Creating composite computer images from photographs and scans
Abstract painting
"Painting" with your camera
PREHISTORIC CAVE PAINTING
Painting Exercise Nr. 1
Let's explore what we can do with a limited palette of colors and a thick black outline
Let's practice painting within the confines of a prehistoric painting system.
We will paint with a limited palette of colors, as they were used by stone-age painters in the cave of Lascaux in what is today the south of France.
Use a thick black crayon, or use any black painting material you can find
(go over the line several times if you are using a thin pencil).
Paint the painting surface grey, white, or light brown.
For painting the animal only use black, yellow and red (ochre).
You could light your workspace with a candle (or any light that resembles natural fire), warm, yellowish/red (flickering).
Draw the outline of an animal, maybe your dog, cat or bird - from life (you could watch farm animals, go to the zoo or - if you prefer, use a photo as reference). Focus only on creating the black outline.
CHAUVET CAVE - TWICE THE AGE OF LASCAUX
This is the oldest known cave which contains prehistoric cave paintings:
The cave of Lascaux is one of the best known.
There are many others, like Altamira, Spain.... etc.
Prehistoric Art:
"Paleolithic artists have five colors at their disposal: yellow, red, brown, black and white. Although white is a rare color, it is seen at Lascaux! Pigment was applied to the wall in several ways, but the most effective was a brush made of animals fur."
From the movie "Lascaux - a visit to the cave":
"Pieces of colored stones were found in the cave, some may have been used to draw directly onto the walls.
Manganese Oxide - a black mineral naturally present in the cave, sharpened to a point produces a thick black line.
Ochre, clay dyed red or yellow by iron oxide. There are numerous such deposits in the region. Prehistoric man used neither blue nor green.
White, despite it's ready availability at Lascaux was not used either. Yellow ochre produced colors from pale yellow to bright brown.
Red ochre to orange to violet. Manganese oxide depending on it's density gave grey browns, metallic greys or jet black.
Many animals are monochrome or painted in two colors, yellow and black, or red and black.
Quadrangular signs group the main colors of the Lascaux palette:
red, yellow and black. Spitting, blowing through a hollow stick, scratching into the rock, or drawing directly onto the wall with rocks, as well as brushes or sticks made from rolled up hide."
MAKING PAPER COLLAGES
What you need:
Acrylic colors, clear acrylic medium for glueing, magazines or other printed material.
Anything goes. The task is to cut images from magazines or newspapers and arrange them in new ways on a piece of paper. Acrylic color can be added. Colors applied thinly will allow parts of the printed image to remain visible.
PAINTING STILL LIFE
Painting and drawing at first seems difficult. Later we discover that there is a secret ingredient in all artmaking. It's the connection the artist feels towards the painted object, scene or composition. Only if you are fully engaged with the object of your painting will you get results that speak to others.
To learn what painting really is all about, let's look at Giorgio Morandi's work. He painted simple objects, yet in reality his paintings are explorations into color, form and composition.
To learn, let's follow in his footsteps. Set up a simple still life composition yourself.
A still life is is extremely patient (never moves as long as you don't move it), can be rearranged again and again and can be photographed, drawn, painted, even sculpted....
