Drawing in the Museum

Last Friday we wrapped up the Osher class Drawing in the Museum.  We had a lot of fun!

Here's a look at some of my sketches.

The Carnegie Museums of Art and Natural History allow artists to bring in only a sketchbook and pencils.  Turns out, having a limited list of supplies simplifies the drawing process and helps me to kick my creativity into gear.  The art and artifacts in the museums are fascinating, and you can imagine yourself as an early adventurer sketching a Native American mask (above) or a Goliath Beetle (below).

Next time you plan a visit to a museum, or even a new park or cultural spot, make it an adventure and record what you see with a pencil and a sketchbook!

An urn in the Hall of Architecture.

Details on a statue.

A detail of a lion capturing a horse in the Hall of Architecture.

I hope you'll take yourself on an art date, and bring your sketchbook along.

Happy Creating!

Drawing in the Museum: Discovery Basecamp

We spent our final class in an area designed for children and classes -- Discovery Basecamp. The area provided plentiful seats and taxidermied birds and mammals in lightweight plexiglass boxes.

In short, the perfect environment for drawing natural history specimens up close.

And surprisingly few toddlers and preschoolers rambled through while we were sketching.

Near Discovery Basecamp we explored an exhibit entitled The Art of the Diorama.  That's where I fell in love with this Northern Raven and drew its portrait.

During the cold, gray days of winter, a museum is a wonderful place to sit and sketch.  And to stretch your legs.  The walk between exhibits, to different floors, etc. is both beautiful and healthful.  I enjoyed having room to roam without slipping on ice!

Happy Creating!

Pencil Sketches

Between teaching Drawing in the Museum for Osher at CMU, and Pencil Drawing for CCBC, I've been spending a lot of quality time with just a pencil and a sketchbook.

You can express a lot with a simple pencil -- light & shadow, shape & texture -- all in the way you make your marks and how heavily you lay down the graphite.

These first 4 drawings are from the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh -- from the Hall of North American Wildlife, Polar World, and the last two are from the Hall of Botany.

The best approach is to pick something that really attracts your eye, and then make a game of exploring different ways of drawing it.  Being experimental is key to relaxing and making discoveries.

One day after class, David & I ate at the museum cafe. I sketched these two people quickly.

The first fellow was outside waiting for a bus and looking at his phone, and the woman below was dining in the cafe.

The cat below was drawn from a photo one of my Pencil Drawing students brought in, and we both tried turning our sketchbooks and the photo upside down.  It was a really useful trick to help us see the shapes in this foreshortened view of her old friend.

Remember, it doesn't take much.  Grab a pencil and some paper, and start sketching whatever catches your eye.  If you do this regularly, you will make great discoveries and build your drawing skills with every sketch.

Happy Sketching!

Copyright Betsy Bangley 2024. All rights reserved.

 

Cardboard & Paint Postcard

Do you have a cardboard box & some craft paint?  Here's a simple creative project.

I ripped a cardboard shipping box lid into the rough size of a postcard, and tore part of the outer surface of the cardboard off to reveal the corrugations.  

The next step was to paint it with Cadmium Red Hue and Vermilion acrylic paint.  You can scrape the paint over the cardboard with an old credit card and then scratch back into the wet paint to get interesting textures.

  

Once the yellow-orange layer was dry, I added Ultramarine and Cerulean Blue splotches and scraped them over the underlying texture with an old credit card.  If you use color complements -- or colors opposite of each other on the color wheel -- you'll get gorgeous contrasts.  Bold & eye-catching!

You might choose alternating layers of red & green or yellow & purple paints. Just make sure that the first layer is dry before you start applying the next layer, or your colors will get muddy & murky.

A final touch of gold paint added sparkle.  Glitter would be good, too!

I glued on collage bits, including hieroglyphics I copied onto tracing paper from this sarcophagus in the Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

 

Painting the back side of the card with white gesso makes it easier to write a message, add a stamp and an address.  You can glue on collage bits, too.

Imagine how it would feel to receive an adventurous, hand-made postcard in your mail.  That's how your recipient will feel when they receive your creation.

 

Happy creating!

Copyright Betsy Bangley 2024. All rights reserved.