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Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Woodland animals and turkeys, student drawings, adult art class, 11/18/19

We warmed up with a set of drawing exercises working from reference photos.
1) draw a critter in white by just coloring in the background.
2) draw a blind contour drawing of a critter - keep your eye on the reference image, tool on the paper, and don't look at the paper. Go slowly and quietly. It is not supposed to look like anything!
3) draw a continuous line of the reference image, keep tool on the drawing
4) draw the forms of a reference image. Egg shapes? But imagine their 3D form how it takes up space.
Turkey - half a sheet drawing script like scribbling. Each line should be connected script forms repeating a mark like a letter. Hmm - would this work as the actual letters of the name?
The other half of the page is to translate the elements of a turkey image into the scribbles of script/calligraphy.

Monday, November 11, 2019

Saturday, November 9, 2019

The time change, loss of light, and dread(?) coming of winter.





















Text sent to family:
4:25 PM, 5 PM pitch black out! Sundown in Maine. I had to make a new ‘good things about winter’ list because I can’t find the first one, yet. Writing that had been a godsend, even though I never referred to it. I highly encourage people to make such a list. Love, Catinka

‘Rewriting’ some of that Lost Winter - good things about Winter - List.
Friday, 11/8/19, 7:45 PM

  1. Beautiful winter formations that made for good abstract photographs
  2. The pleasure of watching the animals go about their business no matter what the weather
  3. The coziness a storm inspired
  4. The /come Ratterree/ the camaraderie and community that one felt once the storm was over.
  5. Special recipes and ritual tradition food dishes
  6. The holidays: Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year
  7. Special holiday programs on the television and on the radio
  8. Martin Luther King day and the focus on that level of ideas to live by uplifting ideas
  9. The music of the holidays
  10. Making holiday decorations
  11. Baking holiday dishes
  12. Baking Christmas cards making Christmas cards not baking I said oh gosh she was getting so furious at that at that dictation the way it was misinterpreting her words. She had screamed at the dictation phone because of what it was typing out wrong way
  13. Lovely lights and holiday displays that people put out at night.
  14. The time for reflection and turning inward.
  15. Everything was so much sweeter when the warm weather finally returned just by the fact of the contrast
  16. Special treats only for winter special
  17. Special drinks only for winter
  18. The beauty of winter scenes not just the natural formations
  19. That black and white quality the positive negative The high contrast
  20. All the celebrations that happened in February-Chinese new year, Mardi Gras, Valentines    
  21. The challenge of dealing with the cold weather it was a personal challenge
  22. The cat stayed in for the night willingly, or somewhat willingly.
  23. Laundry dried easily
  24. It was conducive to lighting a candle and sitting at dinner with a lit candle.
  25. Giving gifts?


Limited editing because of ridiculous dictation app errors to have fun(?) with.

Monday, November 4, 2019

Deer, exercises and drawing display by students, adult art and kids’ class, 11/04-05/19

Our references for drawing deer came from the Art of Animal drawing, by Ken Hultgren, a Disney animator who worked on the Bambi movie. We also had a set of old silhouette art to work from

We started with a set of experimental exercises. In four rectangles we drew a series of pre-decided lines. The first rectangle was 13 lines crisscrossing perpendicular, like plaid. The next box
Was 13 diagonals crisscrossing. They touched two edges of the box. The next box was the series of 13 arcs crisscrossing and intersecting at two edges of the box. And finally the last box we drew 13 overlapping circles. Then we went through each box and tried to invent or find a creature or critter. We did them in one color of our choice except not yellow.

You should be able to see the connection between the arcs experiment and Hultgren's drawings. Students made their final drawings as they wished using the reference art of Hultgren.

And then from kids’ class:
What fun to have rainbow colored deer. I want to make one as a color wheel spinner!








Saturday, November 2, 2019

Woodland Animals and November Themes Adult Art Workshop Series with Catinka Knoth at Rockland Public Library, 2019

Press Release

Woodland Animals and November Themes Adult Art Workshop Series with
Catinka Knoth at Rockland Public Library, 2019

Rockland - Catinka Knoth will teach drawing woodland animals and themes
of November, with a focus on drawing in color, 11 a.m. Mondays, in the 
Community Room, Rockland Public Library, 80 Union St. Knoth leads 
participants in working with colored pencils and crayons to create their 
own colored drawings of woodland animals and
November themes. Students will use a variety of exercises and methods to 
help develop new ways of seeing, observing, and designing. Knoth 
provides the classes free of charge and open to the general public, with
materials supplied; Friends of Rockland Library host. FMI Rockland Library at 594-0310.

Knoth will give instruction and guidance in drawing November's themes.
Each week is a different subject, as follows:

11/04      Deer
11/11      Library closed for Veterans Day
11/18      Woodland animals & wild turkeys
11/25      Native American motifs

Knoth paints watercolors of Maine and whimsical animal scenes, which she
offers as cards and prints. She teaches a free weekly children's drawing
class at Rockland Public Library, sponsored by Wendy and Keith Wellin.
For more information about Knoth's work visit www.catinkacards.com.

attachments - art and photos by Catinka Knoth








November Children’s Drawing Classes at Rockland Library, 2019

Press Release:
Rockland -  "Let's Draw in Celebration of Native American Heritage
Month, Thanksgiving, and the Coming of Winter!" is the November program
for the ongoing free drawing classes led by Catinka Knoth at Rockland
Public Library. Children will explore such motifs as woodland animals; Thanksgiving;
Native American designs, lodging, hunting, and game; and foods and
family gatherings.  Knoth leads children age 6 and up in these "follow
along" sessions every Tuesday, 4-5 pm, in the library's Community Room,
80 Union Street. Children 10 and under should be accompanied by an
adult. Knoth expects participants to be able to work independently and
encourages adults to join in the drawing fun.  Local patrons Wendy and
Keith Wellin sponsor the program, which is free with all materials
supplied, and hosted by Friends of Rockland Library. Contact  children's librarian, at 594-0310 for more information.

Each week is a different subject:
11/05  Let's Draw Deer!
11/12    Let's Draw Woodland Critters - Bears, raccoons, foxes, chipmunks, squirrels, and mice! 
11/19    Let's Draw Turkeys, a Pilgrim Feast, and a Cornucopia for
Thanksgiving!
11/26  Let's Draw Native American Designs and Motifs!

Attachments: art by Catinka Knoth










Monday, October 28, 2019

Halloween pumpkins and black cats; haunted houses and monsters - kids’ and adult class art display, 10/22-28/19

We started with exercises attempting to draw only the black features of jack-o-lanterns. The object is to try for fierce or scary expressions. It is really hard. We usually end up with nice friendly faces. But it is always good to try.

We then practiced a series of pumpkins in conceptual or archetypal form. Schematic is the word!

I drew a black cat silhouette also as a quick follow along model.

Then the class drew their own pumpkin Halloween scenes. In one here, instead of a blue moon, we have a blue pumpkin.

Kids’ class drew haunted house scenes with more Halloween motifs. They did some monsters as well.













This one is all ready to be a coloring page!