* The courses in the My Perfect Course series are designed by artists who are recognized as much for their artistic endeavors as for their work in the field of art education. We asked them to design courses that they considered “optimal”, i.e. that, under ideal conditions, would enable them to convey the content they consider most useful in a single class period, and that participants would not be able to obtain from university or college programs as currently constituted.
 

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Frank Mulvey

Charcoal imaginings

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Saturday Nov 16, 2024

                   Workshop 1: 9h to 12h   /   Workshop 2: 13h to 16h

                    Registration: pay what you can: To reserve your place, please send an Interac transfer to info@cachestudio.org (password is “Frank”.                                        Indicate if you are only taking Workshop 1 or if you are taking both Workshops 1 and 2.

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Description

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Each participant will create a charcoal drawing by freely interpreting source material with heightened sensitivity to the effects of light and atmosphere. Expert instruction, dialogue, technical solutions and insights will be provided by esteemed artist and teacher Frank Mulvey, who will adapt his guidance to each participant’s field of interest and skill level. All materials will be supplied upon arrival. Historical and contemporary art examples will be presented to understand better how compositions can be engineered and how light distribution can be orchestrated. Each participant will be given a sheet of high-quality paper prepared with charcoal ground by Frank, as well as compressed charcoal, vine charcoal, various eraser sizes, and paper masks to create clean edges if desired. Participants can work in a representational style, stylized, semi-abstract or abstract approaches. The common denominator is exploiting the greyscale to make a full composition of elements that appear to advance and recede in space. The methodology will include sketching, blocking in, adjusting and refining. Participants will be encouraged to experiment and navigate away from popular charcoal drawing approaches like conventional portraiture of people, representation of animals or the mere rendering of photographic imagery. The objective is for each individual to complete a meaningful and full composition through exploration, risk-taking, concentration, strategic process, discovery, mutual inspiration, and fun.

 

WORKSHOP 1: SEARCHING AND DISCOVERING​

 

Introduction and visual presentation by Frank

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     Historical and contemporary examples

     Pictorialism, modernism, postmodernism, metamodernism

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Initiating drawings

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     Search for meaning

         Identifying conceptual/visual problems

         Establishing goals

         Vehicles for meaning: shared or esoteric symbols

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     Technical considerations

         Developing strategies

         Composition as visual traffic control

         Push and pull

         Order of operations

         Rationing light

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     Taking responsibility

         Intentionality

         Engaging the viewer

         Parting observations and comments

 

 

WORKSHOP 2: RETHINKING AND TRANSCENDING

 

     Traversing one drawing: visual presentation by Frank

         Expansive themes from limited subject matter

         Layers of meaning

         Rewarding the viewer

 

     Resurrecting drawings

         Post-lunch taking stock

         Rethinking strategies

         Weighing gain over loss

         Reestablishing goals

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     Shifting, enhancing, refining

         Fully embracing polarities

         Overhauling

         Disambiguating form and space

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     Transcending

         Unanticipated experiences

         Art and hope

         Parting observations and comments

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How to prepare for the workshop(s)

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•   Paper and materials will be supplied, so participants do not need to bring any drawing instruments or materials, although they can if they wish.

•   Each participant will also be given compressed and willow charcoal with erasers and cotton pads for smudging.

•   Each participant will be given a 19-inch x 24-inch sheet of high-quality, heavy-weight, acid-free Strathmore Bristol paper with a charcoal ground (smooth middle gray) already applied by Frank Mulvey. Within this format, a 15 x 24-inch area will be reserved for drawing, and a remaining 4 x 24-inch area will be reserved for small sketches and testing materials.

•   Participants are invited to bring two or more photographic references (printed; not to be viewed on a screen), which can serve as reference material to be liberally interpreted in the composition that each person will create. The recommended reference material should include an architectural subject with an interplay of large shapes of light and shadow and at least one other image of a subject that is not architectural and which can inspire additional elements in the charcoal drawing.

•   If anybody wishes to sketch out a few compositional possibilities beforehand (not a requirement), the sketches should measure 3 3/4 x 6 inches to match the proportions of the final drawing. The format can be vertical (portrait format) or landscape (horizontal format).

•   Wear black clothing with sleeves that can roll up so that accidental charcoal smudges will not be readily apparent.

•   People allergic to charcoal dust should not sign up for the workshop.

•   View the following video (under 5 minutes) before November 16, 2024, to better understand the potential of charcoal as an artistic medium.

   https://youtu.be/bnnT0PMP0nQ

•   For those curious about drawing approaches that include linear perspective in freehand drawing (not an obligation for these workshops), access the video link below for a demonstration of a purely technical nature by Frank Mulvey.

   https://youtu.be/yZSptteuANs

If you are impatient with real-time demonstrations, go straight to 12:10 in the video for a time-compressed experience.

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