How a Painting Can Hack Your Brain and Change The World

2011 (c) Colleen Sedgwick: My version of Michelangelo's picture he did in the Sistine Chapel

The above illustration came to mind when I was watching the above YouTube video showing the affects art can have on one's mind.  Hence, this week's Throwback Thursday topic.

20276A/04

Assignment 4 – Illustration and Drawing Made Easy

Colleen Sedgwick (Student Number 31105712)

12/23/2011

The topic for Assignment 4 is hand portraits – an exercise I find tricky but still ‘doable’.  I have undertaken the exercises prescribed in the training manual, as well as doing ‘self-portraits’ of my own hands.

I agree that the human hand can be one of the more difficult body parts to draw, making sure all the proportions are correct etc.[1]  Then there are all the fine details of the fingernails, the knuckles and the wrinkles, which also tell a lot about a particular person, their age, and their life style[2].

While it helps to understand anatomy, I find it even more useful to look at the hand as a series of mechanical parts which look good together, providing all the proportions are right in relation to each other[3].

Before starting on this Assignment tonight, I did a number of practice illustrations with hands and decided to include the ones I was happiest with.

The ones below (or on the next page) are the ones I did for the exercises in the syllabus/text.

      

The next few exercises are those I did of my own hands.  Please note that the darkened area on the back of my hand is a bruise I sustained during my work.  My right middle finger is also very crooked and ‘gnarled’ from years of writing, drawing, sorting mail and other forms of OOS (occupational overuse syndrome), and the beginnings of osteoarthritis.

 

On the next page is a hand portrait where I am using the mouse on my computer (and I took a picture of it – as spending time on the computer is another thing I like to do!!!). J

     

 And last but not least, the Metal Salute (a hand signal adopted by Heavy Metal fans worldwide)!!!

All of the pictures (except for the skeletal one) were done in Faber-Castell 2B pencil.

References

Cheek, Carl (1959): ‘Drawing Hands’ – published by Grosset and Dunlap, New York City, New York, USA; pages 1-5, and 22-3

Warren, Tracey (2007): ‘Exercise 1: How to Draw Hands’ in Section 4 of 20876A – Illustration and Drawing Made Easy; Willow Productions; reprinted by Cengage Education, Lv1/1 Waltham Street, Artarmon, NSW, 2064; pages 60-67

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[1] Warren, Tracey (2007): ‘Exercise 1: How to Draw Hands’ in Section 4 of 20876A – Illustration and Drawing Made Easy; Willow Productions; reprinted by Cengage Education, Lv1/1 Waltham Street, Artarmon, NSW, 2064; pages 60-67

[2] Cheek, Carl (1959): ‘Drawing Hands’ – published by Grosset and Dunlap, New York City, New York, USA; pages 22-3

[3] Ibid, pages 1-5