Category Archives: drawing

Visual critique

By Laraine Armenti | Published: November 25, 2011

Visual critiques, done in response to the work of colleagues, are opportunities to embody a visual language different from our usual work.

In the first image, I did a direct copy of what I saw in the original. There were many beautiful passages but overall it felt fragmented. In the second version I consolidated major areas so the heads would be less disconnected from other parts of the painting. Traditional gouache mixes with previous layers, losing some vibrancy. It was a tradeoff to see what might happen with fewer subdivisions.

Direct copy, gouache and ink, approx 10 x 12, 11/16/11

Consolidated, gouache and ink, approx 10 x 12, 11/17/11

There is one sculptor in the first year MFA group. Her piece was a multi-storied stack of cardboard boxes with a viewing window cut in the bottom corner and the top story open to the ceiling. Fields of cut paper grass sprouted from the floor on each level. I simplified my response to one room and used sewing pins instead of paper grass. Ouch.

Pin box, grey and black mat board with sewing pins, 9″ x 3″ overall, 11/6/11

Also posted in gouache, ink, painting | Tagged homework, pin box, visual critique | Comments closed

Window views

By Laraine Armenti | Published: November 14, 2011

Last of the sumi ink & bamboo pen series. Sumi ink, bamboo pen, Arches Aquarelle or Fabriano Artistico, 140 lb. hotpress, 7.5 x 10 inches (19 x 25 cm).

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10/26/11

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10/28/11

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10/31/11

Also posted in ink, landscape outdoor, still-life indoor | Tagged boston, teapot | Comments closed

Visual Critiques

By Laraine Armenti | Published: October 22, 2011

Below are drawings done for two weeks of visual critiques. I drew directly from observation of the paintings without preparation, as I do with most of my work. Drawings done for these assignments become the property of the artist whose painting is the original subject.

George Bellows’ lithos of prize fights came to mind as I began ‘Fighters.’ As Bellows’ had done, I increased the distance between the viewer and the main action by adding a row of catcallers in front. The viewer thereby becomes a complicit member of the crowd. I focused the light into a spot light and added an emotional dimension between the figures, making their gestures less like a cartoon and more natural and exhausted.

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Fighters, sumi ink & bamboo pen, 7.5 x 10 inches ( 19 x 25 cm), 10/21/11

For ‘Reflection,’ I added a musician playing pipes and a fish in the pond. For the main figure, instead of an ethereal object of contemplation, I turned her into a person who contemplates herself by turning the head to look straight down into the water. Unlike Poussin’s Narcissus who is in a revery of self love, my figure is a good deal more pissed, like a wild animal at a watering hole.

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Reflection, sumi ink & bamboo pen, 7.5 x 10 inches ( 19 x 25 cm), 10/21/11

For the previous week’s work, I used a larger size cotton printmaking paper. It was a little too soft and a little too large for a bamboo pen. I added space where the original figure had been cropped at the head and right side. I also added distance between the figure and horizon.

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Laken, sumi ink & bamboo pen, 15 x 11 inches ( 38 x 28 cm), 10/17/11

At first it seemed silly to do a line drawing of a large, gestural abstract painting. But as shapes began to emerge in the process of drawing, the painting appeared to be full of content just waiting to be called out. I saw the painting completely differently by the time I was done, resurrecting Ana Mendieta’s remarkable earth works and brief intense life.

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River Pods, sumi ink & bamboo pen, 15 x 11 inches ( 38 x 28 cm), 10/17/11

Also posted in figure, ink, landscape outdoor, writing essay | Tagged fighters, laken, pods, reflection, river pods | Comments closed

Boston Looking East

By Laraine Armenti | Published: October 22, 2011

Sumi ink & bamboo pen drawing series. All drawings: sumi ink and bamboo pen on Arches Aquarelle or Fabriano Artistico, 140 lb. hotpress, 7.5 x 10 inches (19 x 25 cm), except 10/13/11 6.75 x 10 inches (17 x 25 cm).

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