This class both helped me to practice all sorts of mediums, as well as fine-tune my skills with my favorite medium, charcoal.
Many of these assignments posed a bit of a challenge to me, as some mediums I don’t work as well with, however I still managed to impress myself with the progress I’ve made this semester along with my peers.
Mystic Mountains
Charcoal, 9” x 12”
I created this piece from three landscape references. I love the way the river winds all the way from the foreground to the background, giving perspective on the length of the stream.
A Careful Hand
Charcoal, 12” x 14”
This piece holds a spot in my heart due to the object in observation: the hairdressing shears. It takes a careful, patient mind to do well in hairdressing.
Reflections of Warmth
Charcoal, 12” x 14”
This piece served as my final drawing of the semester. I used both charcoal and pastel for the pop of color in the flame.
This piece represents reminiscence and remembrance of the small fires of joy in life.
Enjoyment is the first word that comes to mind when I think of my work on various creations. Whether it’s drawing, painting or carving wood, I enjoy the process of creating.
I enjoy taking classes. When I participate in a class it is to learn new techniques. I want to take knowledge home with me. Techniques and knowledge last forever, therefore, I can use them the rest of my life. I will never be too old to learn.
Artist Statement
Time To Clean & Repair
18 x 12
Graphite and Charcoal
On this drawing I focused on proportion, details and shading.
I worked on creating depth of the objects.
Hand Holding An Orange
18 x 12
Charcoal
On this drawing I focused on the hand and orange proportions, The details of the hand and the direction of the light source. I developed the base of powdered willow charcoal then I applied the hand over the base.
Rose
12 x 9
Pastel
This pastel is done on the realist style. I focused on the delicateness of the rose. I focused on the color and the fragility of the petals. I first completed an outline of the petals and then carefully placed a complementary background around the outline. I then work on the beauty of the rose.
Family
9 x 12
Graphite
On this drawing I focused on proportion, details and shading.
My goal was to use a variety of tones. I really had a hard time with with the faces. This is not a true representation of the women.
Artist Statement
Drawing is a new skill for me. I am definitely in awe of the works of arts of my classmates and am learning to be patient with my own progress.
I love the bright colors used in pastels and enjoy color pencils too as both bring me back to my childhood when I last remember drawing and coloring and finding some joy in the process.. In this way, I can connect with the happy place that drawing used to take me.
Vermont Inn
12 X 9
Pastel
I enjoyed using the pastels in creating this landscape. The colors give me a sense of a calm and beautiful day.
Baking Cookies
9 X 12
Colored Pencils
One would think that I enjoy baking! The purpose of this exercise was to create a cohesive work so that all the elements tell a story. At one time, baking was more of a regular activity for me. This theme also is a small part of what it meant to be a mom. It makes me joyful in that way.
Christ the King Church Rutland
12 X 18 (Cropped 101/2 X 13)
Colored Pencil
I chose this final project as this church has been a constant in my life since my tenth birthday. I could see the church from my back yard then, and since I moved back after raising my family). Although I do not attend this particular church now, I have some special memories of attending there.I tried to include as much detail to the church itself and the tree resembles the one to the left of the church looking forward.
Artist Statement
Charcoal, Holding On
18 x 12
Charcoal
This is a sketch of my own hand and a glass bottle I found.
I was had a mental breakdown while creating the outline, but in the end I was really astonished at how well it came out.
Pastel, Objects
9 x 12
Pastel
This was the piece where I realized that I had fallen in love with chalk pastels. The movement and colors that you are able to make are beautiful.
Puking Rainbow
18 x 12
This piece for me personally is incomplete.
Doing this type of cartoon style figure was out of my comfort zone, but I was surprised to find how much fun it was.
Home is Where My Heart Is
This is a picture of my old home. This was drawn from the last photo I ever took of it.
It was an extremely emotional drawing to do and I’m very pleased with the outcome.
Artist Statement
My name is Alan Baird and I have always enjoyed art in my life. I had mostly used it as a way to express my emotions before taking this drawing class.
I learned a lot during this class. I definitely got frustrated a lot with learning some of the concepts, but I also enjoyed being able to use those concepts in my art.
My favorite medium to use is pencil.
First Complete Still Life
12 x 18 in
Graphite pencil drawing
This was the first still life drawing that I ever put together by myself.
The items are a book, yankee candle, a mug, a basketball penny bank, and a ziploc bag.
Made up Landscape
12 x 18 in
Graphite pencil drawing
For this drawing I took the foreground, midground, and background from three different pictures.
Last Time Experiencing True Joy
12 x 18 in
Graphite pencil drawing
This is a drawing of a picture from the first and last time I saw a good friend in over a year due to Covid.
Hand Holding a Piece of Marble
12 x 18 in
Charcoal drawing
This is a drawing of a picture of myself holding a piece of marble.
Second Rose
10.5 x 12 in
Colored pencil drawing
This drawing is the second time I drew a rose. It is also the only colored piece I drew that I liked.
Artist Statement
My name is Joel Denton. I haven't taken a lot of art classes in my life, just casual high school classes. But I've always had a love for art since childhood. My father being a big influence in my artistic skills and love for drawing. I took this class not knowing what to expect. I was nervous in the beginning because I expected everyone in the class to be art pros, but as class weeks went on I began to find that my classmates were just as new and determined to learn the arts as I was. This helped me open up to my environment so much, I'm so happy I took this course and met the people i did, even making new friends. I hope to further continue my art career and use the skills and knowledge i've gained from taking this course. One thing I learned about myself was that my favorite medium is Ink.
Basic Application
14 x 18
Graphite Pencil and Colored Pencil
While I was making this drawing I took a very long time making correct proportions and realistic details. My main goal was to make the drawn hand as similar to MY hand as possible, im proud of myself on the finished product, the drawing looked realistic enough to satisfy goal of making it look similar to my hand.
Shroom-View
11 x 14
Charcoal and Ink
This piece is one of my favorites. This piece is my favorite because of the vast differences in plant life and patterns throughout the nature scape. The mushroom took me the longest to complete but hard work paid off in the end and i'm really happy with how comfortably it fits with everything else in the scene.
Homecoming - Final
14 x 18
Ink, Colored Pencil, and Charcoal
If wanting a final project to be good wasn't already enough stress, my sister asked me to make her a gift for her newborn daughter. This brought me to a whole new level of determination and hint of dread. This drove to make something completely different to my style, I needed to reach outside my comfort zone. Animals being uncommon topic in my works, but i'm glad I did because in the end it gave a great wave of satisfaction to handcraft a hard thought gift for a loved one.
Artist Statement
My name is Brennon Crossmon. I have taken many art classes over the years. Art has always been a calming activity for me. I was very excited to take this class. I was frustrated at first, but I am very happy with my progress throughout the semester.
Timber
This is my landscape drawing. I was not happy with the building when I first drew it. I thought of a way to somewhat cover up my awful looking shack. I decided to add a fallen down tree and felt like that made my drawing unique.
Media- Graphite
Shovel
This was my first time trying ink. This piece took a long time with the stippling. I enjoyed working with ink and was happy with the outcome.
Media- Ink
Way to the Beach
This was my final project. I was originally going to do graphite but then decided to do ink after receiving some feedback. I am happy with deciding to do ink. I also enjoyed adding a little bit of color to make it pop. This is my favorite piece I have done this semester.
Media- Ink and Colored Pencil
Artist Statement
My name is Lucas Merrill. Art has been one of ,y hobbies for quite some time now. Art has been more of a fall back for me, when i’m down or just need to relax. I took this class to improve my knowledge and skill of art. It has been a very helpful class and I enjoy it very much. The class was difficult at times like charcoal and pastels but I like pushing myself to new things which is why I did my final in a media I struggled with.
Desk
This is a still piece i did out of charcoal and pencil. I struggled with texture a lot on this one. But I like how it turned out even though it’s not my best work.
Alarm
This is made up of strictly pastel. I used bright colors to connect with the object itself because i thought it would make it more unique.
Graceful Landing
This is my final also strictly pastel. This is by far my favorite piece. I just loved ow the background really makes the butterfly pop, and also just how well it came out. Its symmetrical and proportionate which I struggle with sometimes.
U
I’m Joanna Roche & very much enjoy sketching & drawing.During the time I’ve been taking Susannah Gravel’s classes in drawing I’ve worked in pencil charcoal & pastel.
Still life in color charcoal
The drawing classes were very enriching . I had to complete my drawing work no matter what!
A sketch of the W.Rutland marsh near where we used to live
Family bush baby from childhood in pastel
Soccer ball & sneaker to inspire my Grandson to play the game!
Pastel still life
Artist Statement
I’ve always really enjoyed drawing, but I was never satisfied with my skill level. I wanted to improve, so I could be happy with both the process and the outcome.
I liked learning how to use all of the different mediums throughout the class, especially when it came to color. I really enjoy using many bright colors in my work.
Charcoal Holding On
Charcoal
12x18
For this drawing, I was focusing on the proportions and the shape of the hand. I tried to get the hand to look like it was truly holding the vial.
Rainbow Hourglass
Colored Pencil
12x18
For this I was trying to show the movement of the sand in the hourglass. I really enjoyed getting to use so many colors for this drawing.
Final
Pastel Pencils
9x12
I wanted to use a lot of colors in this piece. I used the different shades to show how the light was coming in through a window.
Artist Statement!
My happy place has always been wherever art supplies is. I grew up on pinterest crafts, paint by numbers, and walmart craft kits. Art is something I can never grow old of, I will never know how to do it all, but I aim to learn as much as I can.
This class taught me new things, and gave me practice with things I had experience with.
I was able to work with different mediums, finding that charcoal is my favorite. Working with pastels and colored pencils was a challenge for me, I will definitely be working with them more to improve my skills.
Soft & Sharp
Graphite & Charcoal
12x18
This was created to show the difference in texture.
By looking at the objects, they appear to be the same softness, but it is how they feel that makes all the difference.
This drawing feels powerful to me, and one that I am proud of.
Boquet
Graphite
9x12
With such little experience with drawing flowers, I was very proud of how this came out. I enjoy looking at the detail and shading in the flower pedals that show the texture.
Made-Up Landscape
Charcoal
9x12
For this assignment we had the ability to choose three different landscapes and combine them however we wanted. Not only do I love how it turned out, but I found the activity to be one of the most enjoyable and relaxing.
Florida Heron - Final
Charcoal
12x18
For my final project, I chose an image of a peaceful heron that I took myself while in Florida.
I picked charcoal as my medium because evidently, it is where I have the most skill.
I was also able to experiment with new textures, such as the feathers and ocean.
Artist Statement
I have never been naturally talented at art, but it has always inspired me. This semester has been one for the books and packed with its’ unique challenges as we welcomed a beautiful new member to our family in the midst of finals week.
I found this class be helpful in grounding me and giving some nice therapeutic activity during my pregnancy as I still work to complete my prerequisites for nursing school. Just as well, this class certainly gave me something to look forward to each week as it challenged me to try new mediums and techniques that i would likely not try on my own accord.
Charcoal & Graphite
“That little old barn right off the dirt road”
This piece has parts of my favorite places from the backyard i grew up in all fit into one picture.
Watercolor Graphite & Colored Pencils
Anatomical Bleeding Heart
I was very fond of this piece with just the heart itself. I am not a fan of colored pencils, but I feel that the lively mood from this piece is shown within its construction.
Charcoal
Hand with
Saline Flush
Artists Favorite
This was my first try at drawing a hand. I have to say i was pleasantly surprised by the ease of this drawing as well as its’ outcome.
Graphite
Self Portrait
I found this piece to be challenging, I've wished I had a more realistic technique. This seems more “cartoonish” to me.
Charcoal
Ainsleigh - Final
This is the most challenging piece that i have attempted thus far,. I will be putting some more work into this in the future,