Painting 1 project 1: 3 paintings in black, white and grey

Painting 1 Project 1: three paintings in black, white and grey Special materials list:

You will need the following materials for Monday August 28^th:

·       3-4 sheets of corrugated card board (like moving boxes)

size 22 x 3o or larger: preferably found, but purchased is fine. Nicks and holes are ok/ good. As are flaps.

·       1 quart white latex interior house paint, water based flat

or semi gloss finish, inexpensive quality

·       1 quart black latex interior house paint, water based flat or semi gloss finish, inexpensive quality

·       Masking tape,

·       scissors or mat knife

·       Cups and containers to mix paint, hold paint mixed with

water etc. at least 5.

·       Household plastic or paper cups, egg crates, or other

things will work for mixing.

·       1 quart sized (approx.) container for water;

·       Cotton rags

·       Various tools to manipulate paint: brushes of various size

 and type, at least one 1 1⁄2 “ or larger

·       Small sticks sponges sqeegees, palette knife, other metal

or plastic tools

Objects:

Wednesday August 30^th: Along with all of your requested supplies for this project, bring a selected object to paint.

Requirements for object:

·       It must be shiny

·       You must be interested in it for some reason

·       You must want to paint it

·       It must have VOLUME (ie: don’t bring a silver string or stick.)

·       It must be bigger or equal to the size of a loaf of bread

nothing really small, no coins, phones, computers, no knives, keys- and nothing super fragile. Think shoe box sized.


Look for something with surface detail and volume, which could be simple and reflective, for example, an aluminum can or container (try a little harder please) something ceramic, something that unfolds or collapses, it could have a contemporary use, or a sense of history. Does the object have a purpose? Is it decorative?

Take time to find an object that looks interesting to you. Would you like to see a painting of it?

Bring a few in so we can choose the best object for your

project.

The object will be the subject of your work in class for

the first 3 weeks of the semester.

What we will do in class on the 28^th:

You will use your largest flat brush to paint 2 cardboard sheets white and 2 black. Your cardboard will warp, so you must paint the reverse as well to prevent this. Put your name on your boards with pencil and leave them until next week when we start painting.

With all of these projects we will consider the questions

of figure and ground in painting.

To begin your first painting: on white:

Select a white surface cardboard. Use a mix of grey paint to paint a line image or gesture of your object. Consider the placement of the object and your point of view to it: Does it sit on a surface? Is it suspended? Are you above, below or at eye level to the object? Consider the relative size of the object in relation to the surface area of your painting. Do you need to enlarge the image, or paint it smaller? Establish an image of the whole object and SPACE around it, capture the light and dark values that are held within or reflected from the surface of the object- these are the highlights and shadows that you see.

Consider the ground surrounding the object: the surface, if

on the table or floor, or atmosphere surrounding. NO FLOATING OBJECTS (unless you have suspended it). Ground them in your painting if they are on a surface. Focus on your object and work general to specific- largest shapes first, details very last. Using black white and grey of different levels and consistency with varied applications of paint to render or describe the light and dark value range, surface details or textures, reflections, etc. consider black onto white or grey, white onto black or grey, or grays onto either, or onto other grays. You may experiment with your marks, size, direction, weight, wet into wet, wet onto dry, thin with water for more transparency. Marks can become patterned or can be irregular. Rather than use a flat single color, work towards inflection with the brush, although it can be subtle if you wish.  Because the paint dries quickly, you will likely revise your work a number of times throughout the project.

Project one- painting 2: on Black

Using the black painted ground, begin a second painting of your object against the dark ground. Change the the point of view of the object. REMEMBER, your object is NOT sitting in black, so translate the value range in the space around the object the way you perceive it.

Project One- painting 3: zoomed detail as field/ abstraction/ shape, value, composition

Using your 3rd prepared ground (either white or black), refer to your object again, or, the two paintings you just made, as the basis for the 3^rd painting.

Develop an image/composition based on at least 5 but not more than 7 distinct details/shapes of your object/paintings. You will create a number of practice/thumbnails to choose the best composition.

Zoom in. Allow the shapes to touch and to interlock and fill the picture plane/surface from edge to edge. The shapes may be directly from your object or paintings, or they can be inspired by your object or paintings but there can be no recognizable images. This is a composition project. An abstraction from a representation. You will not render or model anything to appear to have depth or volume. This is a shape, value, and composition project, working in 2d flat space and dealing with the picture plane/surface, with limitations in order to help you solve a problem.

You may alter the ground and experiment with the appearance of positive/negative shapes. You may elect to use flat color application if you wish, or active brush work and texture to fill the shapes. Consider the relative size of the shapes you choose- are they equal size and style? Are they organic or rectilinear? Or are they different in size and form? Complete this three part painting project for critique on September 18^th