Claude Lorraine

Claude Lorraine was a French landscape-painter, draughtsman and engraver. He was born in the small village of Chamagne, Vosges, then part of the Duchy of Lorraine. Although his early life is   unclear it is said that he moved to Rome, where he is said to have initially worked as a pastry cook. He was the enployed at the household of Agostino Tassi, progressing from domestic servant to studio assistant.

Claude Lorraine also spent two years in Naples studying  under the German-born landscapist Goffredo Wals it was here that he was deeply impressed by the beauty of the Gulf of Naples, and the memories of  these years will be inspiration for his paintings throughout his career.

In 1627 Lorrain returned to Rome. Here, two landscapes made for Cardinal Bentivoglio earned him the patronage of Pope Urban VIII. From about 1637 he rapidly achieved fame as a painter of landscapes and seascapes. He then traveled the Roman Campagna apparently befriended his fellow Frenchman Nicolas Poussin; together they would sketch landscapes. Though both have been called landscape painters, Poussin would have the landscape as the background to the figures; whereas Lorrain, placed figures in one corner of the canvas, the true subjects are the land, the sea, and the air.

In all of Claude Lorraine landscapes and seascapes he took great care to capture the smallest detail  giving them a very realistic feel. Most of his paintings especially his early work have a strong light source giving his artwork a dramatic presents. Claude Lorraine uses a strong sense of perspective in all his artworks, not only in his use for linear perspective but aerial perspective as well. His painting he manages to capture the depth of the landscapes using the aerial and linear perspective tricking the eye in thinking its viewing a three-demencanal world.

Albrecht Dürer

Albrecht Dürer was a German painter, engraver and printmaker but as well as being a artist  Albrecht Dürer is also know as a mathematician and theorist. Among the many artworks he produced he also published two books, one on geometry called the Four Books on Measurement and the other on human proportions is called the Four Books on Human Proportion. these books included a series of illustrations of drawing frames and perspective machines. The goal of these devices was to enable artists to take accurate measurements of their chosen subject or to trace a scene as it appeared before them in order to create a convincing illusion of the real world.

Many of the techniques used in the 15th and 16th centuries continued to be useful to later artists. The artist John Constable (1776 - 1837) used a glass frame similar to one described in the Treatise on Painting by Leonardo da Vinci (1452 - 1519).

Many artists have used grids to assist them in creating larger or smaller-scale copies. A grid is drawn over the original study, and another grid is marked out at the desired scale on the surface where the image is to be reproduced. The artist can then copy the part of the design that appears in each square at the new size. This technique is still in use today.

PERSPECTIVE MACHINE
String a grid in a frame, (preferred is a grid dividing the frame into thirds or a multiple of three, and a frame in golden proportion or the same proportion as your paper), fix it in place between you and your subject, as shown in Durer's etching. Use it along with a similar grid on your paper to aid in producing an accurate layout of your subject matter. Note that the relationship between your eye, the frame and the subject must remain constant. Useful when dealing with foreshortening or when accuracy of proportion is important to the layout.
A variation of this that works somewhat differently, in that you draw directly on the picture plane, is to place a piece of clear Plexiglas fixed in place between you and your subject, you can now draw your subject on the Plexiglas. Use a suitable maker, one that will clean off, and rough in your sketch. Now transfer the drawing to your paper using tracing and transfer papers, or transfer and enlarge using a grid. Gauze stretched in a frame can be used in place of Plexiglas, and if the size is right, can make it easier to transfer the rough sketch to paper or canvas.

USING A FINDER
 When viewing a subject, especially a landscape, it can be difficult to select what to include and what to exclude from the composition. If you find this to be the case you might try using a "finder" to assist in selecting that portion of the universe to include in your composition, and in its placement on your paper.
  You can make a finder from a piece of cardboard. Cut a rectangular opening approximately 3.5"x 5". (This is approximately the same proportion as a sheet of watercolor paper, if you are using some other size paper adjust the proportions of the rectangular opening to match your paper.) Hold this frame in front of you and closing one eye and moving the finder, study the arrangement of shapes you see in the finder. Move the finder around until a suitable arrangement is found. Once you have developed the "habit of selection" you will find it is no longer necessary to use the finder.
A photographic slide frame can be used as a finder, however, because of its size, you will need to hold it rather close to your eye.
John Pike's "Wonderful Perspective Machine" is such a finder with some extra features. It is a blue plastic frame (blue to aid in judging the values by neutralizing the color) with gird lines marked on it and moveable thin steel strips that can be lined up with building or other angles and are then held in place by the magnetic frame border. This allows you to set the strips and then judge the angle in relation to the grid on the finder and the same grid lightly marked on your paper.

Drawing Cutting The Lino Not My Hand 5th December

Cutting The Lino Not My Hand   5th December

With only one week till the assessment, I started today eager to finish my print from last week and to have at least another one or two printed as well. With only a short talk about what we were doing today, we could get right into work.

Our task for the day was more of a continuation from last Friday's work. I knew exactly what I wanted to do. Seeing as I didn't get a chance to experiment with the lino last week, I was eager to test out the different ways I could create a print.

Starting with a small piece of lino as a tester, I quickly sketched out a line design similar to the large feather I did in my micro macro lesson. I wanted to keep it simple at first so I could get a feel for the lino and understand how to use the engraving tools properly.

Taking the small sample piece of lino, I placed it on the radiator to heat it so that it would be softer and therefore easier to engrave. After a couple of minutes on the radiator I was ready to start engraving. I placed the lino on the wooden board and selected one of the engraving tools. As this was only a small piece and I wanted very thin lines, I chose one with a small blade.

I started at the centre and slowly moved the blade to the top of the lino, making sure my hands were out of the way and the lino was resting against the top of the board in case I slipped. After a while I got used to the feel of the lino and was becoming used to holding the engraving tool, getting the angle I needed to take off the top layer of lino.

Having finished my tester, it was now time to print my engravings; the one from last week, and my tester lino from today. With so many people in the 3D room doing printing, it was very busy and hard to find room on the table. I found a space and continued with the inking process. This was a messy job and the ink itself was stickier than I thought it would be. I grabbed a cloth and started rubbing the ink into my aluminium plate, working it in, then using a cleaner cloth to rub off the excess ink from the top. After the ink was removed it was time to put it through the press and see how the print turned out. Placing the plate on the press, I lay the wet paper onto it, covered it with a cloth and then ran it through. As I carefully peeled off the paper, my print was revealed. It was a good first attempt. Some of the lines were a little messy and darker than I thought they would be, but all in all I was happy with my first print.

Now it was time for me to do my lino. This was a lot easier as I had to use a different ink and roller. Rolling the ink on was a lot easier than rubbing and removing it. After making sure I had all of my lino covered in ink, I could place a dry piece of paper over it and then press them together.

Placing both prints out to dry, I went back to the classroom to start my other lino engraving. I used the same image because I wanted to see the difference between the two prints. With carving the lino taking a longer than I thought, I finished my engraving just as the lesson ended. Hopefully I'll be able to print it on Monday.

 

Drawing Collage of ideas 1st December

Collage of Ideas 1st December

Today is the first lesson on how to create a collage. This was something I had never done before so I was eager to try it out and learn the methods behind it. A collage can be very creative and abstract, which is one of the many things I wanted to explore. We were given a board and some objects for inspiration. We were also told to make this more of a 3D collage and to use different materials. We could make it as real or abstract as we wanted.


After the explanation was over it was time to pick our objects for inspiration. After searching through the boxes, I decided on three contrasting things; the first being what looked like a seed box from a plant. It was a cone shape that had distinctive large holes. I then picked up a dried and curled brown leaf. With its varied texture, I thought it would be a challenge to interpret into a more abstract 3D form. Finally I chose a small chestnut that still had its spiky protective shell. Just like the leaf, this would also give my collage a different texture, as well as give me an opportunity to add some more geometric shapes. With my subjects chosen, it was time to start mapping out my ideas on how I was going to make my plank of wood into a 3D collage.

I looked at the natural forms I'd chosen and noted which aspects I would like to take from them and develop. I started with the large seed box. Even though most of it was smooth and flat, the main features were the large holes on the top of it. My first thought was layering wood that I had drilled to create a variation in layers. The chestnut was easy as I had selected it for the opportunity to add different textures and geometric shapes. The leaf was going to be my divide in the centre of the board, slightly overlapping the other two, giving a feeling of movement

With my design ready to be made, I headed down to 3D to make my geometric chestnut and my layered seed box. After finding different pieces of wood, I then marked out my circle for the seed box and cut it out using the saw. I then used different sizes of drills to make the holes. With that finished, I started cutting out my shapes for the chestnut, making them various sizes so I could layer them together.

After gluing them all on my board, it was the end of the lesson. I got a lot done, but still needed time to finish and apply my leaf to the collage. This lesson was very different to the last ones we had, but it was interesting to learn about different ways you can create art and the various methods in doing so.