I took drawing and painting classes all through high school. Basic Art was a requirement, and then we had a lot of electives to choose from after that. I amassed quite a collection of creations, stored in a big brown portfolio envelope in my bedroom closet.
Shoe still life in marker (as I recall, we had to do this without blocking it in in pencil first).
Figure sketch (yes, this was the eighties).
Study of hands and feet.
Self portrait.
Graphic design exercise.
I've always liked this one. The assignment was to draw a crumpled piece of paper and then turn it into a landscape.
Psychedelic vegetables (in pastels).
"The Great Bird of the Galaxy" (during the rabid Trekkie phase).
This was done with some special kind of markers on slick paper. I don't remember what they're called.
Three-stage linoleum print.
Still life (oil on... what's this stuff called? Canvasette? Canvas skin? Whatever it is, it wrinkles.)
Another still life in oils (transparency exercise).
Detail from a painting that I created to be a cover for my story "The Prince Who Couldn't Do Anything" (which started out as an assignment for my Drawing I class, but I didn't actually finish it until right before I graduated.)
Notebook doodle (probably done in math class or something).
Another doodle. I did quite a lot of these--I called them "spaghetti drawings." I was always doodling in class.
We had quite an extensive art department at my high school. Carol Walker and George Armstrong taught drawing and classes like sculpture and "Art in Society," and Paul Buford taught painting and crafts. I wonder how much that department has been cut back now. I remember that I wasn't always excited about some of the assignments (when we had weekly sketchbook homework for Basic Art, I remember drawing my breakfast bacon one morning because I hadn't done anything else), but it was all great experience. I got to try a lot of different mediums and approaches, and challenge myself, which is always good!
4 comments:
Wow, these are fantastic. I love the shoes one and the rumpled paper landscape is fantastic.
I am very envious of your talent :D
Lisa xoxo
I remember your spaghetti doodles (and many others as well), and I tried showing Isabela how much fun they are a little while ago. She enjoyed watching how they keep growing.
These are so wonderful, Helena! The shoes are definitely one of my top favorites, but I love your little sketch of the 2 people at the fire, too... what a wide range you showed us!
When I was teaching at FHS in 04-05, Mr. Armstrong was teaching ceramics full time. One day during parent teacher conferences when neither of us had any appointments he helped me throw a bowl and a pot. They are on my living room shelf next to my giraffe painting. The rest of the program was pretty strong at the time, but it was just after they had cut all elementary art in the district and moved previous elementary teachers to the high school. It was pretty sad, and I can't imagine that the art program is doing very well since that.
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