The instructor is certified by Dr. Betty Edwards in the renowned curriculum "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain"

 

J.G. Chapman's The American Drawing Book , published in 1847, was widely used in American Public Schools.

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"Just as we teach our children their ABC's so that they can read and write; and as we teach them their numbers so that they can compute and calculate; so too, must we teach them the non-verbal, non numerical skills of visual perception.

Without that, we are robbing our children of the use of important brain functions. With perceptual skills training, students are far better able to concentrate, to learn, to grasp abstract concepts and ideas, and to see and appreciate the world around them.

Learning to draw is an efficient means for tapping into latent observational skills."

-Brian Boemisler, Instructor in DRSB

Within school districts that are challenged to bring arts education to students, drawing is a cost-effective arts curriculum that offers so much benefit to students with the simplest materials, and is part of our tradition in education.

Wallace Steven's Poem:
Landscape with Boat

Read Russell McLendon's Article "33 Things Your Brain Doesn't Know About Itself"

Read the October 2014 edition of "The Scientist"

Advice from cartoonist R. Crumb :

 

A letter friom Henri Matisse

VACE/FACE FILES

A simple exercise that demonstrates the shift between left and right mode functions.Print thisome if you are right handed:

This one for left habded people:

PICASSO DRAWINGS OF IGOR STRAVINSKY

A claasic exercise from Betty Edwards's - print and turn upside down, and copy the drawing.

 

 

THE LOGIC OF LIGHT

2-POINT PERSPECTIVE

RELATIVE VALUE

NOT JUST STEM :
 STEAM!

 

An antiquarian treatise on drawing "The Practice and Science of Drawing"

Admittidly tedious - but offers great insight and a look into historic academic principles of drawing.

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Neuroscientist Roger Sperry discovered that human beings are of two minds. He found that the human brain has specialized functions on the right and left, and that the two sides can operate practically independently.

Sperry's work helped chart a map of the brain and opened whole fields of psychological and philosophical questions. Sperry received the Nobel prize in 1981.

Read this Michael Parrish article about Roger Sperry

 

 

ACCREDITED COURSES AT CAPE COD COMMUNITY COLLEGE :

It's a very singular activity to sit and observe carefully for 3 1/2 hours, to build relationships in drawings that are proportional, and follow a rational process. It's hopefully a tonic to an otherwise fragmented and busy world. Drawing is a global skill, like driving a car or swimming, and is readily accessible. Not to worry- The majority of my students are taking this class as an elective, and even those with a dedicated interest in pursuing art are generally inexperienced in observational drawing. We don't trade in symbol systems, but rely on our perceptions to guide us through a progression of process based exercises.

LEARN ABOUT YOUR COGNITIVE SKILLS, AND HOW DRAWING CAN IMPROVE THEM

Above: Students in basic drawing exercise at Cape Cod Community College.
To register, please visit the college website.

 

PROCESSS WITHIN LEARNING AND INSTRUCTION

"We are all the subjects of impressions, and some of us seek to convey the impressions to others. In the art of communicating impressions lies the power of generalizing without losing that logical connection of parts to the whole which satisfies the mind."– Camille Pissarro

The examples on this page reveal an acquisition of skills- the line drawings have a matrix of pulled lines that are based on perceived angles, and are initially laid down as pure athletic motions, page edge to edge. The students then establish a clear proportional relationship between two elements, such as a height and width dimension- and this "basic unit" serves as a benchmark for building the shapes proportionally in drawing. We stretch the limits of what can be the subject of our observations - such as relating the angle and length between two objects that are separate and unique, and have no associated language.

 

By creating an armature of proportional shapes on the picture plane to serve a proportional observation of light and dark, noting the extremity of values we see to benchmark the other values in the drawing. The range of our materials to create value is more limited than what the subject provides, but if we study the proportions, we achieve a strong sense of form expression. Underlying the charcoal drawings is a structure very similar to the line drawings.

 

The drawing examples on this page reveal an acquisition of skills - and there are only five skills involved in drawing, all five of which provide the foundation for the course, and are given emphasis through specific assignments:

the perception of edges using line or contour drawing

the perception of spaces within a drawing through the use of negative space

the perception of the relationship of angles and proportions also known as sighting

the perception of lights and shadows using light logic

the perception of the whole, or gestalt, which incorporates the previous four perceptual skills

 

As our skills strengthen, we engage more advanced issues, such as hatching, texture, and composition - and find that these qualitative attributes can be implemented upfront and concurrent with a refinement of the quantity, and there is much expressive terrain to explore! In many ways, our basic drawing class could be considered as one drawing - and as drawing is iterative, you may think of this course as an exercise (or yoga!) class, Process is content, the ability to achieve is inherent.

ART100 DRAWING EXAMPLES: SIGHTING AND ATHLETICISM WITHIN PROGRESSIVE LINE WEIGHT DRAWING

By creating an armature of proportional shapes on the picture plane to serve a proportional observation of light and dark, noting the extremity of values we see to benchmark the other values in the drawing. The range of our materials to create value is more limited than what the subject provides, but if we study the proportions, we achieve a strong sense of form expression. Underlying the charcoal drawings is a structure very similar to the line drawings.

 

 
   
   
 
   
   
   

 

ART100 DRAWING EXAMPLES: CHARCOAL STUDIES - STILL LIFE

 
   
   
   
   
   

   
   
   

ART100 DRAWING EXAMPLES: CHARCOAL STUDIES - PORTRAITURE
   
   
   
   
 

   
   

 

ART100 DRAWING EXAMPLES ADVANCED FINAL PROJECTS - OPEN MEDIA - ILLUSTRATION TECHNIQUES