Unit One: Arts Practice

Going to Arts Events: National Gallery Two-Day Workshop

2-Day Workshop – Key Facts

Workshop name: Back to Basics

Venue: The National Gallery, Trafalgar Square

Date: 17-18^th of February 2009

Summary:

• This workshop was about tonality (that is using light and dark), and how it affects our composition.
• We used charcoal, chalk, graphite, rubbers, glue, tissue paper and different sizes of paper.
• There were approximately fifteen participants and one tutor, and a two guest artists – one for each day.

Attending the Workshop

Early on Day One, we went into the Gallery equipped with paper, a thick piece of graphite and an eraser. We looked at a small group of paintings and a “sketch” (the basic visual plan of a “real” painting). We picked a portion of a painting or the “sketch” to copy onto our paper using the following method: we covered the paper in graphite, then we used our erasers to rub out the graphite in certain areas in order to add light. We then added more graphite to increase the dark.

After a lunch break, we formed into groups and, in these groups, filled a large piece of paper with abstract charcoal-and-chalk shapes. We used our hands to smear and smooth the marks we had just made.

On the morning of Day Two, we explored tonality by looking at Grisaille paintings. Grisaille painting is basically painting in monochrome. I think that showing us Grisaille paintings was to help us see the way the composition of light and dark had been put together in these paintings. We proceeded to draw copies of some of these paintings, using graphite, for the first half of the workshop.

After the lunch break, we looked at the group charcoaling and chalking we had done as a group the previous day. We each took a portion of this and copied it using graphite onto an A3 size piece of paper. We then glued tissue paper to it to make a texture or a colour on the paper where we had drawn. So the drawing was like a map of what and where the colour and texture should go.

At the end of Day Two, we arranged all of the artwork for display for when our parents came to see what we had done.

We got to take home all of our artwork, although the group drawings using charcoal and chalk we had done the previous day may have been too large for anyone to carry, let alone store. I know that my group drawing wasn’t taken back with me, and I assume it remains at the gallery!

Workshop Review

I enjoy using chalk and charcoal, so I enjoyed most of this workshop! I also liked doing the graphite rubbing-out and putting-in. I have done quite a lot of work with tissue paper before, so that wasn’t my favourite part of this workshop. Overall, the workshop gave me lots of things to think about, and I might try some of these new techniques at home!

I think that this workshop gave a good general overview and explanation of some techniques involved in the creation and modification of tonality, although I think that each person will have different preferences and so will like some parts of it and not others. For instance, I liked the charcoal but not so much the tissue paper and I personally found charcoal the easiest material to manipulate.

The workshop was focused on 2D, painted or drawn artworks, although we did a little bit of discussion on Relief.

Whilst I thought it was quite thorough for a general introduction, I would have liked to have gone further into the technicalities of tonality. For instance, does having light in the centre of the painting inspire a dramatic feeling, or would light off to a side work better in creating that feeling? What emotional effect does a light background versus a dark background have? I learned the meaning of Grisaille, but I am interested in learning more words and phrases to do with tonality. Finally, do the same rules of tonality apply when dealing with colour and what effect might this have?

I would say that the workshop was successful for me. I really enjoyed it and I would like to attend some more workshops on this topic.