Building Art Skills
Shading: shapes stay flat and undefined without shading. Starting with simply controlling darks and lights, to light logic, to the dramatic effects available with light and shadow.......shading can be a lifelong study.
Study from Velázquez's The Triumph of Bacchus
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Shapes: The ability to draw basic shapes, reduce an object to simpler shapes and then build back the detail gives a solid base to any drawing
Color: From color mixing to the emotional and visual impact of color, the study of color is an interictal part of the artist journey.
Anatomy and Gesture: Another area of infinite possibility for a lifetime of learning.
Composition: The rule of thirds is a famous and very effective part of composition, but there are many approaches to explore.
Perspective: We look at the theory of perspective developed in the Rennaissance but we also look at symbolic perspective such as was used in the art of Ancient Egypt.
Observation: The Foundation of any and all art skills is observation. Empirical observation: observation without concerning yourself with any theory or system is a starting point for both art and science. In art, observation can be concerned with facts such as shapes and color or it can be concerned with emotional responses to the world, internal or external.