Thursday, May 17, 2012

"Drawing from the Bestiary: Animal Anatomy of Real and Imagined Creatures," Class with Artist Saul Chernick, Observatory, June 25-July 16


I am very excited to announce "Drawing from the Bestiary: Animal Anatomy of Real and Imagined Creatures, a new class developed specially for The Morbid Anatomy Art Academy by one of our favorite artists, Saul Chernick. This class will teach students--via illustrated lectures and in-class projects including paper puppets and the creation of bestiary pages--"to use observational and imaginative drawing skills in tandem to capture the essential qualities of their subject" and "learn to draw animals (real, mythic, and otherwise) with greater skill and sensitivity."

You can see some of Chernick's wonderful artworks above; you can see more of them by clicking here. The class will take place on 4 consectutive Mondays, from June 25 to July 16th. The full class description follows. Also, please note that the class size is limited to 15, so if you are interested, please RSVP as soon as possible to morbidanatomy [at] gmail.com.

Drawing from the Bestiary: Animal Anatomy of Real and Imagined Creatures with Saul Chernick
A 4-part class with Artist Saul Chernick, M.F.A., Rutgers University
Dates: Mondays June 25, July 2, July 9 and July 16th (4 consecutive Mondays)
Time: 6:30-9:00 PM
Class Fee: $120
***Class size limited to 15; Must RSVP to morbidanatomy [at] gmail.com
This class is part of The Morbid Anatomy Art Academy
Contemporary artist and arts educator Saul Chernick is renowned for gorgeous artworks featuring convincingly corporeal depictions of imaginary or mythical creatures rendered in the style of Medieval and early Renaissance woodcuts from Northern Europe. Observatory is very pleased to announce a new workshop developed by Saul Chernick specially for the Morbid Anatomy Art Academy. In this class, Chernick will teach students--via illustrated lectures and in-class projects including paper puppets and bestiary pages--"to use observational and imaginative drawing skills in tandem to capture the essential qualities of their subject" and "learn to draw animals (real, mythic, and otherwise) with greater skill and sensitivity."
Full class description follows; you can see more of Chernick's fantastic work by clicking here. Class size limited to 15; Please RSVP to morbidanatomy [at] gmail.com.
Course Description
Open to artists of all levels, the goal of this workshop is help participants learn to draw animals (real, mythic, and otherwise) with greater skill and sensitivity. Through exercises in drawing and paper puppetry, participants will gain a deeper understanding of the skeletal/muscular structures of most mammals, reptiles, and birds. Participants will also learn to use observational and imaginative drawing skills in tandem to capture the essential qualities of their subject and create works of convincing visual fiction!
What to expect
  • Participants will cull images from the web to create a dossier on the animal(s) that interest them
  • Participants will fashion movable paper puppets to understand how their chosen animal moves
  • Participants will draw studies of the skeletal and muscular structures of animals
  • Participants will use the medium of their choice to create a Bestiary page entry that depicts an animal situated in an environment
Materials
What to bring to the first class:
  • Choose 1-3 animals and gather pictures on the web. Be sure to get images of their skeletons in profile. Please print these as they may be hard to use on a phone screen.
  • 3-5 sheets of Bristol Board Paper 9" x 12" or larger
  • Pencils & erasers
  • Scissors
  • Xacto or utility knife
  • Glue
What to bring for subsequent classes:
  • White or tinted drawing paper 16" x 20" or 18" x 24"
  • Tracing paper (same size as drawing paper)
  • Mechanical and/or regular pencils (2h, hb, 2b, 4b)
Optional:
  • Markers, watercolors, gouache, ink, brushes, chalk/oil pastels, colored pencils, Caran D’Ache, collage papers, etc (we’ll discuss further in detail!)
Saul Chernick, M.F.A., Rutgers University, is a visual artist and educator. Chernick has exhibited internationally in galleries and museums including the Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, the Bronx Museum of Art, the Jewish Museum of Art, as well as Max Protetch and Meulensteen Galleries in New York City. He has taught art for the public school system, the 92nd Street Y, Cooper Union, Parson's School of Design, and the Museum of Modern Art. He is currently the Professional Development Coordinator for the Joan Mitchell Foundation where he coaches New York artists in teaching art to young people throughout city. His work can be seen at www.saulchernick.com.

All images are by Saul Chernick and include, top to bottom:
  1. Field Urchin, 2011, from a series of studies in which he attempted to impose the proportions of cherubs onto horses.
  2. Desktop 2013, 2010, Ink, Watercolor, & Opaque White on Paper
  3. Heavenly Touch , 2009, Ink, Watercolor, & Opaque White on Paper
  4. Guilty Pleasures, 2010, Ink, Watercolor, & Opaque White on Paper
  5. Ars Gratia Artis, 2010, Ink on Paper
You can found out more here. As mentioned above, class size is limited to 15, so if you are interested, please RSVP as soon as you are able to morbidanatomy [at] gmail.com.

2 comments:

Diseño said...

The last is hilarious.. Nice vision and great skill.

Quasimodo ma non troppo said...

I find the drawing Nº4 very well done in terms of technique and iconography - very similar to the original 17th and 18th century drawings.

"Guilty Pleasures" seems to me a good title: shows the teological dicotomy between the religious "Pietà" and virtuous manners and the "extase" of earthly pleasures, guided by the demon that escapes/fall under the skirts of "holy" woman.

Another religious gesture very common in artistic representations, is the touch of the saint in her own breast (both in "Virgin of Milk" or as one of seven works of charity).

In the case of this drawing Nº 4, is relatively easy to see the influence of our culture erotic way contemporary, just because the breast is too full and "perfect" (like a breast implant) and how it is grabbed is uncommon in religious themes (although, for example, Bernini have carved their St. Teresa of Avila in Ecstasy in an extremely erotic way).

Good works, indeed! Congratulations from Portugal!