Final Project: “The Fabulist”
Intro:
Artists throughout the ages have found animals to be fascinating subjects, so let’s join the ranks of the great ones!
If you were an animal (and after all you are!), which animal would you be? Think about it and commit to painting yourself as one.
1: Considerations
The gesture:
What are you doing?
Are you posing?
Is what you are doing characteristic of the animal you have chosen?
The setting:
Landscape?
Interior?
Do you take up most of the canvas or are part of a larger scene?
Lighting?
Proportion?
Color?
More considerations:
Are you predator or prey (or both)?
Are you alone?
What do you eat?
Where do you sleep?
What color(s) are you?
Do you have fur?
Paws?
Claws?
2. Site visit to the Museum of Natural History!
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Bring your sketchpad
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Make detailed drawings of two-three animals
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Make thumbnails of possible painting ideas
3. References
Gather from art history, natural history, and photography. It is very important, to amass considerable source material even if you don’t use all of it. As always, references can be used to inspire:
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color choices
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compositional layout
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mark making
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figurative interpretation
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etc., etc.
4. Stretch you canvas and begin.
5. Self-critique and make changes