Seeing how the new school year is now well under way I found myself waxing nostalgic for the art building at UConn and the promise of new and exciting projects. It made me want to create what I'm calling my "Art School Nostalgia Series" dedicated to my experiences and appreciation for my Fine Arts professors at the University of Connecticut. I find myself thinking of each of my professors often and wishing they knew how very much they helped to shape the way I think, work and talk about art as a professional artist. Especially because it's very difficult to soldier on in the face of rejection and finding your voice as a professional artist. It's important to carry those you've found to be the most helpful for guidance and critique when you get stuck or blue. That way you remember that you're capable and talented and can get this piece of art done!
I've also always been seriously terrible at writing thank you cards in a timely manner (or ever at all) and thus these thank yous are about 5 years overdue and I wish to remedy that!
Post #1: Advanced Figure Drawing (circa 2008) with Patrick Earl Hammie:
I've also always been seriously terrible at writing thank you cards in a timely manner (or ever at all) and thus these thank yous are about 5 years overdue and I wish to remedy that!
Post #1: Advanced Figure Drawing (circa 2008) with Patrick Earl Hammie:
 |  |  |
 |  |
This was one of my favorite semester long projects in college. I had the tremendously talented Patrick Earl Hammie as my instructor. He set out for us to develop a cohesive body of work outside of class over the course of the semester - and we could choose any figurative subject matter we wished. He challenged what we used as drawing materials and how we were drawing with them. I remember one exercise in particular where we put our 4' x 4' drawing boards, roll paper and chunk charcoal on the floor, took off our shoes and socks and drew with our feet. It sounds bizarre but it was incredibly liberating, and resulted in looser and more gestural (but still successful) drawings. Drawing with my feet made me reevaluate how to translate all of my art making thoughts to a motor skill I had less control over, it was difficult but successful in that it ultimately influenced the way I approached the pieces above that I was working on outside of class (even though I did those with my hands).
As for my subject matter, I chose to work with the "Figure in Repose" I really loved the idea of the dreamlike, trailing off moments that you experience in waking or falling asleep and also the heaviness of deep sleep. It became even more exciting for me when I started incorporating 2 figures and the use of negative space. Each drawing is from the same 4' wide paper roll, and ranged in height from 4' - 7'. I used chunk charcoal, sand paper and pastel which let me develop rich blacks, touches of tone and color and offer a loose and ethereal feeling to my drawing style.
Thank you Patrick!
As for my subject matter, I chose to work with the "Figure in Repose" I really loved the idea of the dreamlike, trailing off moments that you experience in waking or falling asleep and also the heaviness of deep sleep. It became even more exciting for me when I started incorporating 2 figures and the use of negative space. Each drawing is from the same 4' wide paper roll, and ranged in height from 4' - 7'. I used chunk charcoal, sand paper and pastel which let me develop rich blacks, touches of tone and color and offer a loose and ethereal feeling to my drawing style.
Thank you Patrick!