It stands to reason that a willingness to explore and try new things would be correlated with creativity the most important factor, however, is not an external stimulus but the human brain that possesses the capacity to both create and destroy.

A lesser known fact is that psychologists sometimes encourage patients to use artistic expression to confront difficult feelings to distract the mind and keep it happy. Creativity is thus an important key to happiness. In general, activities that require more holistic perception like spatial reasoning, and appreciation of beauty stimulate the right hemisphere and those activities which require more analytical thinking—including language—stimulate the left.

There is a notion that people who are right -brain thinkers tend to be imaginative and subjective while left brained people are logical and pragmatic. Scientifically, the right hemisphere of the brain does coordinate the left side of the body and perform tasks that have do with creativity and arts. But, no one side can perform a task solitarily. Mental processes are interlinked and together perform the functions of bodily coordination. Neuroscientists have used brain imaging to prove that while the brain does use different sides to carry out certain functions, there is no one governing side.

For instance, while painting one needs to have his/her spatial perception and hand-eye coordination clear while also being imaginative and creative. In the beginning, one needs to be able to visualize the final painting in their mind, then, develop the painting, choose the elements, match and mix colors, place the shadows and highlights and finally they need to be able to look critically at what they have done which is controlled by the left brain resulting in comprehensive sanctity.

Again, as it turns out, there’s a major neuroscientific link between openness to new experience and creative thinking. Exploration of the mind and the outside world is tied to the neurotransmitter dopamine, which also plays a role in motivation and learning.

There is, now, enough evidence to suggest that the right brain or creative impulses help in the overall wellbeing of a person and his/her happiness. Components of a creative personality, like the quest for a new experience and perseverance, are also good predictors of life satisfaction. Sometimes a person may get so involved in his artistic endeavor that they tend to forget everything else.

Getting into a state of flow can produce substantial happiness, the kind that lasts longer than the pleasure we get from eating good food. But it is a slow and gradual process and does not produce immediate results. Nowadays, schools like Anthelion School of Art focus on the wholesome well-being of a person through the concentrated method of painting.

In our fast-moving world with way too much information and responsibility, our brain reaches the highest point of pressure very often. The risk of not paying attention to the warning signs of mental pressure are that sometimes, we overload the left brain so much that even hours of sleep cannot heal it and many normal functions of the brain get disrupted. The best way to maintain the balance is to use the right brain function of creativity and art more often. The use of the right brain releases endorphins, making us feel good and taking care of the rising pressure levels in our lives.

Therefore institutions like Anthelion School of Art have come up with art therapy. It is also the reason for the selling of coloring books for adults in bookstores, with claims that making art can help us to become more mindful and resilient during times of stress. In fact, creativity if channeled correctly could be so powerful that. It can help people to cope with chronic illnesses like cancer. It may be appalling that creativity has so many positive effects on human health. Studies show that art It allows one to express and process emotions, It helps us focus on the moment and “live the present”, and also increase self-confidence.

To conclude, although happiness is in principle difficult to define and study, it is inextricably linked to the right brain functions that stimulate creativity and emotions and play a key role in the formation of a strong and disciplined personality devoid of negative experiences like depression and lack of confidence.

SYLLABUS GUIDELINE

NOTE: We don’t strictly follow it. This is our guideline. It completely depends on the student if he/she would like to go by the syllabus guideline or would like to choose and move forward. Mentor’s guidance will be helpful. But finally it is student’s decision and choice.

GRAMMAR & TECHNIQUES:

Use of Medium: It is to be noted that Anthelion School of Art being an open school for all ages and levels of expertise, students are free to start with any medium. But we would advice to follow the following order of mediums for the detailed syllabus mentioned below. Mentor’s guidance in this matter is the best choice.

• Black & White – Pencil, Charcoal, White Pastel (Conte)
• Colour Study – Dry Medium – Oil Pastel, Soft Pastel, Pen & Ink, Pencil Applications
• Colour Study – Wet Medium – Water Colour – General, Tempera, Wash, Gouache, Mixed Media
• Colour Study – Wet Medium – Oil, Acrylic

Module 1:

General Compositions (Part 1):

• Compositional exercises based on studies of objects and groups in space, on studies of the local scene.
• Compositional analysis of paintings; exercises in the use of colour and textural values.
• Painting of man-made objects and nature – study of colour, form, tone, and texture.
• Understanding the materials & mediums of fine arts.
• Terminologies: Drawing, Painting, Sketching, Foreshortening, perspective, eyelevel, fixed point of view, vanishing point, ration proportion, sketching, proportion sketching, drawing, light & shade, painting still life, landscape, anatomy, vertical, horizontal, two & three dimensional, transparent & opaque etc.
• Compose a Painting with Manmade object and Natural object.
• Composition study based on our daily life.
• Creating an Indian Artform (religious epic, mythology, traditional festival, folk-art or celebration) based painting which will depict the mood of joy or sorrow.
• Composition based on any western art form which will depict the mood of joy or sorrow.

Module 2:

Study from man-made objects and nature:

• Drawing from cubes, cones, cylindrical objects, cast, drapery, still life
• Transparent Nature, (Capsicum, Tomato, Grapes etc. Soft & Hard Man- Made & Nature
• Transparent Nature & opaque man made.
• Heavy & Light Man Made & Nature
• Opaque Nature (Brinjal, Apple etc.)
• Peeled fruits (Banana, Orange, Sweet lime, Pomegranate etc.)
• Various Textures (Bitter guard, Pine apple, Stone etc.)
• Vegetable Like (Radish, Spring Onion etc.)

Still Life and Painting:

• Food, flowers, dead animals, plants, rocks, or shells
• Man-made (drinking glasses, books, vases, jewellery, coins, pipes)
• Botanical illustration
• Dutch and Flemish painting

Landscape Study from nature:

• Medium: Pastel/Watercolor/Oil/Acrylic colour
• Sketches of animals and birds with actions.
• Sketches of nature
• Sketches of different types of vehicles.
• Sketches of Architectural structures.
• Sketches of human figure (capture different postures movement & various emotions.
• Outdoor (Sketching and landscape)
• Outdoor sketching at various public places (Ex.-Market, Street, bus stop) Station)
• Optional payed workshop (one in Kolkata whole day, One out of Kolkata two days one night).

Antique Study:

• Crumpling and Spritzing technique
• Staining
• Using Flame and Heat
• Burying Paper in the yard method

Module 3:

Anatomy – Human figure

• Anatomy study from skeleton
• Drawing from Skull (Various actions & expressions) bones & Muscles
• Drawing from torso (Various actions with hands (Twist)) bones & Muscles
• Drawing from Full Skeleton (Various actions) bones & Muscles

Head Study:

• Construction of the skull
• Planes and masses of the head
• Identifying and drawing Planes sessions.
• Render head and the features
• Adult head proportions
• Measuring Facial features and muscles

Drawing from full figure:

• Drawing from Full Figure (Sitting Position on chair)
• Drawing from Full Figure (Standing Position)
• Drawing from Full Figure (Sitting on Bench)
• Drawing from Full Figure (Reclining Position) – student should draw from different angles.
• Model Study (To be organized in Batches)

Drawing from Group (Various Subjective actions) bones & Muscles

• Painting 3/4^th and full figure
• Creative Painting
• Portrait painting or fresco painting

Module 4:

Elements of Art:

• Line
• Form
• Colour
• Tone
• Texture
• Space

General Composition (Part 2):

• Principles of Composition
• Proportion
• Rhythm
• Dominance
• Harmony
• Unity
• Balance
• Abstraction
• Stylization
• Point line form, colour, tone texture and space.

Perspective Drawings:

• Linear Perspective
• Three Point Perspective
• Figures in Perspective
• Perspective correction
• Aerial Perspective
• Perspective in a Nature.
• Water, reflections & perspective.
• Perspective techniques.
• Architectural Renderings.

Memory Drawing:

• How to Draw from Memory and Imagination.
• How to train visual memory
• Perceptual training and recall.

Module 5:

Methods & Materials of the following:

Oil Pastel

• Making Marks
• Sketching with Oil Pastels
• Blending
• Crumb Control
• Wet Effects
• Thinner Wash
• Tonal Layers
• Grass Texture
• Reflections and Shadows
• Add Details
• How to use Temperature Tricks
• Special Surfaces painting technique.

Dry Pastel

• How to use End of a Pastel
• How to use Edge of a Pastel
• Hatching and Cross-Hatching techniques
• Blending techniques
• Scumbling
• Feathering
• Dusting

Water colour techniques

• Dry and wet colour mixing
• Light to dark with finishing
• Using paper towel for painting
• Splatter techniques.
• Bleed Colours into one another
• Layering
• Pullin the colours
• Scumbling
• Lifting the colour
• Using salt for texture
• Using sponge
• Negative painting
• Using tapes

Oil Colour

• Colour Blocking techniques
• Study picture Transparency
• Using layers.
• Techniques to intensify the colours
• Contrasting colours
• Using White paint
• Charcoal lines using in oil paintings
• Brush stroke size learning
• Paint mixture techniques
• Foliage painting
• Pointillism techniques
• Creating Soft texture
• Monochrome painting
• Cool colours using
• Complementary colours using
• Human skin colour painting
• Landscape shadow

Acrylic colour

• Gesso technique using
• Glazing
• Blending
• Dry Bruch using
• Washing
• Stippling
• Splattering
• Dabbing
• Pallet Knife using
• How to add detailing
• Under painting Technique
• Glazing
• Layering
• Colour Blocking
• Partial mixing of Colours

Methods & Materials of the following:

• Tempera
• Wash
• Gouache
• Mural
• Installation
• Collage
• Etching
• Fresco
• Mosaic

Calligraphy:

• Basic discipline of beautiful handwriting, sense of letter form- simultaneous judgement of the composition of letter’s spacing organization
• Intuitive and logical planning of writing development of style.
• Script writing with different types of traditional and modern tools. Students should be exposed to calligraphic examples of various traditional scripts

THEORY – ART HISTORY & ART FORMS:

Module 6:

History of Indian Art:

• Rock art
• Indus Valley Civilization (c. 5000 BCE – c. 1500 BCE)
• Mauryan art (c. 340 BCE – c. 232 BCE)
• Buddhist art (c. 1 CE – c. 500 CE)
• Mughal art of Northern India (pre-1600) and its influences
• Deccan art of South-Central India
• British period (1841–1947)Gupta art (c. 320 CE – c. 550 CE)
• Middle Kingdoms and the Late Medieval period (c. 600 CE – c. 1300 CE)
• Dynasties of South India (c. 3rd century CE – c. 1300 CE)
• Contemporary art (c. 1900 CE-present)
• Early Modern and Colonial Era (c. 1400 CE – c. 1800 CE)
• Pre-independence Indian art
• Contextual Modernism

Material history of Indian art – Theoretical Understanding:

• Sculpture
• Wall painting
• Miniature painting
• Jewellery

History of Western art:

• Greek art Byzantine Art High renaissance:
• Leonardo-da-Vinci
• Michelangelo
• Raphael
• Neoclassicism: – Jacques-Louis David
• Romanticism: – Eugène Delacroix, Francisco Goya, El Greco,
• Realism: -Gustave Courbet, Honoré Daumier, Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, Jean-François Millet. Barbizon Painters
• Impressionism: – Influence of Realistic Ideas, Change in landscape Paintings, and Importance of light theory, Monet, Degas, Renoir, Manet
• Post-impressionist Painters: -Gauguin, Van Gogh, Seurat, Cezanne.
• Fauvism: – Madisse, Balminck, Derain.
• Cubism: – Picasso, Braque, Juan Gris, Fernand Léger. Beginning of cubism and phases of Cubism.
• Expressionism: – (Characteristics and Artists- Kandinsky, klee, Die Bruacke – Krichmer, Nolde etc. Blau Reiter – Landinsky, Marc, Kakoschka etc)
• Futurism:-(Characteristics and Artists- Boccioni, Severini).
• Surrealism: – (Characteristics and Artists-, Ruadh DeLone, Salvador Dali etc.)
• Dadaism: – (Marcel Duchamp, Francis Picabia, Hans Arp, Kurt Schwitlers etc.)
• Abstract Expressionism: – (Characteristics and Artists Jackson Pollock, Apell, William De Keoning, Rothko, Franz Kilne).

 Module 7:

Understanding different styles in Indian art:

• Tribal art
• Folk art
• Classical art
• Temple art
• Modern art

Indian Art Forms & Styles:

• Warli
• Gond
• Bhil
• Pithora
• Patua (Scrols)
• Kalamkari
• Thanjavur or Tanjore
• Cheriyal Scrolls
• Miniature – Mughal & Rajasthani
• Pahari Miniature: Kangra, Guler, Basohli, Chamba, Mandi, Arki style
• Bengal – Patachitra, Kalighat
• Rajasthani – Phad, Maru-Gurjar, Bundi, Kishangargh, Roghan
• Bihar – Mithila, Madhubani, Majusha
• Mughal Portrait – reign of Akbar, Jahangir and Shahjahan

Western Art Forms & Styles:

• Academic Art
• Ancient Classical Art
• American Landscape
• Early Medieval art
• Romanesque
• Gothic
• Baroque
• Classicism – Classical
• Cubism
• Dutch Baroque
• Expressionism
• High Renaissance
• Byzantine
• Impressionism
• Mannerism
• Marine Art – Maritime
• Modern Art
• Naturalism
• Neoclassicism
• Orientalism
• Pointillism
• Portrait Painter
• Post Impressionism
• Pre-Raphaelite
• Realism
• Renaissance
• Rococo
• Romanticism
• Surrealism
• Victorian
• Symbolism, American Modernism, Bauhaus
• Abstract expressionism
• Pop art

 Module 8: Bengal Form of Art

STYLIZATION & SELF DISCOVERY:

Module 9: Discover / Invent your own style (-ism) through series.

Module 10: Theme, Form, Style Project Work.