LESSON PLANS SUMMER TERM 2023 (2nd half) Lesson 6: Morandi still-life or 'Fun thing'.

In our last lesson we were looking at the relationships between very plain bottles. The master of this was an artist called Giorgio Morandi. Some of his watercolours are so enigmatic that all you see is a bit of information about the spaces between objects. Here is a selection of oils and watercolours by Morandi. In this lesson I'm offering a choice between setting up a Morandi-like still-life and working in the medium of choice or doing what I call a 'fun thing' - looking at a piece of work in sections, one section at a time. This is the final lesson of the summer term. I'm now retiring my Tuesday group but continuing the day classes for a bit longer - definite full retirement by this time next year after 40 years of teaching...I can hardly believe it will have been 40 years!

Summer Term 2nd half 2023 – lesson 6: Either in the medium of your choice work on a Morandi-like still-life OR choose to do an unravelling image in sections using pen and the possibility of watercolour to accentuate.

· Set up a simple still-life with most of your objects clumped together. Work in the medium of your choice remembering some of the ideas we dealt with last week (in-between spaces, light against dark, hard edges etc.)

· Or: You have an image in more or less six equal sections, almost A4 when fully opened. Look only at one section at a time! Don’t look at any two sections together until after you’ve finished your drawing.

· If you’re right-handed begin from the very left of your page and work towards the right. If you’re left-handed begin on the right and work to the left.

· Open out section one and using pen or well sharpened pencil repeat section one at the same size on your A4 sketch book.

· At this stage you won’t know what each individual section represents. Gradually as your drawing emerges you might begin to see what it could be. Continue until you’ve completed each section.

· Once complete, check your drawing against the fully opened image you were working from. Add watercolour to accentuate.

Next lesson, week beginning Weds Sept. 6th: Bring pencils (2B to 8B) and good sketch book & eraser. We’ll work on drawings for a landscape painting. Bring a landscape image – I’ll have some if you can’t find any.