Using the examples below of Dutch still life paintings, in which food and drink, and various dining implements are arranged and carefully lit, you need to create a small tableau with an arrangement of food (of your choice-- be it meat, fruit, vegetables, a specially prepared dish... I do not recommend ice cream unless you can draw very quickly) and you then need to light your arrangement with a single light source. You may even want to be creative and make use of a candle, rather than an electric light.
Your drawing should be done on a sheet of bristol board, with your fine-point ink pen, using only cross-hatching as a means to express value. Do not outline your subjects with heavy ink lines-- rather, the edges of your objects will be defined by value, by degrees of lightness and darkness. Remember to carefully construct value-- paying attention to the parts of value as discussed in class, and reflecting that understanding with a varying density in your cross-hatched lines.
Continue to remember our discussions on composition-- creating thumbnails prior to your drawing, to make the best use of your space. Avoid large empty, open areas, and bring your subject forward so that you can "get into it." Also, avoid uncomfortable squeezing of space, by having your objects resting on the edge of your picture plane-- either give them more space, or crop them. As always-- correct perspective and proportion is essential.
*NOTE: examples by previous students can be seen in the blog post below.
This drawing will be due on THURSDAY, March 29th at the beginning of class.
