Drawing Class #5

 

Today was the fifth meeting of my current drawing class at JSAC.  This is an advanced drawing class, so we were doing conte crayon.  As usual, only one student showed, my most regular one, and she was very excited to get started and try this material.  First we looked at her attempt at a portrait, a copy of a famous Vermeer painting.  At her request, I noted which areas of her drawing were not quite matching the source she was using for the face.  To be fair, I've actually seen this painting in person, as it was part of the famous Washington DC show I saw in the early 90's.  And copying Vermeer is very difficult.  After seeing that show, I was glad I had switched to printmaking.  

We got started.  I planned for two drawings, so kept the number of items in my still life small, a few items from the basement.   First I had her do a black drawing, since the rules are a lot like charcoal, which we did in both classes.  Then a new set up and we did sanguine.  She didn't have crayons, but pencils made by the same company, so I assume the same pigment.  (couldn't find anything on the web saying one way or the other)  My student really liked the color and medium, which I pointed out was the same color as the crayon used by one of my community college students for their drawing class, many years ago.  Had examples of those to show, as I have never used the stuff myself.

So two drawings done, and time to go.  My student remarked that I was very good at spotting parts and shapes of objects and how they compared to her drawings of the same objects.  Maybe so, or maybe it's just the years of experience as a teacher, where this was a regular part of my life.  Next week we combine the two colors of crayons together, mirroring a common exercise/project I used to do with my college students in various drawing classes I taught.  (a substitute for traditional chiaroscuro drawing, with the white of paper as part of the process)  

What happens next is unknown.  I sent a proposal for a color drawing class to the person in charge, as she asked.  Haven't gotten a response yet, but she's not there that often.