VAC Notebook

1. Introduction

Section 1: The History of Drawing

2. Ancient Art

3. Middle Ages

4 Rennaissance

5. Baroque

6. The 1800’s to the 1900’s

7. 1900’s onwards

8. Modernism

Angela Clarke. PME 1 2015. NCAD School of Education.

Section 2: Techniques and materials

9. Drawing Media

10. Types of Drawing

11. Figure Studies - from line to tone

12. Perspective and Shadow

13. Symbolism

12. Composition

14. The Art Elements: Form and Space

15. The Art Elements: Line

16. The Art Elements: Pattern & Shape

17. The Art Elements: Colour

18. The Art Elements: Texture

Section 3: 1916

19. 1916 Research

20. 1916 Support Studies

21. 1916 Preliminary Drawings

22. 1916 Final Artwork

Contents

Introduction to drawing

Drawing is the linear rendition of objects in the visible world, as well as of concepts, thoughts, attitudes, emotions and fantasies given visual form; of symbols and even of abstract form.

Drawing often can be the preliminary or rough sketch, which can lead to the creation of artwork and in effect, is the basis of all visual arts.

Like other art forms, drawing has changed and developed through history. Each new style grew out of the style that came before it. This evolution of drawing styles closely parallels the development of painting. As drawing styles changed, so did drawing materials.

Drawing expresses the draughtsman’s personality spontaneously in the flow of the line, making it one of the most personal of all artistic statements.

Drawing encompassses three basic categories: Casual drawing, Preparatory Drawing and Finished Drawing.

Jan Vredeman De Vries

Henry Moore. Raphael. 1483-1520. St. Peter and St. john from ‘The Transfiguration’

Harry Clarke. 1889-1931. ‘Morella’ (Detail).

Preparatory Sketches for Fresco

Architectural Perspective Drawing

Preliminary Studies for sculpture

Illustration

Ancient Art

Egyptian

Ancient Egyptians (beginning about 3000 B.C.) decorated the walls of their temples and tombs with scenes of daily life. These drawings had a flat, linear style.

Their drawings depicted, Gods, animals, and humans. The ideas were often dictated by the current Pharaoh.

Greek

Greek drawing (prior to 800 B.C.) was not recorded on paper or stone, but on pottery surfaces.

These vases were often decorated with geometric designs and events of the time (like wrestling and other sports). The figures were often shown as silhouettes. After 500B.C. these drawings became more realistic, with natural proportions and attention to detail.

Roman

The earliest Roman art is generally associated with the overthrow of the Etruscan kings and the establishment of the Republic in 509 BC. Roman art is traditionally divided into two main periods, art of the Republic and art of the Roman Empire (from 27 BC on), with subdivisions corresponding to the major emperors or imperial dynasties.

Roman art includes architecture, painting, sculpture and mosaic work.

Middle Ages

In the Middle Ages, from about the 400’s to the 1400’s, art was produced mainly to glorify God and to teach religion. Painting and drawing merged in the illustration of Bibles and prayer books produced by monks. These beautifully decorated manuscripts were hand-lettered on vellum (calfskin), or later, on paper.

Drawings were used in the preparatory stages of a work of art during the Middle Ages, but few survive. Paper was not made in Europe until the 1100’s. Artists sometimes drew on prepared animal skins such as parchment or vellum. For centuries, artists made their preparatory drawings on tablets made of slate, wood, or wax. These tablets were thrown away or reused.

Drawings had another important function during the Middle Ages. They helped artists keep a record of images they frequently used. Artists then copied drawings instead of working directly from live models or from nature.

Christ Enthroned. 9th Century. The Book of Kells.The Eagle symbol of St John the Evangelist. 7th Century. The Book of Dimma.

Rennaissance

Modern drawing in Europe began in the 1400’s in Italy, during the period known as the Renaissance. The production of drawings increased steadily, because paper had become easier to obtain and because of the new importance attached to drawing.

Drawing came to be considered the foundation for work in all the arts. Art students first trained in drawing before going on to painting, sculpture, or architecture. Drawing was used as a tool for the study of nature, which was becoming increasingly important. Artists

carefully studied the physical structure of the human body for the first time and began to draw from nude models. The portrayal of the human figure became increasingly realistic. With the advent of a systemto describe the three-dimensional world: linear perspective, later in the 15th century, the boundaries of drawing expanded phenomenally.

In Italy, many large-scale paintings were produced to decorate the interiors of churches, palaces, and public buildings. Paintings of this size required extensive preparation. Drawings were an important

step in creating the finished work. The artist often made a very detailed working drawing before beginning to paint.

Renaissance artists continued to use pen and ink for drawing. But they turned increasingly to softer materials, such as black and red chalks and charcoal, to make larger drawings and to achieve a greater variety of effects. Shading was introduced to suggest solids and textures. Among the most celebrated draftsmen (masters of drawing) of this period are Michelangelo and Leonardo Da Vinci.

‘Vitruvian Man’ (detail). c1490. Leonardo Da Vinci Study for the Libyan Sibyl of the Sistine Ceiling (detail). c1512. Michelangelo

Interior of the Pantheon (detail). c1506. Raphael

Rennaissance

Rennaissance outside Italy

Northern Rennaissance art was influenced by the Protestant Reformation. The Humanist influence current in Europe inspired Flemish artists to create a realistic, contemporary look in their work. Northern painting was more concerned with spirituality and symbolism. This drawing by the Flemish artist Jan Van Eyck shows a more realsitic and precise likeness of

his subject. The three-quarter view of the sitter , turning his face towards the light was the first of this style of portraiture.

German-born Albrecht Dürer c1471-1528 travelled to Venice, where he derived considerable inspiration. He became interested in science, anatomy, maths and Latin and he looked for ways to incorporate this into his art. He used exceptional realistic detail and anotomical accuracy in his woodcuts.

High Rennaissance

The ‘High Rennaissance’ refers to a short period (c. 30-year, from about 1490-1520) of exceptional artistic production in the Italian states, principally Rome. Artists no longer pondered the art of antiquity. They now had the tools, technology, training and confidence to go their own way. The best-known exponents of painting of the High Renaissance, include Leonardo da Vinci, early Michelangelo and Raphael.

Preparatory drawing for ‘Portrait of Cardinal Niccolò Albergati’ (detail). c1431. Jan Van Eyck

Young Hare. c1502. Albrecht Dürer Judith with the head of Holofernes. c1495. Andrea Mantegna

Baroque

The term Baroque is used to refer to a style, created in Italy, which depended on balance and wholeness for its effect. Following the Council of Trent, the Catholic church decided to commission work that was more accessible to the public. Artists, therefore, began to create colourful, dramatic work which had an emotional rather than intellectual appeal, and architects designed elaborate, awe-inspiring buildings. The Baroque style attempted to draw the spectator into the event. Rather than being seen simply as a place to live or pray. Whole rooms and churches were designed and decorated as an experience.

The Star of the Kings. Rembrandt.

Rembrandt Van Rijn (1606-1669)The Dutch painter, draughtsman and etcher, Rembrandt Van Rijn is considered to have been one of the greatest artists to have ever lived. His drawings were able to convey form, movement and emotion in just a few simple pen lines. What makes his sombre, often dark pictures stand out, is his understanding of people. As a portrait painter, his honest series of self-portraits are a revealing story in themselves, and his work gives a sense of knowing the real character of the sitter.

Many of Rembrandts drawings and etchings were made as works in their own right and not merely as preparation for or records of paintings.

Self Portrait. Rembrandt.

The Star of the Kings. Rembrandt.

Seated Young Woman With Raised Arms c1631–1632. Peter Paul Rubens.Rubens was so much in demand for work that he ran his studio like a factory, with many assistants working under his direction.

‘Sudy of a head’ Sketch (detail). c1592. Caravaggio. Caravaggio used ordinary people off the streets as his biblical figures.

The 1800’s to the 1900’s

Rococo

Born from the Baroque style, Rococo is characterised by lightness, grace, playfulness and intimacy. It was generally a court and church style, culminating in the fantastic Austrian and German palaces and church interiors which dazzle the visitor with their gilded and painted decoration.

Romanticism

In the early 19th century, Romanticism was the principal movement in the arts. The emotional or dramatic subject-matter of the Romantic movement differed greatly from the reason and order of Classicism.

Pre-Raphaelites

The Pre-Raphaelite brotherhood was a group of young British painters who fored a secret society in 1848. They rebelled against what they thought of as the dull, traditional standards of the art world which saw Raphael as the standard of everything that was good.

Many different styles developed side-by-side in the 1800’s. Pencils were first made early in the century. They became the preferred drawing tools of many artists.

Two Female Figures (Detail) Pen and brown ink and brown wash, on paper. Tiepolo.

The Venetian artist, Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (1696-1770) was a brilliant and prolific draughtsman, capable of rapidly suggesting with pen and skillful application of washes the grand structures and images that he would later carry out in larger, more ambitious works.

The good and evil angels. 1795. William Blake.

William Blake (1757-1827) was a british painter who tried to portray the spiritual world which was beyond the world we could see. He trained as an engraver and in 1787 developed a new method of printing which he believed had been revealed to him by his dead brother.

Study of the head of Elizabeth Siddal . Millais.

John Everett Millais (1829-1896) made careful, painstaking studies studies of plants and figures which he combined into finished paintings, such as ‘Ophelia’ from Shakespeare. Millais spent 4 months painting the background on location and got the model to lie in a bath of water to achieve accuracy.

1900’s Onwards

Neo-Classicism

The Neoclassical movement was known for it’s high-minded, intimate, and decorative art, which also portrayed the political ideals of the time. Many nature drawings (plants, animals, landscapes) were produced during this period.

Realism

The term ‘Realism’ has different meanings in different contexts, but in 19th century France, it referred to a group of artists who rejected mythical, historical and religious subject-matter in favour of scenes of everyday life.

Impressionism

The Impressionists were a group of artists who came together in the 1860’s in the Paris region. Together, in various small groups, they often painted open-air scenes in the parks and recreation places around Paris.

Portrait sketch. Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres (1780-1867)

On the Terrace of a Hotel in Bordighera: The Painter Jean Martin Reviews his Bill, 1881. Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Honoré Daumier (1808-1879)

Modernism

Henri Matisse (1869-1954) Salvador Dali (1904-1989) Roy Lichtenstein (1923-1997)

Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) Marcel Duchamp (1887-1968) Victor Vasarely (1908-1997)

Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944) Jackson Pollock (1912-1956) Frank Stella (1936 - )

Expressionism Surrealism Pop Art

Cubism Dada Op (optical) art

Abstract Abstract Expressionism Minimal

Drawing MediaCharcoal. Partially consumed pieces of wood have been used ever since the era of prehistoric art. Rubbing and smudging creates shades and delicate transitions.

Graphite Point or ‘Spanish Lead’. Named after its main place of origin. Mainly used for preparatory sketches due to their durable, clear, thin strokes.Pastel Pencils. Hard, dry pastels in pencil

form. Colours blend easily, but drawings must be preserved with fixative.

Water soluble Oil Pastels. Due to their

extra softness they’re especially suitable for

numerous drawing techniques including

blending and sgraffito.

Wat

erco

lour

Pan

Box

-set

.

Watercolour Tubes.

Indian Ink. Made from

the soot of hard

woods. Can be diluted w

ith water until it

becomes light grey. Can be used w

ith a pen

or a brush.

Felt-tip Markers.

Perm

anen

t Mar

kers

.

Lead Pencils.

Mirror. F

or looking at

drawings in reverse

.

Putty rubber, erasers, sharpener, knife.

Sanguin

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pia, B

lack &

White

. Chalk

and Ir

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popular as

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with M

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Types of Drawing

Tom Mathews by Angela Clarke

‘Honour among Thieves’ by Angela Clarke

My Daughter Anya by Angela Clarke

First-Edition books in Trinity College Library by Angela Clarke

‘Fairy Tree’ by Angela Clarke

The Chapel in Dublin Castle. Bord Gais Calendar. by Angela Clarke

Portraits

Editorial

Figurative

Still Life

Fantasy

Architectural

Figure Studies from line to Tone

Perspective and shadow

Perspective is a method of drawing that artists use to give an impression of distance. They do this by making objects smaller the further away they are, and by making parallel lines (such as railway tracks) appear to get closer together in the distance.

Perspective can be achieved in several ways, but any of them must employ what are called ‘vanishing points’ or invisible places towards which all the horizontal lines in the picture will appear to vanish.

After perspective and in some ways, before it, light is essential to bring out the modelling in the objects you’re drawing. it gives not only shape, but also colour, and produces infinite subtleties which only the trained eye can see.

If you look at this example and imagine different ways of lighting this subject - from the front, from above or even with a secondary light to one side - you will be able to visualise how the use of lighting can alter completely a composition.

The Arnolfini Wedding. Jan Van Eyck (1390-1441)

Van Eyck specialised in painting beautifully lit and detailed scenes like this. he built up translucent layers of colours, creating subtle variations in light and shade, yet in his shadows there is a tremendous of depth and of atmosphere. Light catches and defines everything in the room, from the brassy chandelier and soft fur and fabric of the couples clothes. Notice how the individual hairs on the dog’s coat shine in the light.

Van Eyck has placed a vanishing point centrally along the eye level knowing that if the point is placed centrally, you will have a square view of the room. Th more the point is slid to one side or the other, the less or more of the particular walls you will see. All verticals in nature remain vertical when drawn in perspective.

Symbolism

Symbolism was both an artistic and a literary movement that suggested ideas through symbols and emphasized the meaning behind the forms, lines, shapes, and colors. Symbolism can also be seen as being at the forefront of modernism, in that it developed new and often abstract means to express psychological truth and the idea that behind the physical world lay a spiritual reality.

The single candle in the chandelier symbolises God’s presence.

Her little dog is a sign of faithfullness.

The shoes represent hallowed ground.

Arnolfini is about to place his right hand into hers - a sign of their marriage.

The mirror shows a reflection of the witnesses - so the ceremony is a legal contract. Around the mirror are 10 scenes from the Passion of Christ, showing how important religion is to the couple.

Can you think of some commonly used symbols?

A Lion is a symbol for what?

A Dove is a symbol for what?

Composition

The composition of a painting is the art of placing all the different items (such as a tree, a person and a building) so that the final picture looks well balanced.

In Constable’s painting, the tall trees in the foreground counteract the strong horizontal lines of the shadows and horizon line. The track leading to the figures helps to take the eye into the picture, through the gap in the trees. The tall trunks of the trees act not only as strong verticals, but also as a frame within a frame to concentrate the gaze on the cathedral. Constable could have included more of the trees in the foreground,

but by doing so, the main object of the painting would have been diminished and dwarfed.

He has used light as an element of composition, by choosing a time of day where the light is shining on the white, chalkiness of the cathedral and the foreground trees are in shade, again drawing the eye to the building in the background.

A simple method to help frame your composition is to hold up your hands, the fingers upwards and the two thumbs joined horizontally; this will give you part of a frame and you can swing your hands around and at different distances from your eyes to help you find the rectangle of your picture. Another method is to cut a rectangle of the same proportion as your picture from cardboard. This is called a viewfinder.

Asymmetry. Two trees on the left, one on the right. main subject off-centre.

Central line is off-centre - in this case, the horizon-line is below centre.

Salisbury Cathedral from the Bishop’s Grounds c. 1825. John Constable

Some basic composition considerations

Compositional aid

The Art Elements - Form & Space

A form is a shape that either looks 3-dimensional (3D) or which is 3D. Form is usually associated with sculpture and architecture, although it may also describe natural landscape features. Space describes the distance between people and places or objects.

Salvador Dali was a Spanish painter who became part of the surrealist movement which was interested in dreams and the uncoscious mind. Dali included melted, broken watches in many paintings, reflecting his obsession with time and how we experience it.

Henry Moore was the most prominent British sculptor of the 20th century. Many of his sculptures featured the idea of internal and external forms. He was interested in the contrast between hard and soft that his sculptures often suggest.

“Soft Watch at the Moment of First Explosion”. 1954. Salvador Dali (1904-1989)

Helmet Head No.2. 1955. Henry Moore (1898-1986)

The Art Elements - Line

A line is a path traced by a moving point or dot. Every line is said to have a thickness, direction and rhythm.

Thickness The width of a line or mark

Direction The forward movement of a line

Rhythm A sense of movement. It can be created by regular or irregular lines, or by marks made by different tools.

Line has a great ability to suggest many things to us. So it can convey all sorts of moods and feelings, mass and tension.

Lines divide the surface of a picture into a variety of shapes. See how Titian has created long, fleshy, oval areas which extend down the front of the thighs. The shapes of the muscles are created by lines which may be long and narrow, tall and thin, straight or curved.

Even in the rough scratchings of his pen and ink drawing, Titian instinctively simplified anatomical details by grouping them into constructional masses.

The curve of his outline and the long inner hatching lines describe in a simple way the shape of the muscles of the inner thigh.

Shorter hatchings curve over the thin, straplike tendons of the lower leg.

Long lines suggest contour.

Can you find the curved outline of the femur bone (which is the bone of the upper thigh)?

Titian’s pen practically dances over the page. Practise varying the pressure and angle of your pen or pencil for greater interest, more variety, and better design.

Sketch for the Saint Sebastian. Pen and Ink. Titian.

The Art Elements - Pattern & Shape

Pattern is created when a group of related shapes, lines or marks is united together. A shape is any area enclosed by a line.

A shape can be abstract - it does not have to look like an identifiable object. Shapes can be made to look more interesting

by adding colour and texture. The word Relationship means that different things are connected in some way. For a relationship to exist, people or objects must have something in common. The first relationship that we experienced was within the family. In a landscape, a group

of fields will form a pattern on the horizon becuase they are related or connected to each other.

Patterns can be natural, man-made or applied. Applied pattern is used solely for decoration - it has no other function.

Let’s look at how William Morris (1834-1896) creates Applied Patterns. Nature has a strong influence in Morris’s work. He used traditional dye-stuffs and wood-block methods of printing. In a pattern, you must first see the whole picture before you see the individual parts or shapes. We call this ‘Unity’.

William Morris creates Unity by:

1. Putting the shapes close together, making them look pleasing to the eye.

2. By using repetition.

3. Continuation - meaning that something continues, whether it is a shape or a line, from one area to the other.

4. by introducing variety, with various colours and shapes which stops his patterns looking boring.

Do you think harmonious colour is important for these patterns?

A motif is that part of a pattern which is repeated. Morris would have measured guidelines or a grid to create these patterns where he would overlap, invert, link or reverse different motifs.

What motifs can you see in these samples?

Silhouettes are created by outlining the exterior of an object in a way that contrasts from the background.

Positive and Negative space is used to create this shape.

Simple monoprint pattern.

The Art Elements - Colour

Tints & Shades

Tone & Hue

Primary ColoursThe colours that artists use are made up of the primary colours. With these three, plus black and white, you can make up almost any colour you like.

Colours have a powerful effect on people. Red can have a stimulating effect, while black can have a depressing effect.

How do the colours in this picture make you feel?

Contrasting colours are often refered to as ‘complimentary colours’. They intensify each other when placed together. Red and Green, Orange and Blue, Yellow and Purple are opposite each other on the colour wheel.

Any group of 3 or 4 colours that lie next to each other on the colour wheel are said to be harmonious.

A shade is a colour as it moves towards black. A tint is a colour as it moves towards white.

Tone relates to the lightness and/or darkness ofa colour (regardless of it’s hue) in a scale of black to white.

Hue is the strength of a colour as it strikes the eye. E.g. the redness of the red or the orangeness of the orange, etc.

Warm ColoursVery dominant.

Much more effective if used as

accent colours

Cold Colours Make things look further away.

Colour exploded in the 1960s due to the ‘Hippy’ movement and the invention of new dyes.

‘Yellow Submarine’. 1968 The Beatles

The Art Elements - Colour

How would you describe the colours in the two paintings above?

Which one features ‘contrasting’ Colours? Do you think there are ‘harmonious’ colours in one of these?

The Art Elements - Texture

Texture means surface quality. The texture of something can be rough, as with jagged rocks. Or it can be smooth, as with silk or polished marble. To experience texture, we use our sense of touch. Sometimes, we don’t actually have to feel an object to experience it’s texture. Our memories have already stored a variety of touch sensations gathered from birth.

Vermeer shows us a variety of textures in this peice, when in fact, the surface of the painting is flat. These textures can be experienced, but not touched.

Van Gogh used raised blobs of paint to create a textured surface. These are textures which can be experienced by touching them.

How might you record or create texture in artwork?

The Kitchen Maid. Jan Vermeer (1632-1675) Starry Night. Vincent Van Gogh. (1853-1890)

Non-Tactile Texture Tactile Texture

1916 Research

“Of unmatched skill to lead by pathways rife With danger and dark doubt, where slander’s knife Gleamed ever bare to wound, yet over all He pressed triumphant on-lo, thus to fall.” Roger Casement, from ‘Parnell’

1916 Support Studies

Photo taken in Dublin during the truce of members of the Cork No. 2 Brigade. 1921

Edie Winograde. Place and Time. Historical events that played a role in civilisation’s western expansion.

“The reenactment pageants represent a unique window into the American psyche, combining historical facts, myths and legends with theatrical devices to convey meaning to local audiences. They are often ritualistic and cathartic in nature, and have special and profound significance to the communities that do them,” said Winograde, regarding ‘Place and Time’.

Sean Keating was born in Limerick. He complete some drawing studies in his home county before moving to Dublin in 1911 to study at the Metropolitan School of Art under William Orpen. Keating felt that his mission was to help define Irish nationhood through his painting. A heroic and sometimes idealised view of Ireland was evident in his work. he was a realistic painter, and although abstract art thrived at the time he lived and taught in Ireland, he remained a staunchly traditional painter. In 1934, he was appointed professor of the National College of Art in Dublin and held the position of President of the Royal Hibernian Academy from 1948-1962. President De Valera opend a major retrospective exhibition of his work in 1963. Always proud of his political and cultural heritage, one of his last exhibits was a series of six portraits of patriots for the 1966 Jubliee of the Easter Rising.

The Reenactment (IV), oil, 34”x25”. 2013. Anthony Cudahy.

“Truth interests me. When RFK was assassinated, the whole event was actually filmed. Conspiracy theories still unfold. The footage has been endlessly analysed and restaged under official investigations. The reenactments were also filmed. Still there is disbelief. I paint these from stills i took of a YouTube video of the restaged footage. Twice removed. The original footage is not truth. The restaged video is not truth. These paintings are certainly not truth. Even the initial event reads as theatre. Objectivity as an impossibility, I’m still searching for one thing that is just one thing.” Anthony Cudahy.

Men of the South. Sean Keating 1921-22 Men of the South (Detail). Sean Keating 1921-22

1916 Preliminary Drawings

Blind contour studies. 24th September 2015 Bamboo stick studies. 24th September 2015

Monoprint. 24th September 2015

Pen and ink study. 30th September2015

Pencil study. 24th September2015

Monoprint. 24th September2015

Chalk pastel preliminary study. 29th September2015

Tone and texture studies. 24th September 2015

Colour studies. 24th September 2015

1916 Final Artwork

Artist’s Statement

My primary source was an old Kodak Retinette camera, which led me to think about the photographs taken in and around the 1916 Easter Rising and also at the reenactments. Due to the long exposures, photos of the time have a posed quality to them. The decomposition of old photographic negatives and prints over time informed my treatment of the image. The mixed-media piece uses gold, metallic acrylic in order to achieve the irridescent quality of old film negatives. The view of the damaged city inverted represents the silent witness of the river liffey and suggests blood dripping from the soldiers above as they died for their country.

The ‘tape’ device represents the archival nature of the piece and suggests a duty of rememberance and curation. The faded quote detailed on the tape is taken from an evocative poem entitled ‘Parnell’, written by Roger Casement.