Art Making: Drawing Negative Space and Abstract Shapes

The Art Museum is partnering with the Arts Council of Princeton to provide free online art-making experiences. Classes are taught by artist-instructor Barbara DiLorenzo over Zoom, so participants can join live from their home computers; techniques emphasize drawing with pen or pencil on paper. Each lesson features works from the Museum’s collections.

In this session, we will practice looking at the spaces around a subject (negative space). Seeing shapes created between flower stems in a vase can be a helpful tool in drawing the subject, as well as creating more interesting moments in a drawing. We will also look at water in a vase, noticing all the abstract shapes that are created from light refracting and reflecting. Although they may seem complicated, glass and water are satisfying and surprisingly simple drawing subjects.