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ONLINE: Drawing as a Contemporary Practice

  • Intermediate
  • Drawing

This 6 week ONLINE course is designed to give students a better idea of the wide spectrum of the possibilities of contemporary drawing. What are artists doing with drawing today? Projects are geared towards expanding students’ notions of drawing, both technically and conceptually. Traditional and technique-driven approaches will be de-emphasized in order to find other sources for making works that are more self-directed. Using ink as a primary medium, there will be assignments to create drawing from a photograph, and layered images using transparencies. We will also engage in experiments with seriality and paper manipulation. Slide presentations and discussions will show students how other artists use drawing in challenging formats.

TSA will deliver this course using ZOOM. Prior to the course session, you will receive an invitation for the session(s) via email. You'll need a laptop, desktop or tablet, internet connection with good bandwidth and headset (either wired or wireless). We recommend that you set up a free ZOOM account and be familiar with ZOOM prior to the class beginning.  Here is a link to help you get started: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/categories/200101697

Notes: Kyla Brown is a Toronto based artist, educator and writer. She works in a project driven practice that includes community based works, subtle public interventions, drawing-installation and video works. Exploring mapping as a material practice, Brown’s work focuses on navigating city space, particularly in Toronto and London, Ontario. She has shown at the Khyber Centre for the Arts and the Anna Leonowens Gallery in Halifax, Art Mur in Montreal, XEXE Gallery and Hang Man Gallery in Toronto, as well as DNA Artspace, ArtLab Gallery, and with McIntosh Gallery's community residency in London, ON. She earned her BFA from NSCAD University, and MFA from the University of Western Ontario.
* This course is not currently open for registration

What you will learn

  • Utilizing ink material techniques in contemporary drawing
  • Interpreting project parameters to explore personal drawing interests
  • Exploring themes and issues prevalent in contemporary drawing, and contemporary artists
  • Learning to evaluate one’s own work through group critiques and finding one’s own voice in the field of contemporary drawing

Materials to Bring

Please keep your receipts to all purchases in case you need to return any materials.

Each section of this course will have a slightly different focus.

We have 3 main projects, so consider that while you gather materials.

  • Ink: Black. You can also choose some colour, but begin with black. It is your choice as to acrylic, india etc.
  • Sketchbook: At least 11 x 14 inches but if transport convenience is a factor you could go with the 9 x 12 in. Try to get 90 lbs or higher to take inks
  • Paper: Stack of paper for both wet treatment and dry treatments. If cost is a factor, consider buying in pads. Should be at least 15 x 20 in
  • A drawing pad that can take some wet media (something heavier than cartridge & a pad of cartridge/newsprint for rough process work). Stonehenge, Canson, Arches and Strathmore are generally good bets - I usually go for whatever is a slightly heavier weight and acid-free and on sale. Canson has a very reasonably priced “Student” watercolour paper and it is often psychologically easier to work freely on less expensive paper - you are less precious in approach then.
  • Wet media: Stonehenge is a great drawing paper that will take ink well, is forgiving, and is less expensive than a watercolour or Arches. You will need at least 3 sheets of Stonehenge (22x30 in) for the course if you are not using another type of (watercolour) paper
  • Canson has a 15 sheet watercolour pad in 15x20 in and Arches has a 20 sheet watercolour blocks in 14 x 20 in and 18 x 24 in, in both cold and hot press (cold press is textured, hot press is smooth).
  • Dry media: Canson now puts out very cheap recycled paper pads. If economic concerns are not a factor, consider trying lots of different paper or paper-like surfaces - vellum, glassine, various Japanese papers, Mylar, Terra skin, Yupo
  • Mylar or Dura-Lar film *Frosted (the name will depend on who sells it). Please have 2 large sheets: 24x36 in
  • A variety of inks, brushes and nibs - we will discuss materials more in class
  • Optional: conte, charcoal, graphite sticks (larger size preferred) and likely a choice of pastels