Laraine Armenti

student of painting

Reporter’s Notebook

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I am among countless fans of Gwen Ifill who were shocked and saddened by her premature death on November 14, 2016. Her wit, warmth, incisive intelligence, and "megawatt" smile are deeply missed. She provided invaluable insights into contemporary politics that I appreciated as a frequent viewer of Washington Week and the PBS NewsHour. Many of the journalists seen on the two shows became subjects of … [Read more...]

Drawing Bruegel

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Drawings from Pieter Bruegel using recently acquired Namiki Pilot Falcon fountain pen with carbon ink in a Moleskine sketchbook, 8x5 inch. Above: Peasants Dancing (1568). Pieter Bruegel, The Dark Day (1565) and other paintings Pieter Bruegel, The Land of Cockaigne (1567) and The Battle Between Carnival and Lent (1559) Pieter Bruegel, The Battle Between Carnival and Lent … [Read more...]

Edwardian Schema

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To celebrate the arrival of a new drawing pen, I used my Moleskine sketchbook to copy lessons from Drawing Made Easy by E.G. Lutz, originally published in 1916. His method is simple. He starts with geometric guidelines of outside shapes, then divides big shapes into smaller ones. Instruction in this type of schematic drawing was largely abandoned in the 1950s and 1960s in favor of supposedly more … [Read more...]

Danforth Drawing Classes

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Drawing classes begin on Tuesday, April 7 at Danforth Museum School in Framingham, Mass. Emphasis on seeing shapes of light and dark within a compositional frame is presented. Learn to observe the direction of light on objects in space. Warm-up with gestural thumbnail sketches from observation and from memory. Translate complex forms into two-dimensional compositions using line, value, edge and … [Read more...]

Drawing Class Demo

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This week students worked on drawing heads in the observational drawing class I teach at Danforth Museum School in Framingham. We have progressed from drawing individual objects like the tea pot to complex forms such as the plaster bust of a man. The outlined features on the balloon help students see the difference between drawing flat, isolated features on a sphere in comparison to representing … [Read more...]