For many visual artists, the ellipse remains one of the most challenging shapes to draw or paint successfully.  This deceptively simple, symmetrical oval has infuriated countless artists and continues to taunt us all with its smug elusiveness.  Ok, that might be a bit much—but if you have tried to draw one of these closed symmetric… Continue reading →

Note: It is highly recommended that you read So What’s With Jane already? A Primer on Pictorial Composition. (Part I) , “To the makers of music – all worlds, all times.” A Primer on Pictorial Composition. (Part II) , Henri Breuil and Alfred Yarbus Walk into a Bar…A Primer on Pictorial Composition. (Part III), A… Continue reading →

Note: It is highly recommended that you read So What’s With Jane already? A Primer on Pictorial Composition. (Part I) , “To the makers of music – all worlds, all times.” A Primer on Pictorial Composition. (Part II) , Henri Breuil and Alfred Yarbus Walk into a Bar…A Primer on Pictorial Composition. (Part III), A… Continue reading →

Note: It is highly recommended that you read So What’s With Jane already? A Primer on Pictorial Composition. (Part I) , “To the makers of music – all worlds, all times.” A Primer on Pictorial Composition. (Part II),  Henri Breuil and Alfred Yarbus Walk into a Bar…A Primer on Pictorial Composition. (Part III), and A… Continue reading →

Note: It is highly recommended that you read So What’s With Jane already? A Primer on Pictorial Composition. (Part I) , “To the makers of music – all worlds, all times.” A Primer on Pictorial Composition. (Part II) and Henri Breuil and Alfred Yarbus Walk into a Bar…A Primer on Pictorial Composition. (Part III) before… Continue reading →

Note: It is highly recommended that you read So What’s With Jane already? A Primer on Pictorial Composition. (Part I) and “To the makers of music – all worlds, all times.” A Primer on Pictorial Composition. (Part II) before embarking on this installment. “Science shows us truth and beauty and fills each day with a… Continue reading →

Note: It is highly recommended that you read So What’s With Jane already? A Primer on Pictorial Composition. (Part I) before embarking on this installment. “One does not meet oneself until one catches the reflection from an eye other than human.” –­Loren Eiseley Dr. Sagan responded to this challenge by assembling a team to create… Continue reading →

Each spring I would find my college classrooms filled with a number of students intending to continue their educational journey after graduation. They would often ask about which schools or programs were “best”. I would always meet their question with one of my own: “What do you intend to do after school?” It was their… Continue reading →

I would like to make clear that the comparisons presented here are limited to the pencil forms of both compressed charcoal and graphite. I am not taking into account powdered graphite/charcoal, charcoal or graphite mixed with alcohol, or any other significantly less-common (in modern day atelier training) application of either material. Additionally, this comparison is… Continue reading →