expressing feelings through art - douglas...
TRANSCRIPT
1
Expressing Feelings
Through Art
Instructional Guidebook
Written By
Marilyn Palmer
Expressing Feeling Through Art is produced by
Light Bringer Project in association with
Mental Health America of Los Angeles
2
Foreword
Expressing Feelings Through Art has enjoyed a long and
successful history as an arts and prevention program in our public high
schools. Through the vision of key women who were there from the
beginning, and others who have supported and guided it over the years,
EFTA has been an important personal benchmark for hundreds of
participating students. We would also assert that the program holds even
more relevance for young people today in our more complex,
depersonalized world.
The students are always at the heart of the program. It is for them
that we have taken another step in EFTAʼs lifeline to provide greater
student access and tools with which they can further explore their creative
selves. We believe this will be a useful guidebook for our instructors, many
of whom have also been real champions of EFTA over the years.
Created by Marilyn Palmer, both a social worker and artist, this
instructional guide provides useful insights and exercises that can be
employed as the program unfolds in the classroom. As it places a great
emphasis on the artmaking process itself, we think its use can bring even
more authenticity to the programʼs valuable objectives.
We look forward to your participation this year and wish all of our
teachers and students great success with your creative undertakings!
Thomas Coston
Light Bringer Project
3
Expressing Feelings
Through Art – A Brief History
It began in 1982…
The Expressing Feelings Through Art Program was founded by
Rose D. Jenkins-Mallory, M.D., Director of Children and Youth Services
and later Deputy Director for the Los Angeles County Department of Mental
Health. This program is a broad-based countywide arts initiative devoted to
encouraging the personal expression of young people through art and
written word.
The annual EFTA exhibition validates the studentsʼ creative efforts as
significant and worthy by presenting their artworks to the community-at-
large at a different venue each year. Awards and scholarships are also
given to outstanding exhibitors by a jury of Los Angeles-area artists and
writers.
EFTA is produced by Light Bringer Project, a Pasadena-based
nonprofit arts organization <www.lightbringerproject.com>, in association
with Mental Health America. The program is primarily funded by a grant
from the W.M. Keck Foundation.
4
Introduction This guide is provided to augment exercises which were written with the
intent to compliment the California Standards for secondary art classes.
My personal background includes classroom experience, a background in
social work, clinical psychology and art therapy.
I earned a Masterʼs degree in Clinical Psychology and have over twenty-
five years working with adolescents; a large number of whom are
designated as at-risk and/or problematic. I also am an artist who relies
heavily on perfecting renderings of works I originally produced in an effort
to express my feelings through art.
My interest in this Program is inspired by experience with my grandson,
who is in an independent school program within a public school district that
allows him to attend high school and community college concurrently. He
has always been involved in the art world and has participated in several
artistic events over the years and has produced a large body of work given
his youth. He was assigned his art contract in order to meet California
Standards and to complete high school requirements. He soon became
unenthusiastic and somewhat problematic while trying to complete his
requirements.
I felt concerned and soon realized that he felt discouraged because he felt
the assignments did not leave room for placing an original stamp on the
work he produced. I do fully support the goal of the student understanding,
critiquing and analyzing various works of art, as well as perfecting various
5
art techniques. However, it is my belief that an individual stamp should be
allowed in each body of work that the young artist produces.
Foremost, this guidebook hopes to achieve the goal of engaging the
student. A secondary goal is eliminating behavioral problems within the
classroom by encouraging the enrichment of the student by tapping into his
or her creativity. In order to achieve this, the student must understand and
appreciate art. This manual is presented in a manner where art techniques,
works of artists representing the major schools of art, as well as teaching
the student to make an analysis of these works is coupled with the
opportunity for the student to have hands on experience with this process.
This guidebook serves to add experiential exercises designed to awaken
the studentʼs creative urge in order that he or she can approach the
individual exercises in a creative manner while adhering to additional
exercises designed to meet all requirements.
In order to present this instructional aid in a manner that ensures meeting
California Standards various texts used in California public schools were
surveyed. Most prominent text I used for the use of structure and
understanding definitions of various techniques is Art Talk by Rosalind
Rayans, Ph.D. Further, I have given alternant exercises when possible for
those teachers whose students are using paper and graphite only.
Expressing Feelings Through Art challenges the student to look inside
him or herself and identify a feeling that is then crystallized in individual
works of art. Representation in a catalogue as well a chance to participate
in a scholarship program or an award is offered. To achieve the goals of
6
the EFTA Program, this guidebook approaches the teaching of art with the
means to provide the student the tools for an understanding of art as well
as serving as a means of tapping into the studentʼs creativity.
Further, it should be noted that strong benefit that the young students
receive from the instruction and interaction of arts education programs is
the promotion of natural language patterns that seek information, opinion,
reflection, and critical comments. For at-risk youth, this type of opportunity
to improve communication skills is invaluable as they often come from a
world where positive, interactive communication is a rare commodity.
The Expressing Feelings Through Art Program addresses both creativity
and improved communications. In their report, Heath and Roach describe
arts education programs as providing, as a matter of course, the
opportunities for youth to "…engage in regular exchanges with older peers
and adults around problem posing and hypothetical reasoning. These
language forms emerge naturally, for they move along a group task that
must be accomplished in a certain way to a high standard within a given
period of time. A significant outcome of their participation in such art
programs that set the stage for regular verbal expression is that the youth's
self-image and self-esteem increase greatly." Contact with the arts offers a
positive stimulus and can interrupt the drift into a negative lifestyle. Itʼs
exciting to watch this creative and personal growth in young people.
Marilyn Palmer, M.S. Social Worker, Therapist Educator, Visual Artist
7
The Creative Process
What is the benefit of pursuing the creative process? Letʼs look at a typical
art class based upon learning how to view and analyze a particular aspect
of art. The student is then asked to render a piece with accurate
proportions, shading, and color, emphasizing technical skills and
craftsmanship.
In order to be able to express oneʼs self in an individual manner one does
need to have these technical skills knowledge. For example, the
understanding of the post impressionists using vibrant and sometimes
swirling colors, such as the famous Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh,
which gives an electric feeling to a piece can be used to enhance oneʼs
creative endeavors.
Most well schooled artists can talk endlessly about a particular work or a
particular style. It is speculated that it has become personal to him or her-
something to use or discard when rendering the artistʼs own artwork. Most
teenagers do not have the background to become enthusiastic about
engaging in this type of discussion.
It is obviously important to understand creativity. On Wikipedia creativity is
described as a mental and social process involving the generation of new
ideas or concepts or new associations of the creative mind between
existing ideas or concepts. Creativity is fueled by the process of either
conscious or unconscious insight. An alternative conception of creativeness
is that it is simply the act of making something new. From a scientific point
of view, the products of creative thought (sometimes referred to as
8
divergent thought) are usually considered to have both originality and
appropriateness. Although intuitively a simple phenomenon, creativity is in
fact quite complex. It has been studied from the perspectives of behavioral
psychology, social psychology, psychometrics, cognitive science, artificial
intelligence, philosophy, history, economics, design research, business and
management among others. The studies have covered everyday creativity,
exceptional creativity and even artificial creativity.
Unlike many phenomena in science, there is no single, authoritative
perspective or definition of creativity. Unlike many phenomena in
psychology, there is no standardized measurement technique. Many say it
can be taught with the application of simple techniques.
Creativity has been associated with right or forehead brain activity,
specifically with lateral thinking. This type of thinking is a term used to
describe the solution of problems through an indirect and creative
approach. Lateral thinking is about reasoning that is not immediately
obvious and about ideas that may not be obtainable by using only
traditional step-by-step logic. Some students of creativity have even
emphasized an element of chance in the creative process.
Another adequate definition of creativity is that it is an "assumptions-
breaking process." Creative ideas are often generated when one discards
preconceived assumptions and attempts a new approach or method that
might seem to others unthinkable. It is hoped that the art exercises in this
manual will help the student discard preconceived ideas about how a
particular piece can be approached.
9
5 STAGES OF CREATIVE INSIGHTS
Creative insights and illuminations may be explained by a process
consisting of 5 stages:
Preparation
Preparatory work on a problem that focuses the mind on the
problem.
Incubation
Where the problem is internalized into the unconscious mind
and nothing appears externally to be happening,
Intimation
The creative person gets a 'feeling' that a solution is on its way,
Illumination
Or insight, where the creative idea bursts forth from its
preconscious processing into conscious awareness.
Verification
Where the idea is consciously verified, elaborated, and then
applied-In this case during the art exercises presented in this
manual.
There are various creative techniques proposed by the experts in this field.
These include:
1. Establishing purpose and intent.
2. Building basic skills
10
3. Encouraging acquisitions of domain-specific knowledge
4. Stimulating and rewarding curiosity and exploration
5. Building motivation, especially internal motivation
6. Encouraging confidence and a willingness to take risks
7. Focusing on mastery and self-competition
8. Promoting supportable beliefs about creativity
9.Teaching techniques and strategies for facilitating creative
performance
Some see the conventional system of schooling as “stifling” of creativity.
One must have artistic knowledge, however, to best present their own
stamp on their individual pieces. Often these are better understood by the
adolescents when work included in the classroom speaks more directly and
relates to the student. This hopefully will inspire the student to acquire a
critical eye as well as practice the techniques and rules in drawing.
The decision, for example, to deviate from accurate perspective can be a
meaningful one-a freshness of ideas-if the young artist can first understand
the principles of perspective. There is no way an artist can convey what he
or she wishes to convey without the adequate tools and teaching instruction
at hand. Thus, it is the perspective of this manual to only present exercises
designed to augment required course material in line with California
Standards as well as promoting self-expression when completing required
projects.
11
How do we do this? Various components in the exercises promoting self
expression are presented as follows. A review and introduction to important
works will be presented, hopefully increasing the understanding the critical
areas of critique, and analysis along with instruction of the various
techniques used in each body of work.
Exercises aimed at promoting creativity will then be presented. The student
will be encouraged to translate his or her feelings into writing about the
piece of work that represents him or her.
12
The Purpose of Art
In pondering the definition of Art one really needs to understand that art is a
communication. Let us first look at art as a personal function. We need to
ask what the artist is trying to convey. This brings us to the purpose of art.
Many, in fact, most artists create art in order to express personal feelings.
It is my belief that many visual people use art as a way of pictorially putting
a feeling outside themselves. Words are then found to describe and explain
the piece that he or she created. This results in a better understanding of
their feelings.
Studying the lives of artists will help the viewer understand the painting and
might even give the viewer a greater understanding of him or herself by
noticing how he or she relates to the particular piece. For example,
imparting information about the lives of both Frida Kahlo and Edvard
Munch will readily give the student a good example of how art is used as
personal communication.
Art is also a social function. Who better to study then Pieter Brugel? I have
a feeling that (at least the adolescent girls) students will be fascinated by
The Wedding Banquet. You might want to ask the student “Where is the
groom?” The picture tells us much about the villagers portrayed. The
emphasis is on food rather than the religious ceremony of matrimony.
What does this say about the time period?
It is known of course that Brugel was a master painter. The world of his art
is the country in which he lived; its landscapes and its people-and of these
13
people, their typical activities, their ever recurrent sufferings and joys, their
ancient traditions and their customs and follies.
As a social function we also might look at more contemporary art. In the
Los Angeles area there are many murals representing the community and
cultures. It is interesting to note that one of the first murals painted at the
East Los Angeles State Service Center was initiated to prevent gang graffiti
by soliciting the gang taggers to paint a mural in order to avoid more
defacing of The State Service Center building. From this experiment
emerged a number of murals in the East Los Angeles area depicting
community life. One can go to the web site and view East Los
Streetscapers among other murals.
Website: http://www.grconnect.com/murals/html/pg12339.html
Turning to art as a spiritual function the student might want to look at the
prehistoric cave paintings of animals along with the more traditional forms
of spiritual art. It is speculated that many artists create their art to express
spiritual beliefs about the destiny of life controlled by the force of a higher
power. We might ask if this is why the cave painters depicted these
animals.
There are physical functions of art abound in the Los Angeles Area-the
Disney Concert Hall which can be viewed at as well as the relatively new
Lady of Angels Church.
Website: http://www.e.n.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walt_Disney_Concert_Hall
14
The Educational function of art in todayʼs modern world is often created to
provide visual instruction such as those we see in ads or public service
signs. However, one can view Guernica by Picasso which depicts the
bombing of Guernica, Spain during the Spanish Civil War. This gives us a
perpetual reminder of the tragedies of war and increases our understanding
of the necessity of an embodiment of peace. Some of the same can be said
for Diego Rivera who gives us a similar perspective from a different
country.
Two more contemporary, but controversial artists: Banksy and Masami
Teraoka present much of their artwork as a way of influencing and
educating the viewer. At this point I want to introduce Banksy. It should be
mentioned that he carefully manages to keep his real name from the
mainstream media. However, many newspapers assert that his real name
is Robert or Robin Banks.
Banksy, despite not calling himself an artist, has been considered by some
as talented in that respect; he uses his original street art form, often in
combination with a distinctive stenciling technique, to promote alternative
aspects of politics from those promoted by the mainstream media. Some
believe that his stenciled graffiti provides a voice for those living in urban
environments that could not otherwise express themselves, and that his
work is also something which improves the aesthetic quality of urban
surroundings.
Website: http://www.artofthestate.co.uk/banksy/Banksy-last-graffiti-before-
motorway.htm
15
Masami Teraoka is another well-known contemporary California artist who
has attempted to educate the public regarding the environment, the
overabundance of commercialism as well as the ramifications of AIDS. One
can view 31 Flavors Invading Japan which educates the viewer about the
cultural impact of worldwide commercialism promoted by large industries.
Website: http://www.theartatjapan.com/artdetail.asp?Inv:09071376
After a review of art as communication it is suggested that exercises
designed to enhance expressing feelings through art be presented.
ART AS COMMUNICATION EXERCISES
Art as a personal statement
Materials: Craypas, oil chalks, acrylics or pastels, large paper
Instructions: Draw an outline of a face-circular, triangular, square or oval
taking up approximately two-thirds of the paper. Think of one emotion to
convey-anger, calmness, joy, excitement etc. Draw in features then use
color to emphasize the expressions you wish to convey. Add color to as
much as possible on your rendering including the background.
Write about this exercise in the first person, for example, “I have brilliant
hair that twists and turns. My eyes are wide open. They are blue and
intense. I am wearing much jewelry and am surrounded by the stars and
nighttime sky. The emotion I am feeling is excitement.” For students who
are drawing only, this exercise may be done with an art pencil instead and
16
instructed to elaborate the features and background as much as possible.
The student will also write about this exercise in the first person only.
Art as a Social Function:
Materials: oil chalks, acrylics or pastels, large paper
Instructions: Think of the last personal interaction you had in your home
school or community. Quickly sketch in figures of the people present at this
interaction and sketch stick type figures or symbols of people if you wish.
Color the figure standing for yourself that expresses your mood in this
interaction. Write a description of the type of interaction. How did you feel?
Why did you color the figure of yourself the way you did? Describe the
others in the interaction. How did you feel about them?
For students who are drawing only, this exercise may be done with an art
pencil instead and the student instructed to elaborate the interaction and
background as much as possible. Write a description of the type of
interaction. How did you feel? Why did you sketch the figure of yourself in
the particular position you chose? Describe the others in the interaction.
How did you feel about them?
Another Communication Exercise
Materials: oil chalks or pen, large paper, magazines and photos
Instructions: Think of a symbol that represents how you feel about your
place in the universe. This symbol can be abstract or realistic. Place your
symbol in the center of the paper. Color your symbol if possible. Surround
17
this symbol with photos, or pictures you find in magazines of those people
or objects that inspire you. Write about your symbol. What does it represent
to you? Discuss those people or objects that inspire you. Why are they
important to you?
18
The Element of Line
The student must be educated the about the kinds of line and understand
that line is an element of art that is the path of a moving point through
space. There are often lines that describe the darkness or lightness of an
object. There are also implied lines that consist of series of points that the
viewerʼs eyes automatically connect.
At this point after analyzing how lines are used in the works of varying
artists, such as Matisse and his beautiful paintings, you will see horizontal
lines, vertical lines, bold lines, curvy lines and almost any other line that
you can imagine, but not specifically notice at first. Your eyes are drawn to
all of the key points of Matisseʼs paintings. This brings us to the expressive
qualities of line. We know that curvy lines express activity and curved lines
are used to create decoration and luxury.
Website: http://en.wikipedia.orgHerni_Matisse
On other sites such as www.virtualfreesites.com/museumshtml, we can see
many works of art using different types of lines as a prominent feature.
Contour drawing might be introduced at this time. In fact starting each class
with a brief contour drawing that one simply throws away might be a good
exercise to help the artist loosen up and release the tension in his or her
body. I often am awed by the looseness of some paintings. The lines and
color seem to flow on the page and take up just the right amount of space.
19
I imagine that if one wants to perform without tightness or tension, it is
important to let your pen, pencil or brush just flow. I have often thought that
musicians practice scales and brief exercises before performing for just this
very reason. I wonder why more artists do not have the habit of completing
brief contour paintings before working on a chosen piece.
I am always reminded by a story I read about Arthur Rubenstein. He only
practiced bits and pieces of works that he intended to perform live. He
claimed the practice of never practicing the whole concert kept him fresh
and able to really match his skill with his creativity. This way his music
stayed creatively alive. I think that it is so important for the artist to rid him
or herself of the critique that we all carry.
This is particularly difficult for adolescents. We know that the only “right” in
contour drawing is keeping the steady unbroken line moving and not
looking at the drawing. This very exercise gives practice in ignoring the
critic inside him or herself.
LINE EXERCISES
I realize that different technical exercises need to be presented to the
student in order for the student to have a good understanding of types of
lines and the place line plays in various works of art. My feeling is to also
suggest to the teacher to introduce some exercises that demonstrate the
power of lines. The first exercise is for the student to draw a line of his or
her choice and then to practice describing it in the first person.
20
Material: Pen or pencil (chose any color you wish) 8” X 11” piece of white
paper.
Instruction: Draw any kind of line you want on the piece of paper. In fact
draw your favorite kind of line. It can be curvy or straight, go in any direction
or even reverse it self. It can be simple or complex. Describe your line in
the first person. Example: “I am curvy at first, but then straighten-out, I also
start out thin, but after a while become bold. I have a neutral color and look
somewhat interesting anyway.”
My second exercise is designed to demonstrate the power of line to both
the artist and the observer. Students will work in pairs and in silence.
Materials: Various pens or markers, large piece of news print. The teacher
is to place students in pairs and instruct them not to talk to each other.
Instructions: Each student is chose a marker, pen or pencil in a color they
wish to draw with. Each student will be instructed to place his or her
drawing instrument on a spot on the paper where he or she feels
comfortable. Then the two partners will begin drawing lines. There are no
rules except that the lines must be continuous. They can be thick, thin,
curvy, cross their partnerʼs or not. The facilitator should stop this exercise
when all students appear complete. The students are then asked to
describe this experience. This description can be written and if the student
feels comfortable read to the class. Was this experience a good one for the
student? Did he or she feel his or her own line was respected by his
partner? Did he or she feel comfortable about his or individual line?
21
NOTE TO FACILITATOR: Often a student will cross anotherʼs line and this causes discomfort to his or her partner. Conversely the student may try to do every thing to avoid his partnerʼs line. I think this exercise demonstrates clearly the power of lines. This might be pointed out to the student.
A final exercise is a contour approach with the studentʼs drawing tool to
be mainly used in a continuous pattern. I might suggest that while
completing this exercise the student use a modified contour technique
where he or she occasionally glances at his or her drawing and modifies it,
lifting his or her pencil if the drawing runs off course. The student needs to
lift the pencil to where he or she feels the drawing should be continued.
Occasional erasing and touching up afterward is fine.
Materials: Drawing pencil and blank paper
Instructions: Imagine a scene from the past. Tapping into your
imagination, use a contour approach to draw the scene. This scene must
include yourself or others-perhaps family or friends. Use a contour
approach in drawing what you remember. After completion, ask yourself
what this scene feels like to you?
At this point the works and life of Benny Andrews might be presented. He
was a remarkable African-American artist whose bibliography can be found
on Wikipedia. Further his work titled Preacher is a good example of his use
of modified contour before he perfected his final piece.
Website: http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/ngelArticle.jsp?id=h-1042
22
Shape, Form and Space
Each object in the world has form or depth. Art elements such as shape,
form and space are closely related to each other. First, the student needs
to understand that shape is a two-dimensional area that is defined in some
manner. A shape may have an outline or boundary around it.
You may also recognize the shape of an object by the area around it.
Shapes are classified as geometric or free form. Free form shapes are
defined as irregular and uneven shapes. Their boundaries may be curved,
angular or a combination of both.
Not all shapes are naturally occurring organic objects although snowflakes
and soap bubbles are among many geometric forms found in nature. There
are some other terms commonly used to describe form and shape in
composition; these have to do with what kind of representations the forms
have. If we can recognize every day objects and environments, we refer to
the images as being realistic, or naturalistic.
However, if the images are difficult or impossible to identify in terms of our
normal, daily visual experience, we may refer to the images as abstract.
There are several kinds of abstract images.
Generally, abstractions are "abstracted" or derived from realistic images-
perhaps even distorted, but in such a way that the source is not
immediately apparent. An example of this would be one of Georgia
O'keefe's paintings of a detail from a flower. This kind of abstraction in art is
23
sometimes referred to as an objective image-that is, it is derived from an
actual object.
On the other hand, some abstract art images are based on a pure study of
form, line, and color, and do not refer to any real-world object or scene.
These types of art works are sometimes referred to as non-objective
images.
Caricature is a special instance of abstraction, in which realistic images are
distorted to make a statement about the people, places, or objects
portrayed. This is probably the kind of abstraction we are most familiar with,
as it is constantly presented to us via all sorts of popular media.
However, it is important to remember that had not the more-difficult-to-
understand conventions of abstraction in the fine arts broken ground with
experiments in distortion, we would not be able to make sense out of some
caricature images. A century ago, there was really nothing equivalent to our
modern caricature.
After a presentation of this subject some creative exercises could be
presented. In particular I like use scribble drawings. The young artist is free
to use his or her imagination completely.
SHAPE EXERCISES
Materials: A large piece of news print, art pencil, oil chalks
Instructions: Using a black oil chalk, scribble over the entire sheet of
paper. Then you need to spend some time looking at your scribble drawing.
24
Look carefully at your paper and see if you can find objects or faces in your
drawing. Use to use a full range of colors of your choice to fill in the objects
or faces with which you identify. Find as many possible shapes to fill in with
several shapes to complete one object.
Upon completion of the exercise the student is to write down what his
drawing means to him or her. How does he or she feel about this exercise?
For students who are drawing only, this exercise may be done with an art
pencil instead and the student instructed to fill in shapes with varying
intensity of graphite so that faces and/shapes are recognizable. Written
section remains the same.
A second exercise I might present is to ask the student to take a black
and white photograph of him or herself. This photograph should be as
expressive as possible. Taking this photo in a darkened room will enable
the artist to achieve dramatic contrast. Experimentation with angling the
light will help achieve the desired contrast. An alternative to this exercise
for those students not involved in photography is to bring in a photo of
themselves which is expressive in some manner.
Materials: A black and white self-portrait taken by the student or bring a
preferably black and white photo of him or herself that is expressive.
Instructions: Write about how lighting affects the expressiveness of your
photo. Do you see shapes in the photograph? Is this a “true “picture” of who
you are? Why? Why not? What expressions do you see in the photo?
25
Hue, Value and Intensity
Color is actually the most expressive element of art. For the purpose of this
manual, understanding the nature and uses of color will be emphasized,
especially since artists use color to express ideas and emotions. It must be
understood that the pigment, the binder, the solvent and the surface to
which the paint adheres all affect the color one uses.
When artists use colors to express feelings they usually ignore the actual
real life colors of the objects that they are painting. Thus, arbitrary color is
used-color that affects and expresses feelings. The placement of a
particular color can denote depth and a sense of movement. A wonderful
example of the use of color to express feelings and emotions can be seen
in the works of Franz Marc. In fact he had his own personal theory of art,
which included a theory of color symbolism. For example in his painting
Yellow Cow he used the color yellow to depict gentleness.
Website:
http://wwwibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/masc/ .
It might be interesting for the art student to draw an outline of a facial profile
and color it with colors that have personal meaning for him or her. The self-
portraits of Van Gogh are certainly a good example of the use of this
technique.
Certainly color does play a significant role in expressing emotion. Bright
colors often express excitement, while duller or darker ones can express
relaxation, depression, sleepiness, or other low-key emotions. Contrast can
26
also express emotion. A painting that uses shades of color in the same
spectrum will have a different emotional tone than a painting that uses hues
from different spectra.
Throughout history color has always been associated with the emotions
found in humans. According to Terwogt and Hoeksma we often hear a
person described as green with envy or feeling blue. Other people are
described as viewing the world through rose-colored spectacles. We have
sometimes heard individuals be seen as purple with fury rather than just
state the biological fact that humans perceive color as trichromatic.
Two renowned researchers, Thomas Young and Hermann von Helmholtz,
contributed to the trichromatic theory of color vision. The theory began
when Thomas Young proposed that color vision results from the actions of
three different receptors and that these colors can be influenced in
laboratory or internal environments by brightness and saturation. Most
researchers also believe that color is perceived not only biologically, but
emotionally, and can instigate actual physiological reaction patterns within
us.
These emotions, which are triggered by reactions to certain colors, are
almost certainly based on emotions, which occurred during similar
circumstances when previous exposure to the color occurred. The
perception of color is a highly subjective experience, which is greatly
influenced by past events and connections between colors and seemingly
unrelated stimuli. Humans are seen as passive recipients of the multiple
27
stimuli, which accompany the introduction of the humans to color according
to Schachtel.
The works of Mondrian may be of particular interest to the student.
Mondrian constructed lines and color combination on a flat surface that he
stated was in order to express beauty. He was inspired by nature and has
informed his future viewers that while contemplating nature he felt great
emotion. His goal was to express this in the simplest possible manner.
Mondrian was thus led to abstraction.
COLOR EXERCISES
Material: Blank piece of paper or canvas; You will also need several
different colored markers, crayons, pens, and colored pencils.
Instructions: Now think about your feelings, and use these imagining a
single shape or image. Find a spot in the middle of the page and draw this
image using a black marker.
Now color in this image using your other tools. Add as much or as little
details as you like to this image, and keep in mind what it is associated
with. You can use simple symbols like hearts, clouds, stars, or whatever
you feel is appropriate. Next draw a few long black lines coming from the
image out to the sides of the paper. Fill in images at the end of each line
and color them in. Feel free to add multiple images to each line if you like.
28
Write about your symbol and how you felt putting this symbol on paper.
What do the colors you chose mean to you? How do you feel about
completing this exercise?
Another exercise involves the use of geometric shapes combined with
writing a personal statement.
Materials: Canvas or art paper. Acrylics including black, permanent black
art pen and pencil.
Instructions: Concentrate on canvas and divide into several random
horizontal, diagonal and vertical lines using a light lead pencil. Chose
several colors that appeal to you and color in all geomantic figures.
Outline all borders of the painting in black acrylic. When completed use
marker to draw any designs or objects that have particular meaning to you.
Write across the face of painting any personal statements that you wish.
29
Mood Painting
One of the purposes of this manual is for the artist to capture the essence
of a mood. What kind of mood is up to the student and could well be
influenced by what season the student currently finds him or herself in
according to several experts.
If the student is in the northern hemisphere the student may find him or
herself in mid-summer, while in the southern it may be mid-winter. It could
be happiness, in a state of laughter, sleepiness, envy, jealousy,
depression, sadness, anger or frustration. A painting does not need to
include a figure or a face. A student needs to know how colors convey
moods - what color is the studentʼs, most comfortable color? Does he or
she wear dark clothes on dull rainy days or bright colors to try and feel
better about the day?
The student also needs to think also about texture and brush strokes, and
how these convey mood. A heavy impasto work has quite a different feel to
a work done in smooth washes or glazes. A painting knife could be used to
apply paint heavily and to slash at the paint.
Here are a few ideas for the student, but really it should reflect the mood
he or she is in when the painting is started, or an intense one that he or she
can recall clearly:
• The happiness you feel when you are around a close friend.
• An abstract using bright, cheerful colors to reflect a day when
everything goes right.
30
• An abstract using dark colors to reflect a bad day.
• A passionate monochromatic painting using only reds. Or green, the
traditional color of jealousy.
• A self-portrait showing how you feel about yourself or how you think
others perceive.
An exercise is presented that will help the student create a painting that
illustrates the mood of an event or experience in his or her life. He or she
will create visual solutions by elaborating on his or her individual
experiences. The event or experience can be happy or sad.
The colors used can are up to the student: They can be either bright and
with high intensity to represent happy times or dull and low intensity for sad
times. Figures and objects in the paintings should be stylized in the sense
that they can be easily identified, but simple.
MOOD EXERCISE
Materials: Watercolors, watercolor paper, stiff drawing board, scrapes of
paper, large, medium, and small bristled water color brush.
Instructions: Use watercolors and sheets of scrape paper. Practice mixing
complementary colors to create low-intensity and high-intensity colors.
After brainstorming about a happy or sad event, think about objects that
you associate with this event. Sketch several simple representations of
these objects.
31
Look at your sample colors on the scrapes of paper. Which colors best fit
the objects and the mood you are trying to communicate? Tape a piece of
heavy water color paper to a stiff drawing board. Reproduce a simple
sketch of your best idea including all the objects and figures that belong
with the idea onto your paper. Begin painting using the colors you have
chosen to express your mood. Complete this exercise by writing a
paragraph describing the mood you wished to convey and describe how the
objects or figures you incorporated into the painting relate to the event you
are representing.
32
Texture
At his point I will present some basic information about texture and the
manner that texture can be used in painting. Our minds are actually full of
texture memories.
We know that texture in painting is can be difficult to define. Texture refers
to more than to the roughness of smoothness of a work of art. It also refers
too the subtle gradations of surface difference. This is achieved by the
quality of the brushstrokes and also the addition of foreign element into the
work of art. When used carefully, it adds to the meaning and depth of an
artwork. On the other hand, if texture is used inharmoniously, then it can
become a negative.
It may be well worth to introduce Janet Fishʼs paintings. Her portrayal of
texture is phenomenal. Often she uses pastels in order to create shiny-
smooth, matte–smooth, matte-rough and shiny-rough all in one piece.
Website: http://www.artnet.com/artist/6229/janet-fish.html
It should be noted that instead of depending on visual texture, many artists
such as van Gogh use thick paint with swirling brushstrokes to create a
rough surface. The surfaces painted on in this manner, makes the paint
appear brighter. This is because the surfaces of the ridges actually catch
more light and reflect brighter colors to the viewer.
The way in which you paint, thus, involves texture. For example, if your
strokes are gentle and smooth the overall texture if the painting will be
33
smooth and even. Painting in a more "expressionistic" fashion, with broad
and impulse strokes, creates a different texture that is rougher and more
dynamic to the eye. A good painting will involve both these extremes.
The student might want to take a spare canvas and use this as an area on
which to practice. Try different brushstrokes using varying amounts of
paint. It is a good idea to build up a reference library of different textural
effects. It is also obvious, but important to note that the surface that you
use becomes an important factor in the creation of texture.
TEXTURE EXERCISE
The following exercise is somewhat more complex than the others
presented in this manual. However, it is well worth while as the student will
have the opportunity to learn how to reproduce his or her particular work
with out expensive printing materials. This exercise will produce a self-
portrait in collagragh form. Hopefully, materials can be found in a
secondary art class. Again, this exercise is well worth the effort
Materials: Heavy cardboard, variety of textured material, scissors, gloss
medium or latex paint, printing paper-white, water based printing ink, tray
and brayers, printing press, paper towels and glue.
Instructions: Sketch a self-portrait. Using a strong light source will produce
contrasting areas of light and dark. Outline dark and light areas with a pen.
Transfer your drawing to a heavy cardboard. This will be your printing plate.
I always use tracing and one-sided graphite paper. Choose two materials
with different textures. Assign one texture to the dark areas and one to the
34
light. Cut pieces of the respective materials the shape and size of each
area and affix to the printing plate.
Next, waterproof the printing plate by covering it with gloss medium or latex
paint. Choose paper for your print and a color. Soak your paper in water.
Use paper towels to squeeze out all excess water. Pour ink into a tray and
roll the brayer through the ink to coat it. Apply the ink to the plate surface
you want to print. Place this plate on the press. Place dampened paper
over the printing plate. Put dry towels over the paper and run layers through
the press.
After print dries write a paragraph about yourself. What kind of person do
you see in your print? How do you think others see you?
35
Rhythm and Movement
In order to convey feelings and ideas artists use rhythm. Rhythm can be
monotonous. It can be predictable and comforting or it can be symbolic. It
creates visual movement, which is the principle of art used to create the
look and feeling of action and to guide the viewerʼs eyes throughout the
work of art.
There are several types of rhythm. Some rhythm is random. It appears to
have no order. For example, if one were to paint or draw crowds of people,
every person would have individual space around him or her. Other
rhythms are quite regular, such as a picture of a display of some sort.
However, there is also flowing rhythm that is created in a simple form by
wavy lines. Examples of flowing rhythm in art pieces might include
paintings of rolling hills or ocean waves.
Jacob Lawrence, a notable African-American artist, whose paintings have a
story-like quality appears to use a gesture technique to express movement
in his pieces. Many of his pieces encompassed dancing girls.
Website: http://whitney.org/jacoblawrence/art/education.html
RHYTHM AND MOVEMENT EXERCISES
A presentation and exercise in action drawing will assist the student to
better express his or her ideas and feelings.
Materials: Drawing pen, acrylic paint, canvas
36
Instructions: You are going to try to capture the action various figures are
performing. A likeness or correct proportions are not important in this
exercise. You are going to identify the action the figure is doing, with his/her
body. Individual body parts are not important here - only the curve or
direction of the main bodily movement. Try to FEEL the line of movement,
the fullness of the curves. (Have several students take an action pose like
running or throwing a ball).
Imagine a central wire going inside the figure from the tips of the fingers in
the air to the bottom of the ankle. This is the action line you are seeking -
and you want to do this quickly, in a matter of seconds. Once you have
drawn the central axis of the figure, go back and circulate around and
through the figure, to define the secondary movements, like the arms, hips
and legs.
The second step is to cut the figures out leaving space around your figure
and following the lines of the figure. Arrange several shapes on watercolor
paper, emphasizing a flowing rhythmic movement. Trace around these
shapes. Paint these figures. Paint the background with a color scheme that
will contrast harmoniously. When you are finished write about the mood
your work expresses. How so you feel about your representations of the
figures? Can you relate or not to the mood of the painting?
For students who are drawing only, this exercise may be done with an art
pencil instead and the artist instructed to elaborate the figures and
background as much as possible. The student will also write about this
exercise in the first person only.
37
Visual Balance
When one speaks of balance in art, one is describing the distribution of
“weight” or activity in a composition. First, we can turn to symmetrical
balance, which is the exact of even balance along a centerline or axis. One
does this by using radical symmetry; rotating around a center point. Exact
symmetry is a mirror image or an exactly repeated design and axial
symmetry is having two opposing repeats, one on each side of the center
point.
However, there is also asymmetrical balance that is not exact, but
counterbalanced with contrasts, such as dull and bright colors, dark with
light values, geometric with organic shapes, active and inactive areas.
Conversely we can have approximate symmetry where the overall
organization in which an “even” placement of color and form is represented.
The final type of balance is called “occult”. In this case the background is a
very dominant feature.
If visual balance creates a feeling that the elements have been arranged
just right, visual imbalance creates the opposite feeling. In fact it causes a
feeling of uneasiness. In visual arts the feeling of balance must be seen.
There are several types of balance. The most common type of balance for
the student is formal balance. In this type of balance there is a central axis
where the same or similar objects are placed on the opposite side of the
center of the art piece. Similar to this is radical balance, except the center
focal point appears to pop out or radiate from a central point in the picture.
38
The most interesting type of balance is informal balance. Informal balance
is the balance on opposite sides of a point, by one or more elements that
are different or contrasting elements. Let's say we had a picture of a child
playing with some blocks. If you fold the picture in the middle, on the one
hand, you would only focus on the baby, but on the other side it would be
confined to the blocks.
Here you have two completely different things that do not look even
remotely the same, but that's okay. Informal balance is less obvious
because their subjects are often not uniform. They, in fact, vary
considerably. There is nothing wrong with that, because there is more to
the viewer to appreciate.
Balance is also influenced by size and contour. Obviously a large form will
appear heavier than a small form. Thus, several small forms can balance
one large form. Color also influences balance in an art piece. A high
intensity color has more visual appearing weight. Therefore, a large area of
a dull color can be balanced by a small area of a high intensity color. You
might want to view the works of Emily Carr who beautifully illustrates the
use of informal balance.
Website: http://www.bertc.com/subtwo/g102/index.htm
39
BALANCE EXERCISE
Materials: Drawing paper, pen or pencil, acrylic paint.
Instructions: Draw on your creativity to design five favorite objects of your
choice that exhibit informal balance, using the definition of informal balance
as the balance on opposite sides of a point, by one or more elements that
are different or contrasting elements.
Use elements of color, shape, size and/or intensity of the medium to
informally balance these objects. Describe the objects in you drawing.
What do they mean to you? How do you feel about the objects you
completed in this exercise? What does the way you placed your objects
mean to you? Does your composition feel comfortable to you? Why or why
not?
For students who are drawing only, this exercise may be completed with an
art pencil, elaborating the objects with intensity and size. The student will
answer the questions as stated above.
40
Proportion
Proportion is the primary concern of how each part of a work of art relates
to the other part. One needs to look at several aspects of proportion. If we
look at scale in a work of art, we notice size as measured against a
standard reference. For example, the famous statue of David by
Michelangelo inspires awe when first viewed. It stands thirteen feet, five
inches.
As one looks around the gallery hall, the difference between the statue and
the size of the average person in the audience is stunning. The size of
David coupled with his muscular body conveys a tension with gathering
power, in spite of the relaxed pose. There is a feeling of energy in reserve.
There are kinds of proportions however different than size. We know that
many artists use correct proportions in their pieces in order for their
subjects to be recognizable. However, many other artists use exaggeration
and distortion to express works with unusual expressive qualities. By the
use of exaggeration and distortion the artist has tapped into a powerful
means of expression. Thus, moods and feelings can easily be understood
by the viewer.
Well-known examples of this can be seen in the works of Marc Chagall. His
figures fly and bend in an impossible manner. Hands and heads are either
too small or too large and painted unusual colors. His paintings are
whimsical and riveting.
Website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_Chagall
41
It is the opinion of this writer that the use of distortion is used most
effectively when the young artist has had practice with traditional art skills.
However, to the use of creative art exercises the adolescent will learn to tap
into his or her creativity and in the future be more able to incorporate the art
of distortion into his or her completed art works.
42
Some Final Thoughts…
As I reached the conclusion of this manual, I realized I ended it with a
discussion about an area I began to use as I was becoming more involved
with my artwork. It was through the use of my own experience with creative
art exercises that I was able to merge these experiences with a more
traditional art background. I finished this manual addressing the area of
distortion. In order to truly express myself I have attempted to use distortion
to more fully convey a personal statement.
What personally emerges for me in completing creative art exercises is a
recurring theme of an ominous background of some sort coupled with a
figure of a person surviving in spite of his or her vulnerability. Most of the
art exercises that I complete contain this theme in some form. I have used
these exercises as the basis for more fully developed paintings.
Upon further contemplation I realized that I have drawn heavily on the
experiences in my own life. I do believe that the gift of life is to be treasured
and striven for with all of one's strength even in the most vulnerable of
times. Often I have turned to painting angels weathering the environment. I
have included a painting in this manual of one of my angels sitting on a tree
branch weathering the storm.
I do hope that your students learn to value their owe uniqueness and find
their own themes.
~Marilyn Palmer