30 Day Drawing Challenge Day 23- Linking Shapes with Shadows

30 Day Drawing Challenge Day 23- Linking Shapes with Shadows

Linkage is a design fundamental that describes the process of bringing unity to a piece of art by building connections.  Connections bring harmony and balance and all kinds of good design qualities to your work.  These connections can be made in many ways, but actual physical linking of shapes isn't always possible or may not make sense in your composition.  This is where shadows can play a very convenient role!

Designing better shapes is something we should all be thinking about.  Linking shapes is a really great way to achieve this.  For example, it's often a good idea when possible to take a series of repetitive small shapes and bring them together with connecting shapes.  This can create larger and more interesting shapes, or bring variation to what would otherwise be simple repetition. Again, this is a role that shadows were born to play!

Shadows can be anything from short and stubby to long and lean.  They can go in any direction.   They can GROW if needed to fill gaps.  They can also have color!

(We explored Color and Shadows in Day 21 of our 30 Day drawing challenge- Here's the link in case you missed it: 30 Day Drawing Challenge Day 21: Shadows/Color )

For all these reasons shadows are the perfect means for designing better shapes and creating linkage within your work.

An example of how you can GROW shadows to connect otherwise disconnected shapes ©Rebecca Zdybel 

Today's Challenge: 

Step 1: Draw 3-5 disconnected shapes using a contour drawing and ink.  I love clothespins as a subject, but you can pick anything (toothbrushes, brushes, pencils, crayons...etc.)

Hint: Leave gaps here and there in the contours of your objects to allow for color to visually flow in and out of the shapes and allow for a sense of bounced color from shadow to object. 

Step 2: Use shadows to connect your shapes and form a unified drawing.  Watercolor, watercolor pencils, or watercolor crayons would be a great to use in order to create colored shadows, but colored pencils or markers could also work well. 

Note that my shadows are not realistic, but they serve to connect my shapes together and create linkage.  They also provide a cool complementary color to the warm oranges of the clothespins.  

Step 3: Send a photo of your final result to me:   rebecca@artmyrtlebeach.com

Have fun with this drawing and file the idea away for future compositions when you sketch!  As we learn to draw, these little tricks of the trade can make our work so much better, and they are not that hard.  You just need to spend a little time digesting them. =)

Here are some drawings from the sketchbooks of more fellow Drawing Challengers:  

These all illustrate a very great danger in going down the Zentangle path...IT'S ADDICTIVE and very meditative...and BEAUTIFUL when done like these drawings demonstrate. Wow!  If you missed that lesson, it's available following this link. If you go there beware of the risk of instant addiction! 30 Day Drawing Challenge Day 20- Zentangle

I'm already looking ahead to later this week.  I will be breaking out my Tombow marker in burnt sienna color -947 for a sketch or two during the final couple of weeks of this challenge.  If you would like to get one, it's around $5-6. Here is a link:  Tombow 947 Marker- Amazon

Rebecca Zdybel

Artist, Instructor, Art-Travel Instructor

Art Lessons: Drawing, Watercolor, Acrylic, Collage, Mixed Media

Myrtle Beach, SC

rebecca@artmyrtlebeach.com

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Rebecca Zdybel is an artist and instructor in Myrtle Beach, SC.  Follow her and see her work at http://www.artmyrtlebeach.com/

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Arty Party- Gather Your Group and HAVE FUN TOGETHER!

What kind of activity engages everyone: senior, TEEN and youngsters?    Tired of family watching TV or on their cell phones?  Try this idea...

Have an ARTY PARTY!  

Spend time together doing something UNUSUAL and MEMORABLE.   It's EASY- just contact me and we can make it happen!  

New Convenient Location near Barefoot Landing in Myrtle Beach!
I Was Fired In SC- Pottery Painting Studio
4021 Hwy 17 S, North Myrtle Beach, SC 

Here's how to schedule your event and lots of photos from past Arty Party fun...

Click here to View all your painting CHOICES...these images can be painted at YOUR party!

Arty Party- Check out all the fun in these images from past parties!

Click here to View all your painting CHOICES...these images can be painted at YOUR party!

Fun for family and friends...  You bring the smiles and I'll help you with everything else. 

Schedule your Arty Party TODAY!

Call or text 843-450-2307 

or email rebecca@artmyrtlebeach.com

Rebecca Zdybel
Artist, Instructor, Art-Travel Instructor
Art Lessons in all media
Myrtle Beach, SC
rebecca@artmyrtlebeach.com

Spread Light, Share Love, DO Art!

Feel free to share this blog post on your own blog or website, but I ask that you you include:

Rebecca Zdybel is an artist and instructor in Myrtle Beach, SC.  Follow her and see her work at http://www.artmyrtlebeach.com/

"Like" my facebook page: Rebecca Zdybel- Artist
Join me on Google+ Rebecca Zdybel Google+ Profile

Angelic Warrior Joins Me to Fight Arthritis!

Children have a wonderful way of being open to ideas and welcoming of new experiences without expectations.  Think about it...we all began that way! Yesterday, I was reminded of how fabulous it can be to experience painting with the heart of a child.  Join us for this fun watercolor art lesson.  It's great for young kids or the "young at heart".  

It was my privilege to participate in the SC Arthritis Foundation's Fundraising Project for 2014. I was asked to work with a child from Myrtle Beach who has been diagnosed with arthritis.  My role was to help her develop a piece of art which could be sold for fundraising purposes.  With that in mind, I met this little Art Angel...

Arianna Sanchez is READY!!!

This little Art angel is a warrior!  

She is in a battle with arthritis.  

But she is not about to let that stop her!

She came to my studio along with her sweet mom and brother, and we set off to CREATE something!
Perhaps you'll enjoy her journey as an artist and want to share it with a child in your life.  In fact, maybe your Inner Child will be so inspired that you may want to give it a try...I hope so!  We all had fun with it, and you may too...

Rebecca Shows Arianna some of the materials they will use

I showed her some of the materials and gave her lots of verbal instruction. Given her age, I approached it as a color exercise.  Our First Step: Crayon lines as "wax-resist"... we made random lines and got loosened up with some mark making on the page. 

Adding a bit of yellow watercolor

Then I had her use large hake brushes and with a pure lemon yellow color, she created a winding path of yellow on a wet piece of watercolor paper.  You can't see the crayon lines, but they added some "resist" to the watercolor, creating white or relatively light lines. 

Setting a pure Manganese blue in beside the yellow and then helping it find a path to the edge was the next step. Try not to mix the colors, just set them next to one another. As I often say: 

"Water paints better than I ever could."

Next comes blue and then comes pink!

Along the way, I had her note what colors resulted when blue merged with yellow (green).  Then we added some pretty Opera Pink, but the stipulation was...add it next to any color except "Green".   When she added the pink, we noted what color resulted when it merged with Blue (purple)  and when it merged with yellow (orange). She and her brother had big fun naming the colors and figuring out where she could put them.

We continued to add strong mixes of watercolor, all the while placing colors next to one another rather than mixing them together.  Instead, we sprayed with water to encourage their mixing.  We continued our guessing game about what color would result from our additions.  We added Winsor Red, and avoided placing it next to "Greens".  We added American Journey's Arctic Ice, but avoided placing it next to "Orange". Then one at a time, with instructions of what colors to avoid, we added more pink, blue and yellow.  (Avoiding the complementary colors helps to keep the colors bright.)  As she did her additions, a variety of beautiful colors emerged on the paper.

How about some RED! 

Once the page was full of color, we added some salt for texture in places where the paper was not as "shiny".  At least for a while, we were able to restrain the application of salt to the dry areas...then it was so much fun pouring salt, that things got a bit salty!  But that's ok, we have to let go and have some fun along the way, right?!

Then it was time to paint with the blow dryer.  Some of the deep wells of color could be moved in lines with the force of the blow dryer.  Things also need to dry before we could move on...soooooo

Painting with the blow dryer!

After blow-drying our paper, and blow-drying her brother, and lest we forget, of course we had to blow-dry mom... 
After everything was dry, we ended up with a beautiful bright page full of color and texture.

Next came the lines....To add the lines, we made big sweeping gestures with Elmers Glue.  Once the lines travelled around the paper, we added more salt...(oh yesssssss!) but we did so by pinching a bit between our fingers and dropping it directly into the wet glue lines.  Here we are doing this step.  (Since Arianna's arms were a bit short for our big painting, I gave her a had with the glue)  We all helped put salt into the wet glue.

Once the glue lines were salted, we set about adding the same colors next to one another along the lines.  This requires a gentle touch.  Simply touching the glue lines with a loaded soft brush full of paint works best.  There were so many lines that Big Brother, Christian needed to lend a hand!

Beautiful colored lines begin to form all over the page...so much fun!









Then it was time to get out the blow-dryer again...watch out mom!

After drying completely,  it was time to do a little coloring with American Journey Watercolor Sticks.  They are a fun water media product that goes on like a crayon, and dissolves like watercolor.  Arianna used those to intensify some of her colors and create a few strategic dark shapes.  I limited her choices to ones which would keep her out of color trouble, and encouraged her to search out a shapes that had been formed by the lines we had created. I had her color till she was tired of coloring in each shape, and then spread the color the rest of the way  with a wet brush.  She liked being able to quit on a shape when she felt like it, and just letting the water do the rest...

Once she had a page full of beautiful colors and lines, I thought giving her composition a calm border might be nice.  So together, we added a white acrylic border along the edge.  

 Finally, the painting needed her signature.  She looked at the piece from all directions and decided which way it should hang.  I suggested a place for her to sign it and she used 2 pieces of paper as a guide for placement, and for how large to write her signature.  I had her use graphite, to make it easy to write her name.  She did it perfectly! 

"Keep On the Sunny Side" Painting by Arianna Sanchez
Mixed media of Watercolor and Acrylic on Paper.  18"X24"
Painting will be available for sale 

Don't you just love her painting?  Comment here and I will share those comments with Our Art Angel and her sweet family.  If you're inspired to help her and other kids like her, join us in the fight against Arthritis, and attend the Masquerade Event in Charleston, SC follow this link:  
https://arthritismar.ejoinme.org/MyEvents/2014DvineAffair/tabid/517287/Default.aspx

August 3  Gallery Show to celebrate each piece created this year at Lowcountry Artists Gallery 1-3pm Charleston, SC

September 6 D'Vine Affair Masquerade Gala Benefitting the Arthritis Foundation. at Memminger Auditorium  Theme: Masquerade--Faces of Arthritis, 7 pm. 

Charleston, SC

Rebecca Zdybel
Artist, Instructor, Art-Travel Instructor
Art Lessons in all media
Myrtle Beach, SC
rebecca@artmyrtlebeach.com

Spread Light, Share Love, DO Art!

Feel free to share any of this blog post on your own blog or website, but I ask that you you include:

Rebecca Zdybel is an artist and instructor in Myrtle Beach, SC.  Follow her and see her work at http://www.artmyrtlebeach.com/

"Like" my facebook page: Rebecca Zdybel- Artist
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Cave Art Mystery!

The mysteries just keep on getting bigger!  Cave paintings similar to those found in Europe have been found high in the cliffs of the Great South African Escarpment.  REALLY?!  How is that explainable?

If you are as intrigued by all this as I am, be sure you read my previous post, and then you may enjoy this video...Let me know what you think~





Let me hear from you! I'd love to know your theories...

Ancient Apparitions -Watercolor, acrylic gesso, ink on paper  11X15 $300
Rebecca Zdybel

Rebecca Zdybel
Artist, Instructor, Art-Travel Instructor
Art Lessons in all media
Myrtle Beach, SC
rebecca@artmyrtlebeach.com

Spread Light, Share Love, DO Art!

Feel free to share any of this blog post on your own blog or website, but I ask that you you include:

Rebecca Zdybel is an artist and instructor in Myrtle Beach, SC.  Follow her and see her work at http://www.artmyrtlebeach.com/

"Like" my facebook page: Rebecca Zdybel- Artist
Join me on Google+ Rebecca Zdybel Google+ Profile

Carcassone, France

Using Toulouse as my base of operations, I rented a car and drove to a couple of different places.  Carcassonne, is an impressively intact fortified medieval city. It is beautiful to look at and I thought it might be fun to see in person.  I was thinking about setting up from a distance, and trying to paint or draw the exterior fortifications.


I rented a small car, and without consulting me, I was given a stick-shift vehicle.  Thankfully that was  not a problem for me.  I did request a GPS, and that was a life-saver.  The roads were well marked, but I would probably not have been as successful navigating aroundp the countryside on my own unless I had the GPS.  If I had a companion to help me navigate, it may have been possible to get by without it.

According to maps, Carcassonne was about 60 miles (90 km) and so that seemed about an hour from Toulouse.  If you go by car, follow the signs from City Center of the Lower City to 'Le Cite'.  That seems to be the designation they give to the castle area.  I took the "scenic route" on the way there (the one without toll roads), and it was not worth the need to stop and go.  I'd definitely opt to drive the toll road both ways next time.  The scenery was actually better from the toll road.  The took about an hour on the toll road.


I went despite what I'd read on Rick Steve's website. The reviews were not great, and in the end, they were right.  Though it was impressive and majestic to see, it was not at all authentic.  Really, it was pretty much a tourist trap...but, nonetheless, I'm glad I saw it.  If you go, don't plan to spend a long time. A walk through is fine.  The church has pretty stained glass inside, should you want to take a look.  The wind can be VERY strong, as it gets channeled through gaps in the walls.  Plan on wearing an extra layer if it's at all cold.  All in all, it's a beautiful to look at, but lacks soul.  Not a place to hang out.  The wind was so intense, I decided to draw it another time.

Cassoulet is the specialty of every dining establishment. I might eat elsewhere or even bring a picnic, since you can get into Le Cite' for free.

 This is the double wall around the city.  This space between the two walls used to have a moat in between the walls!

If this city were to be attacked, you'd definitely need to plan on starving them out, because there would be no way too break through these walls and moats.  

Though my trip was not as I'd expected it to be, I was happy I went.  Ironically, the hardest part of the trip was figuring out how to get out of the parking garage! It's funny how stupid you can feel when you can't process the words in front of you.  

On the way back, I stopped at Le Grand Round in Toulouse and enjoyed a park, Boulingrin. Beautiful on a weekend afternoon...with Toulouse natives enjoying the sunshine and the gardens there.  I happily painted a little sketch there where I had some sunshine and very little breeze.  All in all a great day.

Here's some photos from the park, and a little sketch from my afternoon spent there...

Let me hear from you! I read every comment and it means a lot to know you are out there reading.



Rebecca Zdybel
Artist, Instructor, Art-Travel Instructor
Art Lessons in all media
Myrtle Beach, SC
rebecca@artmyrtlebeach.com

Spread Light, Share Love, DO Art!

Feel free to share any of this blog post on your own blog or website, but I ask that you you include:

Rebecca Zdybel is an artist and instructor in Myrtle Beach, SC.  Follow her and see her work at http://www.artmyrtlebeach.com/

"Like" my facebook page: Rebecca Zdybel- Artist
Join me on Google+ Rebecca Zdybel Google+ 

Albi France- Visit to the Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec Museum

The town of Albi is an adorable place to go in France.  It is approximately an hour drive from Toulouse.  I went on both the toll roads and the "non-toll road route".  The scenery is not better along the slow roads, so definitely take the highway.  It's about 1.5 Euros, so not much money.

Once you get there, you'll find a quaint and beautiful town which has an impressive cathedral.  Albi was home to Henri Toulouse-Loutrec and his family. It is now the home of the museum which bears his name and houses much of his work.  I am really glad I made the trip.  Parking is easy, and the metered lots near the museum are simple to negotiate with a few coins.  I stayed about 2.5 hoursin the museum, and probably spent more time than most people would need to spend to see the entire collection.


You may not know that his parents were titled and wealthy first cousins who married and had two children.  Henri's sibling died young and it left him as an only child.  Henri had a congenital abnormality which caused him to be at risk for fractures and have brittle bones.  He broke two major bones as a child which left the bones stunted, and caused him to be shorter than normal. He had a problem with drinking and was confined to an asylum for a time.  Upon his release, his parents hired a cousin to be his sober companion and to keep him out of trouble for the family.

 Henri was educated as an artist, and painted in oil, as well as other mediums. He drew as a child, and continued as his career progressed.  I was not aware how many horses he painted, unitil visiting the museum.  He also evolved as an artist and ended up concentrating on portraits.  As a post-impressionist painter, the rebellion of catering to the French Salon had already occurred with the likes of Monet and Manet.  Lautrec lived as a Bohemian and painted among the working class, bar room crowds of Monte Martre in Paris...ptobably painting in the same environment in which he was drinking...


Two things really struck me after viewing this collection:
1. Though Toulouse de Lautrec painted women of ill repute- he did so with respect.  He portrayed them as wormen and as people.  Unlike Picasso and his drawings and representations of wormen (which were almost pornographic in my opinion). Lautrec's paintings and drawings were not nasty in any way.  In fact, they were often sensitive.
2.  Contour drawing was the basis for much of his work, especially in the later years when he produced so many prints and lithographs for the clubs and entertainers who were his patrons.  These are his most famous and reproduced works .  Contour drawing is simply rendering the edges of your subject.  Lautrec ususally did this with bold line work and then painted flat areas of color.  Words were also a large part of the design.

Here's an Idea for you Artists out there :

I've been encouraging my students to think about using contour drawing as a basis for their paintings.  If you haven't tried it, think about doing a simple drawing with a continuous line.  Pick up the pencil (but I'd recommend pen) and try to keep your eyes on your subject.  Look only when you need to, and try to look at your subject more than 80 percent of the time.  You will find that if you draw what you see, and not what you "think" is there, you will come up with some surpisingly cool drawings. This painting began with a contour pen sketch...some flat areas of color and some words, and as they say here in France, "Voila!"


If you wast to paint like Toulouse Le Trec...think about doing a contour drawing,using flat areas of color and perhaps adding words to your painting..


Here's a quick sketch from my sketchbook that might illustrate the idea with my version of Toulouse Lautrec's dancing girls. .  Give this technique a try- You might like it!
 

The Best Restaurant in Toulouse- Fil a la une

Toulose is a hip little town.  It's old, beautiful, and not touristy.  People are lively and friendly, but reserved in typical French style.  A lovely river runs through it and the architecture is old world, but more Napoleonic than medieval...kind of like Paris.  There are lots of restaurants and young people, due to the universities here.  You see a lot of people smoking "roll your own" and generally acting the hipster, but it provides some local 'color".

It's a pretty town.  I like the occasional fountain in the plazas and spent some time painting the statues, fountains, and ornate lamp-posts in the Boulingrin today.  It's a lovely park in the middle of Le Grand Round (a bigger than average roundabout in the City Center).

Best Restaurant in Toulouse! La Fil a la Lune-


This is my new little favorite place to have a bite of dinner and some great wine in Toulouse, France.  Reservations are a good idea, since they are incredibly busy.  phone # 05 62 26 27 14.  Address: 8 Place du Pont Neuf 31000 Toulouse.  Located on the corner of Place Esquirol and Place du Pont Neuf...right at the bridge.

Stroll along the riverfront park at sunset and then make your way to dinner.

Coming here by myself, they have made me feel very welcome every time I enter the door...even special.  Almost like my own version of French "Cheers". And there's plenty to keep me occupied once I take a seat, with lots to watch while sitting here eating dinner.  The owner, Gilles, is an animated and friendly guy who speaks a bit of English.  This has been helpful, as people are not generally fluent in English in Toulouse.  Gilles is a hard working owner, and runs around making everyone happy...occasionally even pounding a bottle down on a table and encouraging everyone to take a shot-on the house!  No wonder so many customers seem happy.

But in reality, it's the food! Not only is it good to eat, but every plate looks beautiful.  I am left wanting to take photos of each dish that passes by me.  The crowd is young to middle age, but I'm pushing the top end of middle age.  Lots of smiles and good vibrations.  Steaks and burgers are the staple fare, and the papas fritte are to die for!  I had the steak...very tasty. They make their own delicious fois gras and serve it on cool slabs of black slate.  Ask for the white wine they actually use to make it, and experience the perfect wine pairing.  In addition, the salads are gargantuan and gorgeous! On this, my third night in a row, I am determined to try one of those lovely salads- 13-14 Euros, but so much food!  Huge burgers from 12-25 euros and steaks are similarly reasonable.Bottles of wine are from 20-30 Euros,and glasses from 3.50 to 6.50.  Great prices for the quality.

One suggestion- Try to avoid sitting on or near the front veranda, unless you are not bothered by cigarette smoke.  (That's one thing about France...so many people smoke in public spaces here.)

Hotel Pere Leon- Quiet and nice staff.  I got a double room and had nice light and space to paint when the day was rainy.  The shower and facilities were clean and modern.  I felt safe on the street at night and there was a safe in the room.  I would not necessarily have breakfast there.  The coffee (a BIG part of my day) was very mediocre.  There seems to be an unfortunate trend inn some of the places I visited where they are using push button coffee dispensers- YUCK.  It tastes plastic.  There were many coffee shops and Patisseries in the area, and I would suggest planning on those in the morning.

If you go, tell them I sent you and have a nice glass of AOC Crozes Hermitages for me!