Homework: 4/9

Using ONE of your mid-toned pages, you need to paint a figure in FULL COLOR with as much accuracy to real color in real space as possible! It can be yourself, or someone else, but the emphasis will be on using COLOR to create shifts in value and weight on the picture plane. This is the SAME thing we did with dry media (self portrait homework assignment) but we are using water and brushes to transition into this.

REMEMBER: You are looking for value shifts (HOW MUCH and HOW LARGE are each of these shifts??) as well as temperature shifts (warm versus cool). Everything is relative, so the darks will make the lights lighter and the warms make the cools cooler, etc. Think about what your brush is doing on the page in regards to the paint, and know you can always add water (and if you would like, you can add a fluid gel medium as well). Play around with this! You can start with mid-tones, build into darks and back out to lights OR darks to lights. Regardless, you will always END with points of reflectivity! Do not put them in first!

HANG YOUR HOMEWORK ON THE WALLS WHEN YOU COME IN SO YOU CAN DISCUSS THIS RIGHT AWAY AND THEN GET TO WORK. HAVE ANY QUESTIONS/ CONCERNS ABOUT BRUSH HANDING, PAINT, COLOR MIXING, ADDRESSING THE FIGURE READY SO ANA CAN ANSWER THEM PROMPTLY. SUPPLIES ARE IN THE WOODEN CHEST (as are the speakers!).  Someone may want to pick up another pack of clear plastic plates. Those are best for looking at color and we ran out today. They are cheap.

Ana Medina will be in class on Thursday and the following Tuesday to work with you. Please be respectful, prompt, and help her out as much as possible. Tuesday is a workday with one LONG pose, but she will start by discussing homework, then walk around and help you as you work through your paintings.

BRING IN YOUR LAST PIECE OF MID-TONE PAPER AND BE READY TO WORK! 
Have the model set up with a reclining pose one day and a seated pose one day. 
I want you all to make sure:

1. the model is 100% comfortable!! (this is most important! she will have to hold this for a long time). She will also need to be taped (feet, hands, hips, MAJOR reference points) so she can get back into place. Breaks about once an hour. 

2. it is an interesting frame/ pose for your page, if not, adjust (really there are no bad poses, just bad artists! I have faith in all of you :D). As Tim Gunn says, "Make it work, people!"

3. REMEMBER on Tuesday you will be starting your FINAL PROJECT! Almost all of you will be painting in oil, but the choice of media is up to you. Ana will discuss underpainting (mostly with oil paint) with you all during this class. You will need to bring in your own paints, brushes (though the brushes I gave you in class are yours), and something to paint on (canvas, board, etc). I am sorry we did not have time to go get old canvases from my studio space. This painting will be continued for five sessions though, so be diligent, think about what you are looking at, and how your figure occupies space and your canvas. BEFORE THE MODEL TAKES HER FIRST BREAK ANA WILL NEED TO PAINT AROUND THE EASELS, LIGHTS, SEATED PEOPLE, MODEL STAND, ETC. SO EVERYONE CAN GET BACK INTO PLACE FOR CONSECUTIVE SESSIONS.