Artistic Vision

Art Education. Straight Up.

Archive for February, 2008

Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain

February 27, 2008 at 9:30 am · Filed under Art, Blogroll, Books, Education and tagged: , , , , , ,

This past week I started walking my students through Betty Edwards‘ Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain material using the DRSB video. I was excited to try out this course since learning to draw is top of the list for nearly all of my students and had hoped Dr. Edwards’ credentials would have added some credence to the material. Sadly, this hasn’t been the case.

We’ve only just begun, however I’ve been a little disappointed in my students:

  1. At the top of the list is the fact that the first couple of exercises (vase-faces and upside-down drawing) weren’t taken seriously. Many talked through the exercise instead of being silent and concentrating.
  2. Their complaints that they couldn’t draw and how hard the exercises were droned on during most of my three Studio classes.
  3. On top of that, a few spent more time trying to find ways to trace the second project than simply doing it as instructed.
  4. Although I think they made too much of it, most complained about Dr. Edwards’ voice during the video. I tried to explain that her professorial voice is pretty common in colleges and they should get used to it. Of course, she could have hired someone but perhaps it wouldn’t have made the presentation as credible. Who knows. Either way, most of the students weren’t buying it.

Monday and Tuesday of this week, I had the students create the small viewfinder (there are two sizes). I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised, but I was disappointed when many of my students couldn’t do the measuring using the ruler. I’m hoping tomorrow I’ll be able to get started on the exercises using the viewfinder. I’ll keep you all posted.

Has anyone used the Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain material? What was your student response to it? I’d really like to hear your thoughts. Also, does anyone have any other recommended drawing courses they have successfully used for high school students?

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Artist websites

February 21, 2008 at 4:09 pm · Filed under Art, Blogroll, Technology and tagged: , , , ,

EmptyEasel.com has written a simple little article on the technology driving a website … and, why artists should use one instead of others.

Although I haven’t gotten around to selling my artwork online yet, this is a targeted message you’ll want to read. Artists are visual folks and that may end up hurting them if they’re not careful.

If you’re an artist with a blog, he’s also got some good recommendations on getting your art blog noticed and increasing your Google ranking.

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Obama spend-o-meter is now up around $800 billion

February 21, 2008 at 2:22 am · Filed under Blogroll, Election 2008, Government, Politics and tagged: , , , , ,

I seem to be on a political kick recently. These past few days I have found salient articles I’ve wanted to share. Here’s another one that raises some serious concerns about Obama’s fiscal reliability. Read the article, Obama’s Big-Government Vision, and consider what Lawrence Kudlow has to say. Here are some snippets:

The Obama spend-o-meter is now up around $800 billion. And tax hikes on the rich won’t pay for it. It’s the middle class that will ultimately shoulder this fiscal burden in terms of higher taxes and lower growth.

This isn’t free enterprise. It’s old-fashioned-liberal tax, and spend, and regulate. It’s plain ol’ big government. The only people who will benefit are the central planners in Washington.

Obama would like voters to believe that he’s the second coming of JFK. But with his unbelievable spending and new-government-agency proposals he’s looking more and more like Jimmy Carter. His is a “Grow the Government Bureaucracy Plan,” and it’s totally at odds with investment and business.

It will be interesting the next few months after candidates are selected and debates ensue.

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The dangers of misplaced hopes

February 20, 2008 at 9:12 am · Filed under Blogroll, Election 2008, Government, Politics, Pop Culture and tagged: , , , , ,

Interesting commentary from Cal Thomas:

Placing hope in politicians absolves too many of us our responsibilities … Changed lives produced changed behavior and, thus, changed circumstances, leading to a more hopeful future. Olasky wrote that tragedy occurred when government began to occupy the space once dominated by religious and personal charity, displacing hope and leading to despair.

The “hope” being sold by Obama and his true believers is misplaced. Obama cannot deliver; he cannot save; he cannot improve individual circumstances by redistributing wealth and talking to America’s dictatorial enemies. He is selling snake oil.

Thomas parallels Kennedy’s mesmerizing hold over people in the 60′s and the seemingly similar dazzle Obama is producing today. Of course, his commentary on Obama and his war-time leadership is more than a little scary.

It will be interesting to see how Obama handles the scrutiny due a lead-candidate (which he seems to have avoided for the most part up until now). Again, interesting stuff.

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500 years of self portraits …

February 19, 2008 at 8:27 pm · Filed under Art, Blogroll and tagged: , , , ,

For those of you who’ve seen the online (morphing) work of Phillip Scott Johnson, specifically last year’s 500 Years of Female Portraits in Western Art, you’ll probably enjoy his recent offering—500 Years of Male Self Portraits in Western Art. Enjoy!

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