Studio Workshops: Observational Drawing with Debra Barrera
Learn to draw or refine your observational drawing skills in our studio art workshops! Artist, educator and master draftsperson Debra Barrera leads a series of three drawing workshops featuring artworks in the collection of Public Art UHS. Each session will focus on a different artwork and drawing technique. Drop in on one session or join us for all three! The first two sessions are held at the University of Houston and the third is held at University of Houston-Downtown.
Our teaching artist Debra Barrera is an artist based in Houston, Texas. She graduated with an MFA from the University of Houston in 2010 and has since been included in numerous exhibitions nationally including a solo exhibition at the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston as well as exhibitions at the San Diego Museum of Art, and the Art Museum of Southeast Texas. Her work is in the permanent collections at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston and has been published in Art in America, New American Paintings, and The Houston Chronicle. In 2015 Barrera was artist-in-residence at Rice University’s Department of Physics and Astronomy where her work is now a part of Rice’s public art collection. Barrera is also co-owner and creative director at Jonathan Hopson Gallery, a curatorial concept gallery bringing national and international artists to Houston. In 2019 Barrera received a prestigious Joan Mitchell Grant.
Session 1: Figure Drawing
Saturday, October 15th, 2022 | 2:00pm-4:00pm
Learn the fundamentals of drawing a human figure to scale as well as shading and rendering techniques. Use the figures in The Art Guys’ The Statue of Four Lies (2010) as dynamic sculptural models.
Workshop Location: University of Houston. The Art Guys, The Statue of Four Lies (2010), located outdoors on the north side of Cougar Village I. If you would like a guide to the workshop location, please meet our Student Ambassadors at the UH Welcome Center at 2pm.
Recommended Parking: UH Welcome Center Garage. See rates and all visitor parking options at the University of Houston at: uh.edu/af-university-services/parking/parking-on-campus/visitor
Session 2: Perspective and Pattern
Saturday, October 22nd, 2022 | 2:00-4:00pm
Learn basic and advanced perspective techniques and incorporate graphic elements and multi-value patterns into your drawings. Create sketches of Lawrence Argent’s Your Move (2011) from different perspectives and observe the way that light interacts with stone and metal. View materials list.
Workshop Location: University of Houston. Lawrence Argent, Your Move (2011), located outside in the public courtyard of University Lofts. If you would like a guide to the workshop location, please meet our Student Ambassadors at the UH Welcome Center at 2pm.
Recommended Parking: UH Welcome Center Garage at 4348 Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. See rates and all visitor parking options at the University of Houston at: uh.edu/af-university-services/parking/parking-on-campus/visitor
Session 3: Realism and Chiaroscuro
Saturday, November 5th, 2022 | 2:00-4:00pm
Learn chiaroscuro techniques and create dramatic value by enhancing shadows and highlights in your drawing. Using Vincent Valdez’s painting One in a Million (2007) as a model, practice rendering realistic elements using a variety of drawing tools.
Workshop Location: University of Houston-Downtown. Vincent Valdez, One in a Million (2007), located indoors near the O’Kane Gallery on the 3rd floor of the Girard Street Building at One Main Street. If you would like a guide to the workshop location, please meet our Student Ambassadors at the entrance on the ground floor of the Girard Street Building.
Recommended Parking: UHD Visitor Parking Lot at 201 Girard Street. View parking rates at details at: https://www.uhd.edu/about/parking/Pages/parking-visitorparking.aspx
Materials
We encourage you to bring your own sketchbooks, pencils, and other drawing materials. However, we will also have a limited selection of materials to ensure that everyone can participate.
Recommended:
- Graphite drawing pencils, varying hardness/softness
- Eraser(s)
- Handheld pencil sharpener
- One mechanical drawing pencil with .5mm lead
Optional:
- Eraser pen fitted with 2.5mm cylindrical eraser
- Blending stumps and/or foam blending pads