Berlin Drawing Room Blog: July 2012

Spring Life Drawing with nude model!

Aktzeichnen in Berlin
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Life Drawing Dates
6-9pm, April 29, 2013

May 6

May 13

Draw from a live nude model! We start out with a warm up drawing excercise, such as blind contour drawing. Then we do a series of short gestural poses - always interesting because our models are typically dancers and performers! We end the session with a few longer 20 minute poses. The instructor will suggest themes to focus on such as "the exploratory line" or "negative space". Personal instruction and critique will be geared to the level of each participant. These classes are suitable for beginners as well as the more advanced who want to practice drawing from a model.

Contact info: HERE

What to bring: sketch-book/ paper minimum A3 size, some pencils, any other drawings materials you want to use such as charcoal, conte crayons, ....

Cost: 15 Euro/ per session

Negative Space in the garden

In the Drawing Workshop, the class on Negative Space is definately one of the most important. Being able to shift your focus between positive in negative space is a crucial skill in becoming a better observer. This is also one of the most abstract concepts to explain, but with practice, something just seems to click. Giving equal focus to positive and negative space within a composition is important to achieving unity in a picture.

We were lucky enough to have great weather last week, and got to draw in the lovely garden of the Berlin Drawing Room. Here are some images from that class.

Focusing on the negative space between leaves and branches

Observing tree branches against the sky through a mirror. Clever!

Using a viewfinder to frame the composition.

Final negative space drawing. These always remind me of pressed flowers.

Result of drawing tree branches with the mirror.

Can you identify the negative space here?

Result of a hard days work!

Drawing Workshop starts July 23

New class starts July 23! Sign up now to reserve your place!

Contact

This class introduces basic techniques in drawing, with a focus on drawing from observation. Exercises explore technique, medium and strategies in visual thinking. The class is a perfect introduction for beginners, with something new even for the more experienced.

Each class is structured around a formal topic (contour lines, tonality, negative space...), with examples from art-history and a brief discussion. We will build technique through a series of guided exercises, followed by time for experimentation and longer drawings. We will draw from a live model and from still life creations.

We will make several excursions to draw out in the field, including the ready-made still lives of Berlin’s Natural History Museum, the statues in the Pergamon Museum, and a plein air site. This workshop is also suitable for teenagers! Inquire for more details.

Location: Berlin Drawing Room in Kreuzberg

Schedule: Monday 6-9pm and Wednesday 6-9pm

- the field-trip will be scheduled at a different time

Summer Drawing Workshop is July 23 - August 15, 2012

Cost: 135 Euro for the complete Workshop (8 classes plus 1 field-trip)

- recommended for beginners

or 20 Euro per individual class

To sign up contact:

miraob@gmail.com

Link to the drawing supply list and where to buy your drawing supplies HERE

A selection of Student Work from the Fall Drawing Workshop

"Excellent for first-timers! Challenging for slightly more experienced! Stimulating for experienced artists too. You've got nothing to loose. Mira's Life drawing class was our highlight of the past summer."

- Marta Hanson, Visiting Scholar, Max Plank Institute for the History of Science

(participant in the Summer Drawing Workshop, 2011)

Watercolor Location: Sunday July 15

For the last plein-air painting session of the Watercolor Workshop, we will meet in a quite unique and interesting location. It is a train yard in the Gleisdreieck area, and the good news is that we can hide under the old train tracks in case it rains.

Since it is a little bit hard to find, we will meet at the Bülowstrasse U-Bahn station (under the station at the west-most end - ground level). But just in case you come late and want to try finding the way yourself, here are directions:

From Bülowstrasse on: go down the stairs to get out of the station; orient yourself towards the church (picture 1) and walk straight towards it 500m; then to the left of the church (picture 2), cross the curve of the street and go on 100m (picture 3). You'll see a little skatepark to your left. At the end of the pathway, you'll see a small door (picture 4), seeming to lead to private gardens (also noticeable : the sign for "beach61". Climb the stairs, to the left 10m, and you're there!

Here are some images of the site, thanks to Alexandre Dupuis.

Location: Saturday July 23

On Saturday's class, we will meet in the Tiergarten for plein-air painting! Meet directly across the street from the Haus der Kulturen der Welt, near the bus stop. If you can't find us or if you are late, text me and I will send location!

Here are some photos to make the meeting spot more clear.

MAP: http://goo.gl/maps/qx7l

the red dot is the meeting point!

this bus stop is at the meeting point

this is the Haus der Kulturen der Welt, across the street from the meeting point

Watercolor Artists: approaches

To get some ideas on how to start a watercolor painting, we looked at art history. What strategies have watercolor artists used in the past?

Some artists started with a drawing, and stuck to this drawing as an outline. Other artists started with color and brushstrokes.

We broke this down into two main strategies: the drawing approach and the painterly approach. Look through these images and see if you can identify the approach!