NYU SCHOOL OF PROFESSIONAL STUDIES CENTER FOR PUBLISHING & APPLIED LIBERAL ARTS CONTINUING EDUCATION PROGRAMS (PALA/CE)

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Drawings from the Met

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If you’ve ever been to the Metropolitan Museum of Art on a weekday, you’ve likely seen students diligently sitting in front of a work of art for hours and drawing it. Among these may have been Joyce Levy or Sally Rosen, who are taking part in Meera Thompson’s Drawing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Here they share their experiences in the class so far.

Joyce Levy

What an amazing class. I am taking Meera Thompson’s summer 2016 class Drawing at the Met. Not only is she teaching me very technical and conceptual drawing skills, but the objects that I am working with are art treasures that are centuries-old. The combination of her teaching and the setting has been such an inspiration.

Picture 1. Photo of Bernini’s Faun teased by Puti
Picture 2. Sketch I did during class
Picture 3. Drawing I finished at home

Picture 4. Drawing of Armor for Man and Horse — Italian 1500s
Picture 5. Photo of Armor for Man and Horse

Sally Rosen

Picture 1. As with all of Meera Thompson’s assignments this one — to copy a drawing by Luca Cambiaso — was chosen to help us teach ourselves about shade and light that fall on front, back, up and down planes. It was challenging and really rewarding.
Picture 2. This assignment — to copy “The Painter and the Connoisseur” by Pieter Brugel, permitted me to understand shading techniques: grid lines, dots, diagonals, dark and light lines.
Picture 3. The difficulty of drawing a child’s face was the challenge of this assignment. Understanding that the eyes are well below the mid-line of the oval face made this drawing come to life for me.
Picture 4. This was part of an on-site museum assignment of Degas sculptures that I very quickly drew on the way out of the museum. The prior hour and a half with other Degas poses helped me to quickly see these geometric shapes more clearly.
MeeraStudent
Meera Thompson (left) and Phyllis Chillingworth at Atlantic Gallery

Meera has also been known to continue her relationships with students, and just last spring had a joint exhibit with her former student Phyllis Chillingworth at the Atlantic Gallery in Chelsea. Meera and Phyllis displayed their collections Weathering Whether and Currents, respectively.

Want to brush up on your own drawing skills? Meera is offering three courses this Fall:

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