Due:
One week
​
Project Description: 
Using oil pastel or another rich color medium, draw a traditional self-portrait in the style of Rembrandt van Rijn.

The room should be rather dark, with a single light source (such as from a small lamp) directed at you to create a good sense of form. Try for dramatic lighting, and a good break-down of light, middle and dark tones. Set yourself up in front of a mirror, with your face turned at a 3/4 angle to the mirror. With a light pencil line (using an HB pencil or lighter), rough out the general proportions of your head, neck and shoulders. Then, block in the shadows with oil pastel, beginning lightly, then gradually blending color upon color and applying more pressure for smoother colors.


Medium: 

• Oil pastel

Objectives: 

• Accurately render facial structure and features 
• Create color harmony 
• Hone technical skills with the medium 

Grading Criteria: 

• Likeness 
• Facial Structure 
• Light and Form 
• Color 
• Craftsmanship 

To Start: 

• Study portraits by the following artists: Kathe Kollwitz, Vincent Van Gogh, and Rembrandt van Rijn. 
• Study the human skull. Be aware of the major planar changes. 
• Study the portraits on display in the Galleries pages of this site.
• The room should be rather dark, with a single light source (such as from a small lamp) directed at you to create a good sense of form. Try for dramatic lighting, and a good break-down of light, middle and dark tones. Set yourself up in front of a mirror, with your face turned at a 3/4 angle to the mirror. With a light pencil line (using an HB pencil or lighter), rough out the general proportions of your head, neck and shoulders. Then, block in the shadows with oil pastel, beginning lightly, then gradually blending color upon color and applying more pressure for smoother colors.

One day

​Using a soft drawing pencil or charcoal, draw as much of your face as possible by only using changes in tonal values. Don't draw any lines. Define your face by roughing in the dark, middle, and light areas rather than by defining the contours. Use the side of your drawing material instead of the tip.

Due: One week

Project Description:
Using your Ebony pencil, draw a traditional full-value self-portrait from a 3/4 angle (i.e. with partially turned head so that you can see the side of your nose but both your eyes).

The drawing must include your head, neck, and shoulder, and take up a full page of your sketchbook.

It must be from a mirror, not a photograph.

Use a single light source (such as from a small lamp, or a window) directed at you to create a good sense of three-dimensional form (chiaroscuro). Arrange the light for a good break-down of light, middle and dark tones. Set yourself up in front of a mirror, with your face turned at a 3/4 angle to the mirror. With a light pencil line (using an HB pencil or lighter), rough out the general proportions of your head, neck and shoulders. Then, block in the shadows with darker tones, beginning lightly, then gradually developing and refining the full range of values and gradations, and good contrast.

Medium:
Ebony pencil, or other graphite drawing pencils

Objectives:

• Accurately render facial structure and features
• Hone technical skills with the medium

Grading Criteria:

• Likeness
• Facial Structure
• Light and Form (Chiaroscuro)
• Craftsmanship

To Start:

• Study portraits by the following artists: Kathe Kollwitz, Vincent Van Gogh, and Rembrandt van Rijn.
• Study the human skull. Be aware of the major planar changes.
• Use a single light source (such as from a small lamp, or a window) directed at you to create a good sense of three-dimensional form (chiaroscuro). Arrange the light for a good break-down of light, middle and dark tones. Set yourself up in front of a mirror, with your face turned at a 3/4 angle to the mirror. With a light pencil line (using an HB pencil or lighter), rough out the general proportions of your head, neck and shoulders. Then, block in the shadows with darker tones, beginning lightly, then gradually developing and refining the full range of values and gradations, and good contrast

One class period

You will need:

• Your 11 x 14" sketchbook
• Mirror
• Drawing pencil
• Eraser

Draw the following, each in its own separate page of your sketchbook:

• Blind contour drawing of your face from straight-on (1)
• Blind contour drawing of your face from three-quarter angle (1)
• Continuous contour drawing of your face (1 or 2, depending on time available)

Project:
Using various media, draw a series of self portraits

Objectives:

• Improve observational accuracy
• Establish form via chiaroscuro changes
• Improve your ability to create a rich range of tonal value

Materials:

• Mirror
• Drawing paper (white, black), charcoal paper, pastel paper
• Pencil, charcoal, chalk

Parameters

• Must include your head, neck, and shoulders. It may include much more.

Grading Criteria:

• Structure of skull/head
• Accuracy/likeness
• Recreation of nuances of line and value

First Drawings:

To start, you will be working on a series of self portrait drawings to be completed in a single class period. Look carefully and closely at yourself in the mirror. Choose a good viewpoint (it does not necessarily have to be straight on), and remain still as your draw. Your focus should be to capture contour and proportion as accurately as you can given the guidelines.


1. Draw a blind contour drawing of yourself. To do this, you must not look at the paper as you draw. Draw to fill the entire paper. Draw slowly and carefully, following the edges of the various forms on your face. If you lose your place, you may stop and look at your drawing to get to set yourself in the right place, then stop looking and continue drawing blindly. If you consider the first drawing unsuccessful, do a second one. Bear in mind, there will likely be a considerable amount of distortion.


2. Draw a continuous contour drawing that includes your head, neck and shoulders (shirt collar, etc.). You can only use one line for the entire drawing. If your pencil accidentally leaves the paper, place it where you left off and continue. Draw to fill the entire paper.


3. Draw one of your features, large (fill the paper). Concentrate on accurate proportion and contour (line) first. Once you are satisfied that your line drawing is accurate, add value (using your ebony pencil, a set of drawing pencils, or a charcoal pencil). Tonal value should be used to establish three-dimensional form, so use light, middle, and dark tones.

Assignment:
Create a well-designed multi-figure composition that illustrates your thoughts about your personal future. Include multiple ideas/aspects of your hopes and desires for your life. Apply all your knowledge about good composition to make the artwork as dynamic and visually interesting as possible. Do your best to make this a thoughtful, idea-filled, refined, portfolio-worthy artwork.

Suggestions:
Brainstorm, write thoughtfully, come up with several events and ideas, and develop the composition by drawing a number of thumbnail sketches.

Project Length:
One week

Size:
Any size between 12 x 16” and 18 x 24”

Media:
Ink or color

Style:
Any

Objectives:

• Represent multiple events in a single, strong composition
• Convey mood and meaning
• Show off your strongest skills

Step One:
In your classroom journal, write about your goals, hopes, desires for your future. The more detailed content you develop, the better.

Some things to consider:

• Who do you hope to be? What do you hope to learn? To know? Go into as much detail as you can.
• Where and how will you live?
• What physical/visual details can you envision?
• Describe emotional or dramatic possibilities.
• What important things do you hope will happen; will you work towards?
• In what way(s) do you hope to grow or change?

Grading Criteria

• Creativity
• Content (Development and communication of ideas)
• Design
• Technical Quality (“Finished”)
• Studio Work Habits

This is a pre-assessment to find out what you already know, and I will be observing and taking notes on your work habits and your process, your final work, and your participation in the final critique of student work. By jotting down brief notes on how each of you approaches the project, I will gain a better sense of your strengths and of how you could grow throughout the year.

As the measuring tool, I will be using this rubric:
​
Rubric: Art Studio Habits of Mind
​

Self-Assessment:
Please answer these questions after you've completed your artwork:

1. Remember that the objective was to illustrate multiple ideas/aspects. What multiple concepts did you include and how did you arrange them into a single composition?
2. How detailed and thoughtful was your written journal entry? Did you use it as a method of informing and enriching your visual work?
3. In what ways did you convey feelings/mood in your work? How did you convey drama?
4. What are some of the deeper meanings you've tried to convey in your piece? How is this a thoughtful, idea-filled artwork?
5. One of the objectives of this project was to apply what you know about good composition. How is this a good composition? Which of the principles of design did you consider in developing the composition? How have you used contrast? Emphasis? Balance? Visual movement? Positive and negative space? Implied triangle? Etc.
6. Did you draw thumbnail sketches to test out ideas and develop the composition before you began your larger image?
7. Which of your skills and strengths did you show off in this piece?
8. When did you know this was finished? How does this fit your idea of a high-quality, finished artwork?
9. What do you like best about your final piece?
10. What do you think needs further work?

DUE the first Friday of the new school year.

Summer Assignments weigh 30% of the Quarter 1 grade.

Art materials are to be returned to school at the beginning of the school year.
____________________________________________________________________

Summer work is an essential part of the AP Studio Art course. Summer assignments help alleviate the pressure during the school year of producing the many quality pieces needed for a successful portfolio. During the summer prior to the AP school year, you are expected to complete twenty sketches and six art assignments (listed below) in the media of your choice, which will all be due on the first day of the school year. Completing more of these pieces than required will only put you that much further ahead when school starts. Consider each piece’s potential for inclusion in your portfolio for the AP exam, and invest the time and effort necessary to produce high quality work. In addition to the sketches and six assignments, you must visit an art museum (online if they are still closed) and document the experience in your sketchbook.

• Completion of the watercolor illustration we began in class this winter.
• 20+ sketches/drawings in sketchbook (ongoing throughout summer)
• 1 art museum “visit” with essays and sketches
• 1 write-up (typed) of at least 10 possibilities for your Sustained Investigation
• 5 high-quality artworks (See list of choices)

WATERCOLOR ILLUSTRATION

Completion of the watercolor illustration we began in class during  last winter (19-20 prior to school closing due to the pandemic.). Use color pencil, ink, and/or gouache to add final touches. Before using the gouache, view videos online on how to use it. It’s a delicate, water-based art material, a cousin of watercolor.


SKETCHBOOK (20+ Sketches)

Your sketchbook should be one of your “best friends” this summer. Carry it with you as much as you can, everywhere! Open it up first thing in the morning and last thing at night and many times in between. Draw in it, write in it, scribble in it, paint in it, glue things into it, cut the pages, tear the pages, change the way it looks to make it look like your own book. At the end of the summer it should reflect YOU and your experiences throughout the summer. Work in your sketchbook is an ongoing process that will help you make informed and critical decisions about the progress of your work. Your sketchbook is the perfect place to try a variety of concepts and techniques as you develop your own voice and style.

In addition to using your sketches to plan your projects, you must complete 20 sketches and spend approximately 30 minutes on each. Sketchbooks should display forethought, good composition, good craftsmanship, and have mature subject matter (avoid trite, overused symbols). These sketchbook assignments should be finished drawings (Sometimes pieces for the Breadth section of the AP Exam come from sketchbooks.). Some of your drawings will focus on line quality, while others will focus on a full range of tonal value and good contrast, and still others will concentrate on subtle color shifts.

If there are drawings in your sketchbook that are outstanding, they may be used in your AP Portfolio Exam.

Guidelines for working in your sketchbook:

1. Imperfect drawings are OK; don’t be afraid to make mistakes; make false starts.
2. As much as you can, fill the page you are working on. Go off the edges whenever possible. Draw large. Do not make little drawings floating in the center of the page. Make every square inch count for something. 
3. Return to unfinished drawings. Go back later, change them, and make them into something else. Being able to rescue bad beginnings is the sign of a truly creative mind. 
4. Fill many, many, many pages of your sketchbook before school begins. 
5. Put the date on the corner of every page you finish. 
6. Draw from observation, things you see in the world, NOT from photographs, magazines, etc.  Learn to translate the dynamic three-dimensional world into a two-dimensional world. If you are going to use a photograph, tape/paperclip a copy of it to the page. 
7. Avoid cute, adorable images. This is a college-level art class, so expect your ideas about what makes good art to be challenged by others. 
8. Your sketchbook is a place for risk-taking. Don’t be boring with your work. 

Here are some ideas for what to draw in your sketchbook. Choose from this list or create your own ideas for your 20 or more sketches.

• your pet
• squirrels, birds, outdoor animals (from life)
• animals at the zoo, in a natural history museum, in the Science Museum
• pile of pillows
• effect(s) of extreme light source
• shoes
• fabric with pattern
• baseball glove
• sink with dishes in it
• tools (see the work of artist Jim Dine)
• extreme perspective; unusual viewpoint
• yourself in fifteen years
• insects
• proverb
• opposites
• draw on top of an old drawing
• social statement
• conflict of interest
• man-made vs. natural
• park
• anatomy
• close-up of an object making it abstract
• political cartoons
• transformation / morphs
• realistic cloud formations, in full value and texture, or in full color (what colors do you see in the clouds and sky?)
• fill a plastic bag with objects and draw from observation
• a figure drawn from an unusual perspective
• what was for dinner
• forest floor
• look up words you do not know and illustrate them
• an interior (for example, your room, your kitchen)
• how it works -- inner workings of a machine -- mechanics of an object
• negative space only
• glass bottles
• nightmares / other worlds
• outside v. inside
• metallic and/or reflective objects
• ballpoint pen only
• line drawings of organic objects
• ​a parked car, from a ¾ angle
• exaggeration
• the skeleton of a small animal or bird
• accidents -- random acts of art
• home is where the heart is
• grouping of seashells
• portraits of your friends as famous characters from books
• contour drawings of insects
• multiple drawings of the same object, one per night for a week, using different media
• buildings and man-made structures with character -- bridges, interiors of old churches, old theaters, etc.
• landscapes with and without buildings
• botanical drawings
• a single flower with all its petals, leaves, etc., drawn accurately
• a close-up set of 3 - 5 pieces of popped popcorn
• looking from an interior pace to an exterior space (i.e. through a doorway or window)
• a single object drawing from several viewpoints
• fabric with a pattern. hanging or suspended
• a chess set, partially played, or a different childhood game
• your favorite food, or the table setting for a meal
• an opened candy bar or packaged food, with the wrapper

MUSEUM VISIT 
(An online “visit” is OK if museums are closed throughout the summer)

Refer to the list of museums on the Resources page of the Art Department’s website (www.burlingtonhighschoolart.org). Visit one of them. Take your sketchbook.

If online, “visit” one of these museums online (There are also other museum options on the Collections page of Google Arts & Culture):
Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA Boston)
Harvard Art Museums
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Museum of Fine Arts Boston
The Museum of Modern Art
The Smithsonian Museum of American Art

Complete these three activities:

a. In your sketchbook (or in Google Docs if a virtual/online visit), describe the experience of the museum visit. What are the first things that you notice when you walk in the front doors? What do you notice about the space, the environment? Describe what you see and feel and why that has caught your attention. Be as specific as possible.

b. In your sketchbook (or in Google Docs if a virtual/online visit), write a full page (in essay form, not notes) about two different artists’ paintings of the same subject matter. Compare and contrast approaches. Use the 4-step critique process when evaluating the works: Describe the work in detail, then Analyze it (i.e. what do you notice about composition, color theory, the use of the principles of design, technique, etc.), Interpret (What does it mean? Why did the artist make the choices he/she did?), and Judge/Evaluate (What works about it? What doesn't?) Write one paragraph for each of those four steps.

c. Draw full-value thumbnail sketches of both artworks. Your thumbnail drawings should indicate dark, middle and light tones to truly capture the basic composition of each, but will not focus on detail. These should be good (but small) compositional drawings.


SUSTAINED INVESTIGATION IDEAS

You are asked to make a commitment to the thoughtful investigation of a specific visual idea.

A sustained investigation is a body of work that:

• Grows out of a coherent plan of action or investigation;
• Is unified by an underlying idea that has a visual and/or conceptual coherence;
• Is based on your individual interest in a particular visual idea;
• Is focused on a process of investigation, growth and discovery; and 
• Shows the development of a visual language appropriate for your subject.

Generate a list of at least ten different GREAT possibilities for your senior-year Sustained Investigation series. Describe each idea in a few sentences (NOT just a few words -- be thoughtful about it.), being clear on what your main objective(s) will be. Each of these ten ideas should really be something you’d love to do for two months or more. Each idea would be for a series of at least fifteen pieces. Do not try to complete the list in one sitting. Think about it over time and develop the ideas, don’t just list them. Turn this in as a TYPED document.

Before beginning:

Look at the work of contemporary artists to get a sense of the wide variety of concepts and approaches being used today. You can find many contemporary artists by going to the PBS website for its Art21 program at http://www.pbs.org/art21/ .

Also, view sample Sustained Investigation portfolios of previous AP students at the following links:

Drawing
Anne Zhang - sustained investigation
Irina Grigoryeva - sustained investigation (2014)
Pablo Aguilar - AP exam (2013)
Jake Ursino - AP Sustained Investigation (2013)
Kevin Buxton - AP Art Show (2020)
Nicole Benjamin - AP Art Show (2020)
Sarah Schissler - AP Art Show (2020)
Martello Cesar - AP portfolio exam (2019)
Marley Gainley - AP exam (2017)

​2D Design
Danielle Spinosa - AP exam (2013)


Sample portfolios are at the BOTTOM of these pages:

Drawing
https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/courses/ap-drawing/portfolio?course=ap-drawing
(Scroll down to Drawing Sustained Investigation Samples and Commentary and Additional Sample Portfolios.)

2D Design
https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/courses/ap-2-d-art-and-design/portfolio?course=ap-2-d-art-and-design
(Scroll down to 2D Design Sustained Investigation Samples and Commentary and Additional Sample Portfolios.)

3D Design
https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/courses/ap-3-d-art-and-design/portfolio?course=ap-3-d-art-and-design
(Scroll down to 3D Design Sustained Investigation Samples and Commentary and Additional Sample Portfolios.)

Here is what your concentration list might look like: Concentration Ideas Samples.


ART PROJECTS

Complete at least 5 of these. You may contact Mr. Ratkevich in advance to discuss possibilities if you would like to do something that is not listed here. The assignments below are mostly Drawing or 2D Art & Design options. If you wish to do 3D Art & Design, we will work out alternatives. All of these are to be NEW works, created from June - August 2020. Some of these options were also assignments during remote learning. If you choose one of those projects, you are to do a completely new work (i.e. your Spring Remote Learning work won’t count.). Each should take several hours to complete to AP Portfolio Quality.:


1. “Café” Drawings – (This is in addition to the sketches/sketchbook assignment listed above.) 

IF the quarantine is over, take your sketchbook to a good location for observing people: the mall, a café, the beach, etc. 
IF the quarantine continues throughout the summer, try to capture your family members “at rest”, in natural states, not posing for you. What do people look like in their most relaxed or natural states? 

Fill up several pages (at least four) with multiple drawings of people on each page. You should have AT LEAST ten good figure sketches. Try to capture people in their natural habitats and in activities that are relatively stable: reading, eating, waiting in line, etc. (Do not have people knowingly pose for you.). Capture the entire figures as much as possible. Indicate their environments as much as possible.

Some artists to view/study before doing this assignment (Look them up, specifically looking for “figure sketches”:

Honore Daumier
Edgar Degas
examples of cafe sketches
“Cafe” sketches by Martello Cesar, BHS Class of 2019: 
Pages 1 & 2
Pages 3 & 4


2. Multi-Figure Narrative – Make an artwork that tells some type of a “story”, perhaps a moment from a personal memoir; or a scene from a story you’ve previously written; or an episode from history. It should have several human figures interacting with each other and with their surroundings. It may be a drawing, a painting, or a mixed media artwork if you have the materials. It can even be three-dimensional. Focus on pictorial composition, considering the principles of art and art concepts such as the implied triangle. You may make it up entirely, or have people pose for you (recommended), or you may use photographic references (especially if you take the photos yourself.), but it should not be a copy of a single photograph or copy another artwork in any way. The figures may be stylized rather than realistic if you choose.

Some artists to look at before doing the Multi-Figure Narrative (Look them up in Google Arts & Culture: Explore. These are in chronological order.).:

Caravaggio
Francisco Goya (particularly The Caprices and  The Third of May, 1808)
Auguste Renoir (particularly The Boating Party Lunch)
Edgar Degas: The Dance Lesson
Mary Cassatt (particularly The Boating Party)
Max Beckmann
Marc Chagall
Norman Rockwell
Jacob Lawrence
Romare Bearden
Jack Levine
Chris Van Allsburg (children’s book illustrator: Jumangi and The Polar Express)
Jake Ursino, BHS Class of 2013: At the Music Festival
Jake Ursino’s AP Sustained Investigation
Irina Grigoryeva, BHS Class of 2014: Save Our Oceans
Multi-figure narrative by Martello Cesar, BHS Class of 2019: My Future
Multi-figure narrative by Martello Cesar, BHS Class of 2019: Chess


3. Abstract Painting – Create a painting that utilizes the principles of art to maximize visual impact. Consider color theory (In fact, study the color relationships in the paintings of the artists below, and use their color palettes or some thoughtful variation.). This is an abstract or non-objective artwork. If you are not satisfied with your first attempt, keep trying until you’ve created something you want to hang on your wall. Work until you impress yourself.

Some artists to view/study before doing this assignment:

Wassily Kandinsky
Kazimir Malevich
Paul Klee
Franz Marc
Pablo Picasso
Joan Miro
Jackson Pollock
Jasper Johns
Frank Stella
Sonia Delauney
Miriam Schapiro


4. Landscape – This is observational (from life, not a photo). Make a painting of an interesting place other than your home; a vacation spot would be a good choice. The illusion of three-dimensional space should be a major concern. Consider atmospheric (aerial) perspective and, if relevant, linear perspective. If you choose a location far from home, watercolor may be a good medium to use because of its portability, but the medium is up to you. Suggestion: Do a series of thumbnail sketches to work out the composition. Work from life, not from photographs. Make every effort to work plein air – meaning drawing or painting outdoors. You will have better light and will be able to focus on the color you actually see.

Some artists to view/study before doing this assignment (Look them up, specifically looking for “landscape painting”):

J.M.W. Turner
Claude Monet
Vincent Van Gogh
Paul Gauguin


5. Still Life  – Using the color medium of your choice, paint a still life comprised of at least three visually interesting objects. Work large (at least 18 x 24”). Build a strong composition. Observational accuracy is key; notice the relationships between shapes, both positive and negative. Notice subtle color changes. Mix colors with specificity and accuracy. Establish form via chiaroscuro and color changes. Demonstrate your ability to create a rich range of tonal value.

Helpful Resources: Before doing the assignment, look at / study as many still lifes by master paintings as you can, and apply what you know about placement, composition, lighting, form, texture, etc. If there are complex surfaces, inscribed of printed patterns, textures, etc., all the better.

Some artists to view/study before doing this assignment (Look them up, specifically looking for “still life”):

Paul Cezanne
William Harnett
Vincent Van Gogh
Wayne Thiebaud
Ralph Goings
Rebecca Scott
Janet Fish
Dik F. Liu

Here are a few painters to look at to inform your still life work. If working in color, pay attention to the nuances/shifts in color even within the same surfaces/planes. Also remember that every change in direction (every plane) will have a shift in value and in color temperature. Typically, shadows will be cooler in color (bluer) and where the light hits will be warmer (more yellow, orange, or red), but not always.
 
Dik Liu
https://www.dikliu.com/food
https://www.dikliu.com/trolls
 
Catherine Kehoe (teaches at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design)
https://catherinekehoe.com/still-life/1
 
The packaged still lifes of Janet Fish will give you some ideas of how to paint transparent plastic.
 
Look at some of the work of Wayne Thiebaud, especially the slot machines, cash register, paint buckets, and gumball machine paintings he has done.
 
Still life paintings of Paul Cezanne, who painted in the 19th century. Pay particular attention to how he addresses the wall and cloth around the still life; how color and value change.
 
For a more emotionally expressive way of painting, and more playful brushwork, look at the still life paintings of Vincent Van Gogh. Color is amped up in these.
 
Also, explore the work of Luis Melendez, a fantastic still life painter from 18th Century Spain. The link will bring you to the collection of his work at the Prado museum in Spain, but you can also see more of his work if you look him up in sites for our National Gallery in DC, at Boston's MFA, and probably in the Google Arts & Culture site that I've been plugging for the past several weeks.


6. After developing your ten ideas for a potential Sustained Investigation (See assignment above.), complete one or two Sustained Investigation “Try-Outs” to AP Portfolio quality.


7. Dissection -- A drawing study of an object that you have taken apart. Arrange the parts on a surface with other objects related or not related and study the TEXTURAL qualities. Arrange them to make a strong composition: design the page. Some ideas would be a mechanical object, a child’s toy, a makeup bag, your bin of art supplies, ingredients for a cooking recipe, a few apples or other fruit cut apart…anything where you are creating a still composition out of something that has been dissected or disassembled.


8. A self portrait expressing a mood. How can you use value, color, style, and design to express mood? What style will work best for you in this work? This can be observational, but it doesn’t have to be. You might create a composition with multiple self-portraits with different expressions and/or from different angles. Do some research online (Google Arts and Culture, for example) to see how different artists create what might be considered self portraits and what techniques and media they use. Use an odd/extreme angle and consider strong light/dark contrast. The idea is to create a deeply personal artwork that reflects feeling.

Some artists to look at: 

• Frida Kahlo
• Robert Arneson
• Pablo Picasso
• Vincent Van Gogh

Unusual Self Portraits (Pinterest)


9. Still life arrangement of three or more reflective objects. Your goal is to convey convincing representation. Sketch and shade for contrast and drama. Consider doing this as a self portrait – draw yourself distorted in a shiny object. 


10. A drawing of an unusual interior – for example, look inside a closet or cabinet, in the refrigerator, under the car’s hood or inside the medicine cabinet. 


11. A still life arrangement of objects representing members of your family. You must have at least three objects and use an unusual viewpoint or angle. Put the objects on the floor and stand up looking down at them, or on a table surface and look down and across at them  (Include a photographic snapshot of your set-up when you turn in your final piece.).


12. A close up of a bicycle/tricycle from an unusual angle with strong light/shadow. Don’t draw the bicycle from the side view. 


13. Shoes -- Create a still life arrangement consisting of your family members’ shoes: more than a single pair; at least two or three pairs. Arrange them to overlap each other and to fill the picture plane. Try to convey the different personalities of your family members through the rendering of the shoes. Be creative and have fun! This assignment can be done in monochrome (black, white, gray) and/or in color using any medium, technique and style you desire.


14. Create an artwork regarding a political or social issue you feel strongly about. There are many different ways to protest, to reach an audience, to make a difference. Before you begin the art, write a statement out in detail to develop your ideas. Spend some time on this; get to the heart of how you feel and what you believe. Draw thumbnail sketches to compose your image before beginning the final artwork. Use content, color, design, and style to maximize the emotional expressiveness of your piece. CLARITY in your visual statement is essential.

Before beginning, view this Mural slideshow originally made for the Tenacity Challenge. It includes masterworks, student examples, and tips to get started.


15. Using the media of your choice, design a CD cover for an imaginary musician or group, or for a local band that you might even know personally. It must be totally original (No copies of someone else’s photographs). It should include the band’s name and an album title in addition to the artwork.


16. Create an fully-realized artwork that illustrates a scene from a book (a novel or children’s story). Research contemporary artist Kehinde Wiley’s work, Rembrandt’s many biblical scenes, and the work of children’s book illustrators Maurice Sendak and Jan Brett.


17. You may try your hand at one of these Concentration Ideas Samples.


18. Take on one of the more unusual challenges from the TV show Project Runway.


19. Create an article of clothing/fashion that is also a sculpture.

20. Steam Punk