Sfumato and Chiaroscuro

as we will use them in this General Drawing class can be simplified (oversimplified?) to be used in two separate instances.

Sfumato, which means to disappear as into smoke, gives us a technique to represent objects which are far away.
Go outside and note the landscape on a particularly hazy day. Far away objects do not appear as clear. Their colors are not as rich, and details blend together and become vague.
The value is more neutral, mid-tone, with extreme darks or lights being rare.
The color leans to the blue or green side, the cool colors. Warm tones fade to cool in the distance.

Chiaroscuro, which means from clear to obscure (more easily though of as from light to dark), gives us a technique to represent volume in objects which are close to us, in the foreground, or in compositions which are less expansive than landscape (such as still life).
The difference in values will be extreme. The composition will have moments of extreme dark and extreme light, as well as gradations between.
Color will be richer, have more vibrance, even as it changes from super bright to exceptionally dark.

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Week #3 Classwork

Today, you will make four drawings.

Two drawings will be made outside. They will introduce you to Sfumato.

Two drawings will be made inside. They will introduce you to Chiaroscuro.

Give yourself approx. 30 minutes for each drawing.

You can blend pastels with your finger, with each other, use the kneaded eraser for blending or erasing.




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Sfumato
Use pastel to make two drawings outside. (5:45 – 6:45 pm)

Drawing #1
Color pastel – compose a landscape (based on observation) that contains objects which are very close to the observer (artist/you) as well as contains objects which are very far away.

• use high key, rich, vibrant, bright colors for the objects which are close to you.

• Use low key, dull, less powerful, “pastel” colors for the objects which are far from you.


Drawing #2
Black and White pastel – compose a landscape (based on observation) that contains objects which are very close to the observer (artist/you) as well as contains objects which are very far away.

• use a full range of value shift for near objects; going from extreme white to extreme black, with several steps of gray in between.

• Use a very limited range for the distant objects, avoiding the use of pure white or black. These objects should be variations of mid-tone grays.


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Chiaroscuro
Use pastel to make two drawings inside. (7:00 – 8:00 pm)

Drawing #3
Black and White pastel – focus on the shift, the gradation from extreme light/white to extreme dark/black.
After laying out your basic composition, look for the most extreme dark shadows and make them pure black.
Next, look for the most extreme lightest lights, the highlights,and make them pure white.
Finally, fill in the gray tones by blending your black and white pastels on the paper. See if you can get a variety of different values (different quantities of black and white mixed to different gray tones) throughout your drawing.
Base your drawing on observation.

Drawing #4
Color pastel – focus on the shift, the gradation from extreme light/white to extreme dark/black. Substitute the black and white for colors as outlined in the chart below.

Black ---------------- White
purple ---------------- yellow
dark blue ---------------- orange
dark green ---------------- light red, pink, or a light flesh tone

here is an example of chiaroscuro by a student