Chromatics (of Materials)

Chemicals mixed into pigments work by absorbing some light and reflecting the rest.

Color Constancy

In an image employing a limited palette, the gray or neutral areas will take on the appearance of the missing colors.

Chromatics (of Language)

Hue
The color's place in a given color scale.

Saturation
The purity or intensity of the color; the amount of pigment:oil.

Brightness

Shade
The amount of black in the color.

Tint
The amount of white in the color.

Art Lessons from Humans (Painting)

Mrs. Ibreck (Lady Eden’s Girls School, 1989-1992)
Use linseed oil to thin
Use turpentine to clean
Lightly sketch out the desired image
Paint the highlights, then the colors, then the shadows
Repeat until image is aesthetically pleasing

Mr. Harris (Latin School, 1997-2001)
Start with a large bristle brush
Then use incrementally smaller bristle brushes
Switch to large soft brush
Then use incrementally smaller soft brushes

The face has cool undertones across the forehead and chin
And warm undertones across the cheekbones and nose tip

The human body tip-to-toe is the height of eight heads
The wingspan is equal to the height
The eyes are halfway between the top of head and bottom of chin
The nose is halfway between the center of eyes and bottom of chin
The mouth is halfway between the bottom of nose and bottom of chin
The head is egg-shaped


Samin Lama (Bhaktapur, Nepal, 2007-2008)
To prepare a thankga canvas:

Build a frame of four interlocked planks of wood wide enough to be rigid under pressure
Cut a canvas a hand-width narrower than the frame’s interior
Sew a finger-width hem around the canvas
Run twine through the hem, crosshatching over the corners of the frame
Use a leather needle to sew the canvas into the frame
Use a stitch four-fingers wide
Stretch the canvas tight and even into the frame, like a hide
Lap around until the canvas is stiff and springy
Bring a small pot of water and a hand-sized strip of animal skin glue to a boil over low heat
Do this outside, because it will stink
When the glue melts, add a fistful of clay
Stir over heat until it is smooth and spreadable, not too sticky
Add small amounts of clay and water as necessary
Lay the canvas on the ground with something clean but expendable, and rigid
We used plywood but cardboard works well
Take a rag and spread the warm primer evenly across the canvas
Take a smooth stone and rub the primer into the canvas
Apply firm pressure, using your whole arm
Flip the canvas over and repeat
Let dry between layers
Repeat until the surface is smooth and thin, like parchment

Don’t breathe while the brush is on the canvas
(This also applies to soldering)

Time breaths with brushstrokes

Use no more paint than necessary
The image should shine clearly when back-lit

Ignore any distraction

Maintain posture


Sara Bright (UC Berkeley, 2007-2009)
[Mr. Harris'] bristle/soft brush strategy is not always best
Use the brush that best suits the attitude of the subject

Keep all your tools clean

Maintain a lightness


Squeak Carnwath (UC Berkeley, 2007-2009)
Paintballs are too violent and ugly to be called painting

To paint carelessly is to insult the entire history of painting

Mineral spirits are better than turpentine as a subtractive
And can be used as a non-retarding thinner

Unprimed canvases deteriorate after 10 years

Paint well-applied can disguise itself as any other medium


Katherine Sherwood (UC Berkeley, 2007-2009)
[Cannot yet be sufficiently summarized.]

Art Lessons from Humans (Photography)

My Father

Never have the subject directly centered

Use the right camera for the right job

Aperture is the dilation of the lens

Shutter speed is the length of time the lens is open, in tenths of a second

Focal point marks the distance from you to the subject

Ms. Ross (Latin School, 1997-2001)

Three ways to take a photo:

Fully com/posed

Right place, right time

Premeditated composition, waiting for the perfect moment

A tight aperture (high number) has a long depth of field (more is in focus)

A wide aperture (low number) has a short depth of field (less is in focus)

To prepare black & white film:

With your hands in a lightproof bag (even darkroom light will ruin undeveloped film)

Use a bottle opener to pry open the film canister

Slide the film onto the ridged spool of the developing tank

Encase the spool in the lightproof tank

Add chemicals and water as directed into the tank

Shaking carefully

Disposing of chemicals properly

Practiced, takes 5 minutes

Developed film is light-safe

To prepare color or slide film:

Is too difficult and not worth doing yourself, send them to a lab

To print on an enlarger:

Any errant light will ruin photo paper

Objects placed directly on paper will produce an image (Rayographs)

Place negative in holder, focus

Place photo paper on enlarger rack

Expose light (time is critical: longer exposure leads to a darker image)

Dodge and burn as necessary

Put photo paper in developer for around 30 seconds (time is critical, may vary)

Then stop bath for a minute (time not critical)

Then fix for four minutes (time is critical, may vary)

Then rinse for a minute (time not critical, image is now light-safe)

Then hang to dry (let dry fully)

Final prints should range from full black to full white

Digital photos are the wave of the future

Art Lessons from Humans (Drawing)

Mr. Bough (Latin School, 1997-2001)
“Draw what you see, not what you know”
“Look at the subject 90% of the time, the drawing 10%”
“Move your entire arm as you draw”
“Erasers are more dangerous than heroin”
"Draw one eyebrow hair at a time"
"Heads are egg-shaped"

Perspective / Vanishing point
Foreshortening
Golden Ratio

Nora Salzman (Latin School, 1997-2001)
Drawing pencils are unnecessary; any implement will do
Practice frequent, casual drawings

Art Lessons from Robots

Mr. Springs (robot, built 2008)

Acrylic paint dries in a matter of hours
Especially the cheap generic kind you bought
Nothing comes of putting down globs of primary colors

Straight out of the bottle
Onto a pre-stretched, pre-primed canvas
And hoping the robot mixes them well

Colors must be coaxed gently through hue and tone
Never applied unmixed
And all rough materials must be selected and prepared
With time and care
(Well, most of this came from the visibly distraught
Squeak and Katherine during my formal critiques)

But the sound he made, like snoring, was sweet
And everyone liked the way his box body twitched from the servos



Nila (robot, built 2008) 

Colors mix unpredictably
Linseed oil retards drying

and spatters
and is hard to clean

Mineral spirits seep through layers and canvas
Plain Ivory soap is good for getting paint out of things
Act on it quickly
Light is a noisy signal,
but slow to change in an empty room
A light sensor left in the dark will see random noise
And Nila alone in the dark,

jittering around the still-wet paint from the day,
and the days before, smearing the information together,
sort of seems to be dreaming

Calculina (AI, built by Tom Lippincott 2010)

Random strokes coupled with a simple feedback mechanism will converge on a desirable result