"Immediate Touch" Class at SLAM, #2

Second class in the "Immediate Touch" was "Superimposed images, chance, and gesture:" Choose an object from the museum collection. Make a drawing from life by measuring the object to establish proportional relationships. Establish tonal range and lost and found edges. Create a second drawing of the same object on tracing paper, this time employing blind contour technique. Attach transparent image over perceptual drawing."


T. Renner, "Bird Figure" (detail), 2008, charcoal pencil on paper, 15" x 13".

O.K., it's a poor craftsman who blames his tools but I couldn't get either my black china marker nor my white conte pencil to sharpen. (Note to self: bring pocket-knife to class next time.) I reached a point where I was tired of fighting with my tools and just declared the base drawing done, even though I could have worked on it longer.

Instead of doing one drawing on transparent paper I did two. The paper we were given for the project was actually more translucent than transparent so I what I've done is to scan the contour drawings and to make them transparent in Photoshop. Smudges remained opaque.

Overall, I'd give myself an "A" on this one. I think you could slip it into the "Immediate Touch" exhibit and nobody would bat an eye.

The image above is a detail from the finished piece because of the limited size of my scanner.