Artistic Style

Sketch and Draw Students often explore artistic techniques exhibited by particular artists in a long-term research project that applies research skills taught at HBW.  They are investigating particular artists’ styles and artwork using the following databases as they pursue a researchable question that they have crafted according to their personal interests:

• Oxford Art for biographies, subject entries about themes and artistic movements, and the tremendous image collection (for primary sources they can analyze)
• Gale’s Biography in Context for biographical sketches
• ProQuest’s E-Book Central for chapters of books
• The 700’s in the non-fiction section of our library which provide tremendous study of art
• The Biography section of HBW’s library is extremely strong on artists! Get inspired!
• Our library subscribes to art magazines, including Art in America, Juxtapoz, and even Faces, People, and Culture.  Browse additional magazines like Wired and Rolling Stone to fuel your thinking about graphic artistry and composition.
• Gale’s Pop Culture database (an H-B specific database) has journal articles
• Additionally, Literature and Its Times is a reference source inside the Gale Virtual Reference Library that may contain a helpful examination of the historical context in which an artist was creating.
• Web Site:  The Art Story provides an introduction to artistic movements on the timeline of Art History.
• Web Site:   SmartHistory – includes free lectures, courses, images, analysis, essays. Dive in!
• For advanced study, find journal articles that date back in history in the J-Stor database.

Sample questions that the students can use to craft their own individual focus of their inquiry-based project are offered below.  In some cases, they are drawing upon what they learn about the historical times in which the artist lived (including the social conditions or political conditions) to understand their themes, techniques and style.

1. How can I produce “x effect” better in my own creations?
2. If I wanted my work to look more like “x”, which other great works might I focus upon to study technique?
3. How did “name of inspiring artist” produce the effect that I would like to mimic?
4. How might I convey my message of “y” in my work by using different colors, styles… or by emphasizing certain aspects of an object/person… or by leaving OUT certain aspects of reality?
5. To what extent does Rembrandt’s use of color represent a contrast to the artist ___ (fill in the blank.)
6. To what extent does Rembrandt present a historically revolutionary approach to composition (or other technique.)
7. To what extent does ____ (fill in the name of your artist) echo the techniques (or themes or style)  of the “x” movement?
8. How do the works of ___ (artist’s name) demonstrate a particular pattern of approach to (color, theme, technique, composition, tone…?)
9. How might a change in the materials that I use produce varying effects and results?