For Juan- Inspiration

Hey Juan, I know I said I would post stuff and didn't so I am getting going starting today. Ithought you might like this artist Leong Wan Kok

Check out the website

www.1000tentacles.com

Willard Wigan

Many are calling this artist the eighth wonder of the world. The artist's name is Willard Wigan. Wigan creates the world's smallest sculptures on pinheads and the eyes of needles between heartbeats. His sculptures are barely one hundredth of an inch tall and have to be done under a microscope.
Willard sculpts his work from gold, nylon, carbon fiber and grains of sand. He's developed his technique for more than 40 years. Each sculpture takes several months to complete and is done in total solitude in his studio.
"The stillness of it is very important - you have to control the whole nervous system, you have to work between the heartbeat - the pulse of your finger can destroy the work," explains Willard. [1
There is a dark side to his life, however. He is dyslexic and had tremendous difficulty in school. Says Willard, "I can't read or write but I have a way of expressing myself. The teachers at school made me feel small so they made me feel like nothing. I'm trying to prove to the world that nothing doesn't exist."
Because of the humiliation he experienced as a child, Willard kept his art secret for many years. He felt that it too would be criticized. He started out building miniature homes for ants and other insects. He then transferred that to art while using special tools such as a hair to brush on the paint. To do this, he has to have a very steady hand. His work is so small that he inhaled one of his sculptures while working on it.
"You have to control the whole nervous system, you have to work between the heartbeat - the pulse of your finger can destroy the work," says Willard.
Willard was born in 1957 at Birmingham, England. He has received his MBE for service to the arts from the Prince of Wales in 2007. Lloyds of London commissioned Willard to replicate the Lloyd's of London building on a pinhead. This art was later sold for £94,000 ($143,689). His first exhibition sold for £11.2 million ($17.1 million). Willard is currently touring the UK and is scheduled for America and Canada. This month his work is at the Friar Lane Gallery in Nottingham.
In spite of it all, he fought against all odds and is now a millionaire. Says Willard, "People haven't seen the best of me yet. I'm going to take it smaller."

http://www.willard-wigan.com/

AP Studio Gallery

Here is a preview for next year. These are the 30 pieces of art that are traveling around the country representing AP Art Studio students. They were chosen from 31,000 portfolios.

http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/courses/teachers_corner/190457.html

Values and Reflected Light

In order to imply form accurately, you need to draw the values you see instead of drawing what you think should be there. Place an egg on your kitchen counter and set up a light source. What are the darkest shadows? What is the lightest highlight? You should notice that in the center of the eggs shadow it seems lighter (much like the illustration below) this is called “reflected light”. This is caused by light shining on your counter and bouncing back into the shadow area. Although reflected light might seem very bright, it only appears so because of the contrast of the dark shadow surrounding it. Reflected light will never be as light as the light part! Paying attention to all these subtle details you see in the value changes is what will bring realism to your drawing. Try drawing the egg on your counter; use pencil and go nice and slow to avoid a scribbled look. Do not ever smudge to fade values- only the gradual lifting of your pencil.

Contour Assignment

Contour is a line drawing that uses only line to describe form. In a contour drawing there is no chicken scratch or value, only line. For this assignment I would like to take this a step further. If you look at the artwork created by Irene Maria Jacobs you will notice that she has lots of nice line detail in the artwork. She has also moved past a traditional contour drawing and has created two focal points of color. Notice how realistically rendered the face and the apple are compared to the flat line drawing - this makes a nice juxtaposition. If colored pencil is not your thing check out one of my colored pencil books to practice ahead of time- please use a felt tip pen to create the contour. when you set up your drawing for this project please keep in mind that you must use an original subject and work from observation (Jacobs made up the hair but no doubt worked from observation for the face).

Gesture Drawing

Gesture drawing is a great way to start drawing the figure from observation. With gesture drawing there is no pressure to make a masterpiece so mistakes are okay! If you are someone who tries to make things too perfect I recommend practicing on note cards- somehow creating your drawing on a scrap of paper that will be thrown away helps take the pressure off and allow you to loosen up. I have embedded a youtube video that demonstrates gesture drawing. When you work there is really no substitute for drawing from a live person; however, if there is no one available try the website http://www.posemaniacs.com/ where you can choose from many different anatomical models in a variety of poses. Keep in mind the more you practice the better you will get at capturing a likeness from observation.

Welcome

Hi Future AP'ers! Next year is going to be a lot of hard work so this blog is intended to get you ready. Here I will post possible assignments you can work on ahead of time (which will make for more time to create quality work next year), as well as tutorials, pointers and more to be sure that everyone is on equal footing when we start the class your senior year.