JEFF FISHER'S FIGURE DRAWING WORKSHOP

December 12, 2007

When and where did I meet Jeff Fisher?
I was in 10th grade in a Fashion Illustration class at Smithtown High School. Jeff was a guest illustrator who used to teach figure drawing once a week. He was burly loud and certainly didn't fit my preconceived notions of what an artist should be. He looked more like a linebacker for the NFL. He made us draw with our "non-dominant" hands, our feet, with sticks , without looking, upside down and it made is uncomfortable. He taught us to, "draw what we see and not what we know." He taught us to really LOOK at what we were drawing. He taught us to draw.

He also came into my Advanced Placement Art class every Friday and taught figure drawing. He gave up his own time to give back to his former alma mater. I am thankful for his talent, expertise, and passion for teaching that has inspired me to continue to be an artist and teacher myself, and am equally as thrilled to share this experience with my students.

- Mrs. DelVallez

PHOTO GALLERY OF STUDENT DRAWINGS DECEMBER 12, 2007

PHOTO GALLERY FIGURE DRAWING WORKSHOP December 12, 2007

WHAT DO MY STUDENTS HAVE TO SAY ABOUT THE WORKSHOP?

"It changed my perspective on modern art. It taught me to think outside the box." - Nick Cormier

"A positive thing from this workshop is that Jeff was able to show us a new way to look at things. This helped us improve our art. I found this workshop to be very helpful. He also told us thata drawing that looked like a picture was not always the best." - Alex Vilim

"Drawing for 6 hours under sweatshop conditions causes you to learn quickly; we got dozens of drawings done. Few of us thought we could draw going in, but the quality of illustrations was surprisingly high. Jeff was helpful, by pointing us in the right direction regarding our work while appreciating individual style despite our frustration. I learned that I can draw better in some ways with my left hand and feet than with my dominant hand." - Charles Lannak

"This was a very informative workshop. It was a very good learning experience, because Jeff Fisher was always right over your shoulder helping and correcting your mistakes. It was very helpful having a live model while drawing. I never thought that iI could draw well, but by the end of this workshop, I was very impressed with my work." - Chris Grauwiler

"I enjoyed the workshop with Jeff Fisher. I feel much more confident about my drawings. I realized that if I really focused on something I could draw it. Jeff made us draw with our feet, it was gross ,but you could tell what the drawing was. I had no idea that a realistic picture could come out of a foot drawing. Jeff was a fun man to work with and his criticism was really helpful. I'm so grateful for the experience that I had." - Kelly Conti

"Jeff Fisher's figure drawing workshop was an educational experience I'm glad I was a part of. Before this year, I was not confident with my drawing skills. However, he introduced us to innovative methods that made the workshop challenging, but worthwhile. We did some of our drawings with our feet or both hands simultaneously. Being able to draw like that allowed me to see that drawing can really be easy. I was able to concentrate without trying to make my work perfect and at the end, I was happy with all the work I had done. Working with Jeff Fisher allowed me to relax and not try so hard to be a perfectionist. I was able to draw without worrying about the final outcome the entire time and I did some of the best drawings I've done. After his workshop, I feel much more confident with my skills and potential as an artist." - Kevin Burke

" This workshop really helped me pinpoint areas I need to work on as well as learning different techniques pertaining to illustration. We were put in situations that helped us breakdown the way we draw and helped us improve on the them. "
- Michael Fasano

"When Jeff Fisher was here we learned a lot. Our drawing skills definitely improved and we also had a lot of fun. A lot of people will probably think that a whole school day of drawing is too much but we had so much fun and before the class most of us hated drawing. It was freekin awesome." - Sean Walsh

"I believe that having Jeff Fisher come to the class had a positive influence on my drawing skills. What started out as a single drawing on the page turned into a culmination of poses on that single page. We were given a wide variety of poses to draw and it increased our overall perspective on art. Jeff Fisher created a inspirational atmosphere that made us feel comfortable about our artwork. Overall having Jeff Fisher in the classroom increased my experience in drawing and my desire to continue in this field." - Stephen Nachreiner

"I really enjoyed Jeff Fisher's drawing workshop. My drawing skills definitely improved from his lessons. Most of the class started out thinking that we couldn't draw but by the end of the workshop, all of us were producing really nice drawings. We learned so many different techniques involved in art, all while having tons of fun." - Victoria Warnken