategorizedTagged #uskstoke, Art, Black and white sketch, Black ink fine line pen, Drawing, Fine Art, Friend, Life, Lockdown, Sketching, Usk challenge, Usk Stoke-on-Trent, Visit8 Comments

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Visiting my friend today who’s a fine art student. Because we were inside her house we both wore masks. This is the final Stoke Urban Sketchers challenge for this run but I don’t think it will be the last. This was so good, to be able to visit someone. I feel like crying, I felt nervous, I felt touched that someone would let me in their house after all this time. I may dream about it! It was an honour to be allowed to draw her. I hope she does well in her fine art degree.

USK challenge 21.7.20

Posted on July 22, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged #uskstoke, Art, Black and white, Drawing, Hill, Picture, Sketching, Staffordshire, Stoke, Usk Stoke-on-TrentLeave a comment

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Out and about. A local street I have not walked down since March. Got to it by going up our very steep hill. It was only a couple of miles but I’m shattered. Black and white sketch taken from a photo. I wish I had drawn it in situ, but I didn’t have my sketchbook with me.

The plant really was growing out like a triffidcacross the pavement. I really liked it. Very interesting.

Today’s variation

Posted on July 21, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Art, Design, Drawing, Fun, Illustration, Playing, Sketching, Tarot, VariationLeave a comment

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Work for my course. Take four images, a person walking, an animal, a recognisable plane and a building or part of a building. Three of them are mine and the fourth is a fellow student. I turned the images into tarot cards this time. I enjoyed doing this one. I tried to make it more coherent than the other three I’ve done. I’ve also got an usk challenge to do. I might try and get it done today.

Backgrounds

Posted on July 18, 2020 Posted in Sketching, UncategorizedTagged Art, Backgrounds, College work, Decisions, Drawing, Ideas, Illustration, Landscape, Portrait, Sketching, VariationsLeave a comment

I’m working on a background to place my four images on fro my illustration course.

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I will be cutting this up into four. I think the cat and the man will be at the bottom and the tree and the house at the top. My idea is that it will be November fifth. Bonfire night. The man is looking for the cat, which is scared. The house and the tree are going to be at the top. I will then colour round the blobs in black so that it’s nighttime. I might use fine liner pens to make the background black but with texture…

Got to decide portrait or landscape? What do you think?

Fifteen year old sketchbook

Posted on July 17, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Art, Blogging, Drawing, Fifteen years ago, Ink, Memories, Past, Pencil, Portraits, Sketchbook, Sketching, Time4 Comments

I found an old sketchbook I used to take to a drawing group about 15years ago. I used to concentrate on portraits.

This was at a local pub and over a few years the group grew. It couldn’t last sadly as the pub closed down.

It was good to find these today. I need more sketchbooks though!

Busy time

Posted on July 16, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Art, Challenges, College, Distance learning, Fun, Illustration, Learning, Photoshop, Playing, Sketching, Technology, Web, Work, Yellow pathLeave a comment

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Part of an illustration I’m working on for my college course. I have to fit four A6images I create into an A3 sheet. Having to work on dots per inch sizes, screen resolution… Relearning photoshop that I’d forgotten. Its getting there slowly.

There are other programmes I might investigate, like something called procreate… Hmm. Too many bells and whistles perhaps?

On the table….

Posted on July 12, 2020July 12, 2020 Posted in Cat, Sketching, UncategorizedTagged #uskstoke, Blogging, Books, Cat, Colours, Cotman paints, Fun, Paint, Sketching, Sphere, Stoke-on-Trent urban sketchers challenge, Table, WatercoloursLeave a comment

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Today’s Stoke-on-Trent urban sketchers challenge was what was on your table..

Luckily the cat got on the table as I approached it. Otherwise it’s just books and a box and a carved wooden sphere. The n gauge railway layout my hubby has is out of view. Too difficult to paint! Sketching with a Cotman watercolour set I treated myself to for my birthday last month.

I haven’t painted with watercolours for months. I liked the free flowing colours. Less restrictive than acrylics. Although I did let paint bleed into some parts I dabbed it off with a bit of tissue. I found drawing out with the brush instead of a pencil much easier. I hate having drawn lines in pictures. The other thing was leaving areas white. It’s good to leave negative space and not completely cover the paper. This is turning into an interesting sketchbook. The prompts really make me think.

Pattern play.

Posted on July 11, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Art, Artrage oils, Blogging, Colours, Design, Fun, Layout ap, Pattern, Sketcher free, Sketching, SpiralsLeave a comment

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I don’t know when I did this, probably three or four years ago. It’s a combination of three apps, ArtRage oils, sketcher free and layout. I drew the metallic looking pattern first, then added the spirals and finally divided and mirrored the images.

I probably used a photo editor too. I’m not sure.

The feeling I get from making these gives me great pleasure. I can’t explain, but it takes me out of myself.

Mallaband-Brown

Tag: Sketching