SEPTEMBER CHALLENGE: VARIATIONS ON ONE THEME

I am so excited about the challenge that I have prepared for September that I decided to start a day early in presenting it!
Here is the idea:
We are all going to be working with the same image. In this way we will have maximum variety for one image. Here is our guy. You might remember him from a previous drawing challenge. I picked him because I can see the potential. If you would like me to send you by e-mail a higher resolution image, let me know. From here on "we" means myself and any others out there that want to play along. "We" are going to create as many paintings based on this image as we can by working with the 7 elements of design. The elements are:

LINE...SIZE...SHAPE...DIRECTION...COLOR...VALUE...TEXTURE

Each month I will select an element which will be THE DOMINANT ELEMENT in the painting. LINE WILL BE THE DOMINANT ELEMENT FOR SEPTEMBER. I have found by creating restrictions I am MUCH MORE CREATIVE and FOCUSED forcing my thoughts and ideas to fit within the limitations. For WEEK ONE of September, the first limitation is that LINE will be the most dominant element of the painting. The second limitation is that it be not only line but THINKING OF LINE IN TERMS OF SIZE. I am not going to define what I mean by that because I want you to interpret what that means to you and then work with it. The third limitation will be color: You can only use 5 tubes of paint. You can decide what color scheme you want to work with, i.e. triad, split compliment, analogous, etc.





I have posted a few examples of line from my series Nick with Guitar to get you started. You might want to search the internet, look at competition show catalogues, go to the bookstore and look at the art magazines, think of famous painters who used line as a strong element, etc. to get some ideas. You might want to start a notebook where you file these ideas and images according to these elements for future reference.

A few thoughts on LINE and then we are off and running!
"Line is a dot who went for a walk" (I think this is a quote by Matisse...please correct me if wrong)
A line can be jagged or smooth, disconnected or continual, delicate or bold, tentative or assertive, implied, smudged, fading in and out and so much more. Each of these characteristics suggest mood or meaning. Thinking about all the possibilities with just line alone boggles the mind!

I can't wait to see what you come up with. I have already written down 3 or 4 ideas. Work any size you want. I personally think quarter sheet is the smallest I will work if pressed for time. Be sure and send me what you come up with.

"STROKES OF GENIUS 2" ACCEPTED DRAWING!

I received a notification in the mail today that the above image will be included in the next Strokes of Genius 2 book! I am very excited and honored to be selected for inclusion in this book. I submitted about 7 drawings and thought I had created a folder on my computer desk top with the images and their "titles". It disappeared somehow. I wasn't sure for awhile which drawing they wanted but finally figured it out. I didn't want to seem too ditsy by having to check with Northlight for positive identification.

The book will be published next October 2009.

Meanwhile, back to the challenge of the month. Hilda was uncertain how to proceed. I suppose she is not alone so here is my
best attempt at a simplified explanation of a cut paper drawing. Think in terms of positive and negative shapes. The negative shapes would be the pieces you would cut away. The positive shapes would all have to stay connected so the piece wouldn't fall apart. Some of the connections can be quite slender lines. It isn't necessary to cut out the negative shapes, just draw the shapes in a way that it would be possible to do so. It is just a way of designing shapes and subdividing larger shapes. It is a parallel excercise to the wire sculpture drawings. That was a challenge with lines. This is a challenge about shapes. It is different from collage where you glue pieces on top of each other. Some of the paper sculptors do combine the cut paper in a collage manner. Don't worry to much about what is correct. The whole idea of the challenge is to get our minds thinking in new ways to interpret a subject. This is another way to think about shapes, pattern, representing your image. See what you can do. Get as creative as you can.