Chapter 8: Crowds

 

Activity 5.8.1 Paintings by S. Lowry

Sadly, searching for a book on S. Lowry was hopeless, even in the well-stocked Bonn library. He seems to be very little known around here. The internet helps once again, but it is not the same as seeing a good reproduction, let alone an original.

Paintings by S. Lowry:

	P 1 Punch and Judy 1943
	P 2 City Gentlemen
	P 3 The family
	P 4 The procession
	P 5 A fine town
	P 6 Waiting for the shops to open The figures in this painting are more colourful than the others.

 

Figures after S. Lowry

	P 7 Figures in my sketchbook (A5), painted with gouache Most of these were painted after “Punch and Judy” and “Waiting for the shops to open”.
	P 8 After “City Gentlemen”
	p 9 After “Waiting for the shops to open” and “Lancashire Village”

 

Activity 5.8.2 Paintings by Keith Haring

It is much easier to find material on Keith Haring.

P 10	P 11
P 12	P 13
P 14
P 15

 

Figures after Keith Haring

P 16: I painted with oil pastels in my sketchbook to get strong colours. It was fun not to be too precise.	P 17: I like the “angel” (or Batman?).
	P 18: The variety of Keith Haring’s figures is stunning. The short lines around the figures seem to indicate movement.
	P 19: Often the shoulders of the figures are drawn up, this gives a sense of exertion. I like the little dog on the left with the lines suggesting a bark. The small figures were drawn with an acrylic ink pen. I just wanted to record those I like most.
	P 20: This was painted with acrylic ink on A4 paper. After drawing and painting the figures I emphasized the black outlines with a brush and ink. My original lines were much too fine and the figures did not look like Haring at all.
	P 21 Design continued on the computer using Paint. I changed the chessboard to black and white. White outlines around the figures on the black spaces seem to add space.
	P 22 A little scene in my sketchbook, A5, painted with acrylic ink. Runners chased by dogs? Or burglars? What stories can you tell by combining these figures?

 

Crowds drawn by Björn Berg

My friend Eva and I have been invited to read from Astrid Lindgren’s work in February, and now I am re-reading Lindgren’s books. In “Emil of Lönneberga” I found some nice crowd drawings by illustrator Björn Berg.

	P 23-25: Scenes from a village market
	I like these humorous drawings, and the way Björn Berg uses black, stripes and patterns to create interesting groups. People are packed very closely, they all seem to know each other and interact.