Sketch Night at the Society of Illustrators

Last Thursday I went to The Society of Illustrators for Sketch Night. It was such a treat. I rarely get a chance to draw just for drawing's sake. Yes, I teach drawing. Yes, I love drawing. But I'm a painter and when I paint in oil, it's important to me that all of the sketching happens in the underpainting. I find that if I sketch my ideas for a painting out, all of my energy on that subject is expended and I may be satisfied enough with the drawing and feel that it doesn't have to be a painting too. (This is just me and where I'm at now in my art and right now I'm in painting mode.) 

But sketching at The Society of Illustrators was just about me sketching...for fun. It really was. Just me, my pencil, paper, eraser and tens of other artists sketching in other mediums in their style and their handwriting. I felt like a student again, lost in the craft and happily passing the hours without noticing.

I think I'm hooked now on just sketching. So you might see me at Sketch Night on a Tuesday or Thursday going forward. If you can make it, you should go too. It's affordable and I'd love to talk shop with you. 

http://www.societyillustrators.org/Events-and-Programs/Sketch-Night/Sketch-Night.aspx

Perspective. A choose your own adventure story.

I live in a beautiful building that was built in the 20's. It looks like a German castle. It has stained glass windows on the outside and faux finished marble panels on the inside. When you walk through the front door, you are lead into a cage that is made up of iron vines punctuated with brass flowers. I really love my building. The other residents are generally great. They say hello and they make eye contact. There is a certain level of respectfulness here that I haven't found in past places that I have lived in around NYC.

That being said, let me tell you about a few things that have happened lately in my building. The other day, I decided to do laundry. The laundry room is in the basement of my building. All the machines were empty and doing laundry went smoothly until I pulled my whites out of the dryer. Green gum had melted over my sheets and a new white shirt. Of course this had to happen to the white load! The high heat of the dryer insured that the gum was permanently adhered. I scrubbed the sheets with a scrub brush and detergent. The green spots are now slightly lighter but they did not go away. The new white shirt was a lost cause.

 

I was so seriously angry that I thought about writing a scathing note and posting it in the laundry room. It would say something about being an adult and checking your pockets before doing laundry....or something about having respect for others. Sigh. Instead I just let it go. The damage was done.The image below is a necklace that I made out of the damaged shirt. I added some feathers and a sequined ribbon as well. I call it Icarus.

 

A few days before this, I noticed that there was a note taped up to the wall by the mailboxes in my building. It was addressed to the person that stole an umbrella that was hanging off of this person's wheelchair. Whoah. Seriously. Bad. Karma. After reading this note, I went upstairs, dropped off my things in my apartment, and grabbed one of the many umbrellas that I get for free at work. I brought the umbrella back downstairs to the mailboxes and put it on a ledge there. I left a note for this person and said that I get free umbrellas....so if wasn't stolen in the meantime, they could have mine. The next morning I found this note on my door.

 

 

I guess the lesson here is just to make the best of things no matter what happens and to try to move on. It is OK to ask for help and it is OK to voice an opinion. The action and the attitude that matters is your own because this is the one that you can control.

Here's to sunny days and things going your way!!!

xx-Sarah
 

Drawing in painting: The Iron Dragon and it's bones

Drawing in painting. When I talk about painting and drawing, the two things get all mixed up and they overlap. I believe this is because good painting skills start with good drawing skills. Drawing is the bones of painting. Where drawing is concerned, I believe that it's really the skill of learning how to see without letting preconceived ideas influence what is seen. Drawing is also about understanding how one perceives space and how 3D space can be translated into 2D space. 

Getting back to the subject of painting, when an artist begins a painting in oil, they choose a pigment with a fast drying time and they use a lot of turp or mineral spirits. They begin sketching with a brush and this beginning is loose and non-committal. The artist knows that the under painting will be covered up, but the direction, movement and feeling may remain. The second stage is about laying in flat color over the under painting. The third stage is about adjusting lights and darks, and it is about sharpening up the edges. After this, esthetic changes are made and details are added. Details are added only after the foundation is laid because "a room cannot be decorated unless the house is built and the walls are up." 

This is a suggested sequence in the life a painting. It is one that I follow over and over again. Other painters may take a different route, but I feel this way allows for a nice build-up of paint insuring a fat over lean layering which promises that over time the painting will be stable and the paint will not crack. 

The pictures below were quick snapshots that I took while I was painting an oil painting that I call Iron Dragon.

Stay tuned for more updates on all things having to do with art!!

All my best to you!

-Sarah

Feathers for Flying

I’m starting over and I’m happy that I am! In my suitcase are 4 old blog posts that refer to art. All the other posts are long gone, deleted and living in the far reaches of my memory. I now have new direction! I’m not sure where I’m headed, but I’m excited about going! What can be expected are more posts about Painting, Drawing, Jewelry, Food, and Music. I want Schrift Script to be about Art for Art's sake!

Please check me out at www.newyorkdrawingschool.com, the New York Drawing School Facebook page, www.thesoursmusic.com, The Sours Facebook page, and www.sarahschrift.com. I am a phoenix that is trying to be an eagle! Come fly with me! We have a lot of ground to cover!

The picture below is a new necklace that I just made. I call it A New Rime for the Ancient Mariner. It was inspired by Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (1798). The poem can be found here: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/173253

Just so you know, I don’t believe in curses. I believe that we all make our own luck. Furthermore, if you have to wear a bird around your neck, it should look like this:

Stay tuned for more art, wearable and otherwise! xx-Sarah

The Importance of Fat over Lean in Oil Painting

This is an image of an oil painting that I was asked to repair. It's an old palette knife and brush combo painting. I'd say just by colors, subject matter and handling it was probably done in the late 70's to early 80's. The painting was damaged by: humidity, change in temperature and poor storing. There was a large indentation that was made by something heavy leaning up against the surface of the painting. It chipped the paint and left a noticeable dimple. The problem was resolved by spraying the back with water to reactivate the sizing in the gesso. The painting tightened up but water reactivation can only work so far. I'd say if the client wanted an absolutely flat surface, then the painting should be carefully taken off of it's stretcher and it should be re-stretched over a PH balanced and prepared solid surface. Ex: A 3/4 thick piece of hardwood that is treated on all sides with gesso. This should be a wood like oak that is sturdy and will not warp easily. The pressure of the wood resting on the backside of the painting will force the painting to flatten out. Another note: This painting was done on linen. Much like linen clothes that always look wrinkled even right after you iron them, linen is so temperamental and affected by change in temperature and moisture. Linen will have more of a tendency to crack over time because it is so easily "influenced". Another note: Palette knife painting on linen in oil is really not the best decision. This is why: The action of applying paint on canvas with a palette knife pushes down on the surface of the canvas. Brushes do this too but brushes do not have a sharp, hard edges that actually scratch the surface of the painting as one applies the paint. The scratching disturbs the paint that was previously applied (the first layer that is thinned with turpentine) to the canvas potentially disturbing the fat over lean ratio. The fat over lean principle cannot be messed with. This is why most of the crackle damage happened in the first place, regardless of accidents, weather, poor storing...etc. Fat over lean has to do with the varying drying times in oil pigments. Each pigment has a specific drying time. This painting was done with earth tones and cadmiums. (Yikes!!) Earth tones generally have very short drying times. Cadmiums have very slow drying times, unless they are cheap paints that have drying mediums added to them. This is the reason why painters are taught to sketch out the first layers with small amounts of earth toned paint and a lot of turpentine. You have to slowly build up from thin layers of earth tones to thicker layers of paint. If you take a palette knife full of an earth color like umber and slap it down on the surface of a gessoed canvas and paint over that in thin layers of paint, you are going to be in crackleland for sure. If you put down a cadmium first and an umber on top of that, you or one of your relatives might be crying at a art restorer's office in a few years. If you are a painter you have to know that when you paint in oil: begin with earth tones in thin layers and build up to thicker layers of paint.




Thick paint applied with a palette knife and damage from an outside source.

Dimple and paint surface damage.

Damage from an outside source.

More scratch damage.

Fat over lean problem.

Restored painting:

All better!!! I used heavy, high pigmented paints with no medium and no turpentine to cover the crackles: Thus, respecting the fat over lean principle. ; )

This was the lesson plan fun that was yesterday

Sarah Schrift
Summer 2007
Forth Grade Level
Huichol inspired yarn paintings

Objectives and Goals:

·         To learn about the Huichol people of North Central Mexico

·         To appreciate art from other cultures

·         To understand how symbols are used in culture and in art

·         To learn the technique of Huichol yarn painting and how we have adapted it to fit classroom concerns/needs

·         To establish our own personal subject matter of something you love and/or believe in

Anticipatory Set (approximate time): An introduction to the Huichol culture and their yarn paintings will take about 5 minutes.

The word "Huichol" is pronounced Wettchol. The Huichol are descendents of the Aztec, the Huichol number about 18,000, most of which live in the sierra of Jalisco and Nayarit. (This will be illustrated by a map.) Having withstood the Spanish Invasion, they are still striving to keep their culture alive and viable, despite the ever increasing physical and cultural encroachment of their Mexican neighbors. Their colorful beadwork and yarn work reflects a reverent and symbiotic relationship with nature.”

(http://www.mexconnect.com/articles/190-mexico-s-huichol-resource-page-their-culture-symbolism-art) *(Images will be shown as examples of Huichol yarn paintings)

From the time they are children, they learn how to communicate with the spirit world through symbols and rituals. For the Huichol, yarn painting is much more than mere aesthetic expression. The topics of these yarn paintings reflect Huichol culture and its shamanic traditions. (Definition of Shaman: a priest or priestess who uses magic for the purpose of curing the sick, divining the hidden                                                                                                                                                 and controlling events.) Like icons (Definition of icon: A person or thing regarded as a representative symbol of something) they are documents of ancient wisdom.

( http://www.mexconnect.com/articles/187-huichol-indians-their-art-and-symbols )

*(Traditionally, the Huichol use beeswax to glue the yarn onto their surfaces but in this case, white glue will be used as it is safer and doesn’t require heat. )

Direct Instruction (approximate time): 2.5 minutes

The teacher will demonstrate how to start the project by quickly sketching on the canvas board to illustrate the design plan. The teacher will explain the choice of subject matter and how it relates to something that is loved or believed in and the reasons behind specific color choices. The teacher will then proceed to dip a length of yarn at a time (the yarn must be coated entirely with glue) into the glue and place it directly onto the board. The yarn will follow the sketched design in alternating colors. The process will be repeated. The teacher will warn the students to be careful not to move the glue covered yarn that has already been placed on the canvas. The wet yarn can be easily disturbed but will dry in place after a few hours.  Pieces of glue covered yarn will be placed all over the canvas until it is completely covered .

Guided Practice (approximate time): Guidance at the beginning of the project will take about 2.5 minutes.

The students will then begin their projects as the teacher walks around the classroom to help them as it is needed. Most concerns will be over the subject of their design and the handling of the medium.

Independent Practice (approximate time):  18-20 minutes.

Students will complete their projects and will be urged to cover all of the white of the canvas. Surprisingly, as the yarn is thick and the students have just a small area to cover, most will finish in 20 minutes or less.

Required Materials and Equipment:

·         8” x 10” prepared canvas boards

·         A gallon of white Elmer’s Glue

·         Paper plates or plastic bowls for distributing the glue

·         Multi-colored balls of thick yarn

·         Scissors for all of the students

·         Newspaper to cover the tables

·         Pencils

·         Erasers

·         Pencil sharpeners

·         A drying table (the canvas boards will be placed here so they can dry over night)

·         A nearby sink with soap for gluey hands

Assessment and Follow-Up:  Will be discussed as the students are finishing up with their projects. This will take 1-2 minutes.

·         How have we used symbols in our yarn paintings to express the things that we love or believe in?

·         How have we used colors to convey the meaning behind these symbols?

Critique

As I expose my art and my thoughts in what to me is a new format, I remember how critique can be positive as well as negative. When I was in undergrad, I had a critique with someone who essentially told me that I was showing off in my paintings, that I relied too much on my skill of painting the figure and that I should try to paint without including the figure. I took this to heart and for five years following this critique I excluded the figure from my work. For these five years I felt absolutely lost in my painting. I did not feel like I was coming into my own again until I returned to painting the figure. Now I am much more careful about whom I ask to critique my work and how much I let the advice of others affect my work. The Commandments below are an intention I am setting for myself as I move forward.

Ten Commandments of Critique

(Giving the Critique)

1)      Thou shalt not give a critique unless you are specifically asked to.

2)      Thou shalt begin with what is working before you talk about what is not working.

3)      Thou shalt do your best to try to understand where the artist is coming from and where they want to go with their art before you make suggestions.

4)      Thou shalt not try to change the artist’s style or concept just for the sake of making it more like your own artwork or your own esthetic.

5)      Thou shalt try your best to build the artist up as opposed to knock the artist down.

(Both Giving and Receiving the Critique)

6)      Thou shalt be tactful.

(Receiving the Critique)

7)      Thou shalt ask for a critique only from a person whose opinion you respect and who’s esthetic you admire.

8)      Thou shalt ask for a critique only when you feel the work is done and can stand on its own.

9)      Thou shalt respect the critic’s opinion but know in your heart that it is just an opinion or a suggestion not a command.

10)    Thou shalt acknowledge that a critique is not a debate.