Capricho 42: Tu Que No Puedes (You Who Cannot)

This Capricho by Fransisco de Goya is meant to symbolize the dynamics of society during his time. He portrays the wealthy as donkeys, or asses, that are riding on the backs of the working lower class.

His use of light and dark in this particular piece both emphasizes physical qualities as well as metaphorical. Since wealth is considered to be well respected, the donkeys, or upper class members, are very light. Although, Goya did pay special attention to the muscles in the donkeys. The poor, dirty from physical labor, are much darker.

Goya also uses the darkness to show shadows. Shadows are a relatively simple detail, seemingly meaningless, but they fill up the space and create a more dynamic and full piece.

"Ballerina"

"Ballerina" was created using charcoal and erasing the dark away to create an image. The charcoal was a very effective tool in creating such dark shadows. I then used a kneaded erasure to create the spotlight and change the shading on the girls dress.

This was a very interesting process, and unlike any other drawing I have ever done. The eraser was very effective in not only creating light, but also some form of direction. For example, where the light meets the dress, it is very bright. But by erasing in different directions I attempted (and hopefully was successful) in distinguishing between what was the dress and what is the light.

At first glance it may be difficult to perceive the scene in this piece. However, once it is seen, it is much more understandable. I am very pleased with the outcome of this piece, and I had a lot of fun doing it.

The Professor

This piece was done in class with a combination of watered down paint over charcoal. The paint initially highlights the movement and shadows in the scene. The charcoal was then used to add detail to the figure. In this piece, I really tried to focus on the movement and look of the fabric of Professor Rifka's clothing. I slightly exaggerated the size of her blouse: while it was very "flow-y", my image makes her form look wider than she is. However, I am very pleased with how the pants came out. The cross-hatching and emphasis on the folds looks realistic. The overall form is a bit disproportionate, such as the arms being a bit too small, and the head being a bit too large. Despite the dis-proportionality, I think that the individual features themselves came out satisfactory.

While making this piece, I really enjoyed working with the different media. The paint was especially fun to try.

Shades

This is a sketch of a picture of my boyfriend, Sean. Although this image does not fully capture the form because he is wearing sunglasses, it does emphasize the drastic shading at that moment. We were out on the boat a few hours before sunset when this picture was taken, so the sunlight was very strong and at an angle. This created an interesting effect on the face, especially in the right lens of the sunglasses. The sunglasses are dark, but the sun is so strong and at such an angle that it actually shines through the lens and onto the skin. The effect is very slight, especially in this particular sketch, but it was interesting nonetheless.

An Oldie...

This is a sketch of myself as a child. I came across a picture of me and my Nana and I really liked the expression on my face. This sketch is a bit rough and could use more detail and shading, especially in the hair and face. However, I think it does capture some of the emotion through the eyes and mouth.

First Figurative Sketch

 For our first in class figurative sketch, we were assigned to sit across from someone and you would sketch them as they would sketch you. While my sketch doesn't really resemble Ashley, I still feel that it was a good first attempt. The features that I drew I believe to be pretty accurate, however, their relative sizes and the overall proportions are way off. The eyes and lips look good up close, but then from a distance, they are way to small in relation to the size of the head. Next time: focus on the relative sizes and shapes of the figure BEFORE I start drawing in details.