Legion Of Honor San Franciso CA

Hi. Today my class met at the Legion of Honor in San Francisco. In my top 5 favorite museums, I just love this place. I could spend all day walking the grounds and looking at the magnificent works inside. I hope my students enjoyed this excursion as much as I did.

Very sad to say that most of my photos were very shakey. Too much coffee I suppose but I just can’t get used to this tiny digital camera. This is best of the shots I took. Should have remembered to write down the artists oh well.

Lots of Rodin sculptures here. They always make me think of Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein”.

People whose flesh has been clumped and smashed together to form super humans.

Spectacular landscapes.

Jose Jimenez y Aranda's Holy Week In Seville 1879

I adore this painting and run through the museum just to spend time with it whenever I go.

There is so much character in the faces and the staging is wonderful, sure the composition is so so but ah to paint some many characters so beautifully...

Very disappointed I couldn't get a still picture, but can't use a flash.

Columbus As A Boy.Marble as cloth- the whole reason why we took the trip.

Upon arriving I saw a coyote, see it?

The Golden Gate Bridge shrouded in the fog.

How Goes The Villians Challenge?

Stormtroopers and Cylons...Lovely Villians...

Oh yeah and Klingons...Can't forget about them.
Please excuse the yucky hands, friends.
What's bad in ruff will be cool in finish.

VILLIANS CHALLENGE EXTENDED TO JULY 20!
get going on yours.

Recent IPhone Icons

My Students Are Cooler Than Your's

I don't know who suggested it but one of my students said it would be fun to wear a costume so we could draw everybody for class today and I was pleased to see everybody came dressed up. This was fun idea and everybody seemed to have a great time. We paraded around campus and should have had our trick or treat bags. We went outside to get some pictures in the smokey air (all of California is on fire right now - thus my fire department costume) Then we went inside to draw each other. What a great group of students I've got!

Everybody gets to silly now and then. I think I'm being beaten to death here.
Time for a little reflection.
Holy Sheet!
What is this sheet?

Verily, I seeketh me mead

This is an awesome hat! Why don't we wear stuff this anymore?

Chinese upper class from a time long past.

Crouching Tiger....?

Anyone for some Kendo?

Ready?
A kimono suprise.
Kinda blue
Ready for the Convention
Nothing up my sleeve.
Fairy Princess Queen she tells me
She's back!
I'm so shiney...
I guess I should get to work and help put these fires out.

Aren't my students great? We need to do this more often.

Supported Folds: More Class Notes For You

Yesterday we began our discussion on supported folds beginning with bend folds. These folds show activity and compression in joints. Bend folds are found at the elbow and knee, obviously, and also pelvis/leg insertion, arm/chest insertion and sometimes the ankles and wrists as well as the neck.
The tighter or thinner the material, the smaller the bend fold. More material means a larger bend fold. Here are some lecture notes. We continued the discussion with pull or tension folds. These are folds that stretch across the form or figure usually having several origins but all meet at one point of tension. I encourage all of you to find those folds that best describe the action or gesture of the cloth and simplify the rest. If you draw every fold you'll be copying and the drawing will become too complicated and appear stiff.

Next we covered my favorite type of fold, the zig zag fold. This type of fold describes a sense of compression as the material begins to pile on itself, usually at the floor or on top of forms. It's easy to get carried away when these folds, so again, pay attention to the intended look of your folds. Otherwise the folds will stop looking solid. Go and practice drawing folds!
Here are some stunningly beautiful examples of folds from Ver meer, Caravaggio and Velazquez respectively.

Had the above been painted today, it probably would have been titled "Damn, dude..."