Sketchbook Thread of Knilblink

#41

Hey guys, thanks so much for the encouragement!

I promise to keep the last one going. I don’t listen to much classical music, but Rachmaninov is the reason I’ve come as far as I have after starting over once!

Anyways, I just did another pencil sketch / head study. It’s not exact and started off slow, but I slowly began to remember how to work with a pencil. I don’t have a scanner in working order at the moment, but when I’m not updating here I’m finally doing a bit of traditional work. When I first started I was like “where’s my REALLY BIG pencil, I’m supposed to save all these tiny ones for last!”

#42

Hi Adam!.. beautiful work you have here…:thumbsup: I can see this developing into a great thread! keep it up…!

#43

Hey Anandpg, thanks for looking and for the encouragement!

I’ve been doing a little traditional work lately, but in general haven’t had as much time for art as I would like. Oh, the balancing of all those needs and hobbies of life!

I’m still working on the last one. It’s been moving so slowly, I may take a break from it for other things. I can assure you I’m not giving up! I’ve learned alot from this study and there is still a bunch left to do. I can see all of the glaring proportion problems, I’m quietly acknowledging then ignorning most of them. :scream:

#44

I have a couple questions.

Question 1 :
I’d primarily like to really on my eyes, hands and hold to any decisions I make during a painting. I know it can be a useful tool, but I don’t want to paint with slider bars much at this stage in the game. However, I am interested if there’s a way to pick a value range, like dark midtones to the brightest highlights then brighten them while letting the dark values be?

I’d like to play with my most recent study once I finish. My value ranges aren’t right on, but they’re about where I’d like them to be, however it could use brightening in general and I’m not willing to go over all the values another time. I should have dug in a bit more when I first started and pushed those bright values!

Question 2:
I’m not planning on attending classes in the very near future, but I do need to start researching for a local art school / University art program. Anyone have tips as to what to look for or any specific information about schools around St. Paul / Minneapolis, Minnesota?

#45

Hi Adam! Louis is looking great!:thumbsup:

As for your question #1, I dont know if this is what you want, but try adjusting “levels”(Control + L in Photoshop)… moving the right-most of the 3 slider-handles(is that what they are called?) towards the left brightens up the highlights without affecting the dark shades much.( or is it the left-most to the right? I am not so sure… try it, anyways!) hope this helps.:slight_smile:

#46

My value ranges aren’t right on, but they’re about where I’d like them to be, however it could use brightening in general and I’m not willing to go over all the values another time.

you could also play with the brightness/contrast settings in photoshop, GIMP or Painter (whatever you use)

#47

Hi Knilblink,

as concerns automatic value changes, you should give the curves dialog a try. You can specify how each of the values should look like after the changes!

I just posted to tell you that I like how you have given that last study an extra level of detail which is a great progress. There were quite a few studies in this thread which I really liked and would have loved to see with that level of detail.

subscribed

#48

I don’t know if it is still running, but one of the pioneers of the American Atelier program, Richard Lack, has or had Atelier Lack in Minneapolis:

http://www.gandygallery.com/art/Masters/Richard_Lack/index.htm

Check www.artrenewal.org for atelier lists and links. Lack is mentioned in J. Aristide’s book, Classical Drawing Atelier, which I just purchased. He was apparently her teacher and has some ties in terms of artisitic ‘geneology’ to some famous artists.

You can read about Lack and his legacy here:

http://www.aristos.org/aris-06/lack.htm

EDIT: looks like Lack has retired, but his school continues as “The Atelier”:

http://www.theatelier.org/

That’s one option, there are other art schools in the university sense I’m sure in Minneapolis but I don’t know anything about them. If you are serious about traditional art, I would definitely check into ateliers. Check out any university program thoroughly to make sure that you will actually learn some skills in their fine art program - typically these days, most art programs in big schools are not skills oriented, for that, you need to study illustration. There are differences in the kind of education you will receive for illustration vs. fine art painting that ateliers teach. What are you interested in doing ultimately?

EDIT: Also, it would be helpful to know if you are a high school student, a current college student, or someone out of college - one never knows. :slight_smile: A lot depends on whether or not you are seeking a degree, as that is something important that an atelier cannot provide.

Cheers and good luck with your search. :slight_smile:

#49

Anandpg, NR43 and Mu, thanks for the tips, I’ll be looking into them! I have an old copy of photoshop that I should install back onto my system, this makes for a good excuse to do that.

Mu - I’ll be pushing more of my studies further and further. I’m becoming more familiar and comfortable with my own process. I think some studies I tried to describe the form I saw with minimal brushstrokes, there’s no reason to do them all one way.

Rebeccak - thanks for the advice! My mother met a talented painter a while back that was raving about the Atelier and that’s where I need to go. Originally I wanted a degree, but perhaps that’s not necessary. If I were to get a degree I’m convinced I’d still want to attend Atelier, perhaps not vice versa.

I assume I could get them to look at some of my better digital works, but they probably want a strong traditional portfolio. My main worry at this point is that I have no traditional painting experience and it is a painting school. I should probably buy some pastels and start bridging the gap between drawing and painting even if I only work in greyscale or monochromatically. It would probably be smart to attend some Atelier workshops to establish foundations in drawing and painting then look to their day program.

Lastly, I have one year of College under my belt and a couple film course credits that likely won’t tranfer to any College or University. I’m not exactly sure what I’d like to pursue. Conceptual art, illustration and professional painting all interest me, I can imagine the first two would very much benefit from a degree.

#50

You’re welcome! :slight_smile: There are pros and cons that you should consider when thinking about Atelier study. You are most likely to receive the best traditional training through an atelier, no doubt. However, if you ever wanted to work overseas, and to work in general in the US, quite often at least an undergraduate degree is required. It all depends - there is certainly debate over whether or not a degree is necessary to be able to be successful / work / make a living etc. It ultimately boils down to the individual and to what your individual goals are.

A university experience as a WHOLE experience cannot be matched by a small atelier environment. Having said that, finding solid traditional art programs at the University level can be very difficult, all depending on the universities that you are considering - are you looking at any schools outside of your immediate area?

Having gone to a liberal arts school for a year and a half and having then transferred to a small private art school myself, I would have to say from my personal, anecdotal experience that there are tradeoffs and pros and cons to each type of educational environment.

It would be much harder, I would think, to get a university experience (in terms of social life, exposure to a broad variety of subjects, people, etc.) at any other time than right out of high school - in other words, I think that the best progression might be from university to atelier, instead of from atelier to university. However there are financial issues of course to consider depending on the individual, and if your heart is set on being a classically trained artist, then you are fortunate to live near one of the founding ateliers in this country.

Ultimately it’s a personal choice and I wish you the best with making it. I don’t think that you can lose with whatever choice you make. I would not rule out the possibility of attending both a university and an atelier. I hope you think carefully about what you want to do. :slight_smile:

Perhaps a good option might be to attend a university for a year, and in the meantime develop your traditional drawing skills by taking classes at the atelier. Then you would be better informed as to which educational environment you might prefer.

#51

Wow, I will take all of this to heart! I’ll continue pondering everything, but I think the last idea is a great one. It may be costly, but I might try for both a degree and Atelier perhaps in place of a masters. The tuition seems really modest for the training available at Atelier.

As for going out of state, I don’t think I can afford it. With my sleeping issues it will be very difficult balancing a job and school, I can’t afford to move back out on my own while in college or afford out of state tuition. Looking at a local art degree I’ll have to hope and search for professors that aren’t completely out there teaching abstraction before technique.

Thanks again, Rebecca!

#52

You’re welcome! I really think that at least trying a university is well worth the extra money. An atelier is a small group of people, of varying ages, and will not be able to afford you nearly the range of experiences a university can despite the potentially superior art training.

A few more things to keep in mind - if you wish to be a fine artist, and ultimately to teach, you will most likely need an MFA to teach at the college level - and prior to an MFA, you would need a BFA or an undergraduate degree. It’s just something to think about - degrees do matter, though there are loopholes that some are able to get around - but for an artist that wants to teach at the university level, pretty typically an MFA and hence a BFA is typically required. Having said that, there are other outlets for teaching besides colleges, and an atelier would likely provide superior training.

I just think that it’s the most worthwhile to give college a chance, and to see if you can find a good teacher within a local university while possibly pursuing atelier training at the same time, or down the line - or even during the summers. Ateliers will always be available and you will be able to study at one at any time provided you have the money to do so - and since they are cheaper relative to a university, you can take courses as you can afford them - whereas in time, a university experience will not be the same to an older student as to someone your age. So I would at least give it a try. :slight_smile:

#53

Hey everyone, sorry for my absence! I have a story then a question regarding easels. Here goes:

Long story short, I was having pain for some time and thought it to be sciatica. Then the pains became odder, more intense and focused my spine. Turns out I have Scheuermann’s disease (a degenerative disc disease) in my lumbar region. So now I’m getting physical therapy and things are slowly getting better. I should be back to snuff before too long!

Anyways, I’ve been working on some traditional master studies whenever possible. Generally my back is best when I’m laying or standing, the former is terrible for art! I was wondering if anyone has any tips in regards to the purchase of an easel? I’ve been interested in getting one for larger still lifes and greyscale oil painting, so now would be an especially good time to invest in one!

I can’t bear to sit at the computer for too long, but I still browse galleries from time to time. Boy this forum moves, keep up the good work! Also, thanks in advance for any tips, I’ll be searching google as well. :slight_smile:

#54

Hey Adam,

sorry to hear about your health prob, but it’s great that you are looking positive at it! Keep that spirit please :smiley:

About easels… get a solid one… when you accidently walk into it, it should be you left with a bump on your head, not the easel ending up damaged. I’m seeing easels in fancy artwork stores and they charge you hundreds of euro’s (or dollars if you wish) for them but when you’d fart looking in the wrong direction (looking away from the easel :slight_smile: ) they will fall to pieces.

Also, if you decide to get a heavy easel it’s best to get one on wheels so you can move it easely hehe
Take care!

#55

Your colour study and master study are both beautiful. The colour study reminds me of Philip Pearlstein’s work.

Gord

#56

Hi, I have enjoyed going through your work. Beautiful stuff.
About your easel needs. I’ll say that the most important is your budget. There are some fancy easels out there that cost thousands and thousands of dollars but if you cant afford those, no point in anyone recommending that to you.
Dickblick.com has some decent ones and so does http://www.jerrysartarama.com/discount-art-supplies/online/1873. By the way Jerrysartarama is supposedly on sale, so check them out.
All in all, it must be transportable so you can move it around easily.
It must be solid, as already pointed out by Johan. Boy, you dont want to go through what I did with my first easel. If you know the story of humpty dumpty, then you’ll understand :p.
Also think about the ergonomics(SP? I cant shpell). Your ideal easel should be able to allow you to sit down and paint or stand up, depending on how you feel at the time.
Anyway, goodluck with everything and I hope you feel better soon.

#57

Hey everyone, I’m just taking a moment to check out the anatomy forums. Hope to be back and kicking soon (more art, less text! :D). My sleep issues are gradually melting away with my new treatment. My back is also getting stronger, so all is well!

NR43 - Thanks for the advice and encouragement, I really appreciate it! I’m taking my time to look at easel’s and budget for one. I’m planning on something fairly sturdy and mobile.

Gord - Thank you! That name sounds familiar… I’ll have to look up Philip Pearlstein in the near future. :slight_smile:

Queensoul - Thank you for looking through my sketchbook! Not to mention, the easel advice is appreciated. I’m hearing horror stories about flimsy easels, so I’ll take heed! I hadn’t really considered the ergonomics (you spell very well!) yet. Being able to either sit or stand while working is a choice I’d very much like to have.

Cheers!
Adam

#58

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