Donald K. Lake

Professor of Art
Program Director, Art & Design

BFA, MFA Wichita State University

Office: D015       Phone: 373-2503

Email:dlake@parkland.edu

Art 122 - Drawing I
Drawing I is the initial course for all Art students. In this course we cover those skills and concepts that enable one to draw realistic descriptions of forms. Limited to black and white media - graphite, charcoal, conte crayon, pen and ink - we work with ways to see and translate the three-dimensional subject to a two-dimensional page of shapes and marks. Also, considerable attention is given to the concept of linear perspective; to precise shading and other methods of rendering light and shadow; and to the ways different tools and papers affect the development of a drawing. Slides, lectures and demonstrations are used, along with class critiques of each project. Assignments are usually for one week, with nearly all graded work done outside of class. This course is fundamental to nearly every other Art class. This class would require the student to spend six to ten hours of serious work outside of class each week.

Art 123 - Drawing II
Drawing II continues the development of drawing and seeing skills, but it particularly focuses on new media. Color media, especially colored pencils and chalk pastel are emphasized along with ink wash, mixed media and experimental work with varied materials. A variety of artists' papers are used. The other major strand of the course is the exploration of a variety of drawing problems. Such areas as a focus on expressive lighting and mood, self portraits, abstract drawing, research and documentary drawing of a topic, and drawing from imagination would join other assignments to draw from real world situations. Presentation is emphasized, and several portfolio pieces will emerge from this course. Lectures, demonstrations, slides, critique, and regular discussion of unfolding works form the central instructional technique. Students should plan to spend ten hours per week as a minimum effort outside of class each week.

Art 125 - Color
Color is a class devoted to expanding awareness of color in the world around us, and to exploring its interaction and applications in art making. It takes the form of a personal experimentation with colored paper, and later acrylic paint, to gain an understanding of why things appear as they do, how colors may interact, and how to use them with some predictable results. Basic color interactions, color wheels and theories, mixing of color, and application of color schemes to two and three dimensional subjects are the main areas of the course. Most class days are working days, but time for class critique is given to each project. Projects range from single day to multi-week duration. The student should plan to spend six to ten hours outside of class each week, although the work load is sporadic.

Art 141 - Watercolor I
Watercolor I is the introductory course in transparent watercolor. The main components of the course are: getting acquainted with the materials and tools of watercolor painting, including knowing the nature of each pigment; learning the basic techniques and processes of watercolor and when each would be appropriately applied; and learning how to interpret various subject matter into the language of watercolor. Regular weekly projects will be given following class work time and instruction in a particular technique. Each project will be discussed in class critique. Instruction will take the forms of lecture, slides, demonstration, and field trips to locations as weather permits. The student should expect to spend six to ten hours outside of class each week, with the greater amount likely for satisfactory work. Basic drawing skills are expected; inability to draw from life with at least rudimentary skill will be a serious hindrance.

Art 241 - Watercolor II
Watercolor II is an advanced course in watercolor. It goes further with transparent watercolor and explores other watermedia including gouache. Casein, acrylic, watercolor pencils and crayons, watercolor monotypes, dry pigment combinations and mixed media are other possible areas to pursue as each student explores those areas of greatest interest and applicability to his or her own artistic sensibility. Some projects will address format, some address a process, representation versus abstraction, or exploration of a subject in a series of works. A large size piece will be undertaken. Since there is such breadth of possibilities in the course, this class is often repeated several times (though only taken once for transferable credit.) Students are expected to have completed Art 141 or to have good basic watercolor and drawing skills. Work time outside of class will be determined by the student, and will be guided by professional expectations.

Some remarks to accompany my slides
These watercolor paintings are representative of my work on the Industry series during the last few years. I have been working in a realist way, with watercolor as my primary medium, since 1976. An ongoing interest for me has been machines and the man-made. The Industry pieces have been my main preoccupation since 1988, and explore American factories and industrial sites I have visited. I particularly relish turn of the century sites, and the old "smokestack" factories; a more recent quest for the fiery interiors of forging plants, blast furnaces and steel mills is indicated in these slides. My watercolor process is a slow one and emphasizes drawing and the gradual development of the image. I generally use transparent watercolor, as is seen here, but my work includes a lot of drawing/watercolor combinations and I work in gouache regularly as well.

A native of the state of Kansas, I have been in Illinois since 1970 when I came to Champaign to teach at Parkland College. At that time Parkland was in its infancy, still in makeshift storefront facilities. I was eager to join and contribute to the energy and inspiration of a young faculty and I have enjoyed being, with my colleagues, a guiding force in the creation of a leading community college and a respected foundations Art and Design progam.

Short Resume

Education

• BFA 1968 Wichita State University
  
• MFA 1970 Wichita State University

Teaching Experience

• Parkland College, Champaign, IL. Professor of Art, 1970-present
  
• Program Director, Art and Design, 1979-present
  
• Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, Gatlinburg, TN. Watercolor Instructor, Summer 1989, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003
  
• Toledo Artists Club Watercolor Workshop, Toledo, Ohio. Watercolor Instructor, 1999
• Southern Illinois Art Workshop, Smithboro, IL Watercolor Instructor, Spring 1997, 2001
  
• Springmaid Beach Watercolor Workshop, Myrtle Beach, SC. Watercolor Instructor, Fall 1997, 1998
  

Selected Publications and Honors

• New American Painting, August 1998. "Donald Lake"
• Art and Antiques, January 1998, "Openings: Outsiders' Obsessions"
• St. Louis Post-Dispatch, "A Fantastic Play of Light Informs the Watercolors of Donald Lake", February22, 1998.
• American Artist Watercolor 1994 Fall Issue, "Mystery and Symbolism in Urban Scenes"
  
• The Artists Magazine, September 1992, "Award Winning Watercolors. Watercolor U.S.A.: Donald K.Lake", Bebe Raupe.
  
• Watercolor Expressions, Betty Lou Schlemm. Rockport Publishers 1999.
• The New Spirit of Watercolor, Mike Ward. North Light Books, 1989
• Commissioned Paintings for Illinois Capital Development Board Art-In-Architecture Program 1989, 1990, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1999, 2001
  
• Granted Sabbatical for 1991-92 Academic Year for travel and studio work
  
• Member Watercolor USA Honor Society. Board Member 1997-2000. Served as Treasurer 1989-92.
  
• Chaired panel entitled "Issues and Attitudes in Contemporary Watercolor" at WHS National Symposium, Salt Lake City, Utah, 1993
  
• Chaired panel entitled "Views on Constructive Criticism" at WHS National Conference, Springfield,MO, 1997
  
• NISOD Award for Teaching Excellence, 1997 (National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development)
  
• Illinois Arts Council Artists Fellowship Finalist Award, 2001
  
• Commission for Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, 2002
  

Selected Exhibitions (Solo)

• 2002 Donald lake: Recent Works, Richmond College, Decatur, IL
  
• 200 Donald Lake-Recent Watercolors, Reed Lake College, Ina, IL
  
• 1998 Donald Lake: Watercolors. Elliot Smith Contemporary Art, St. Louis
• 1992 Don Lake - Recent Watercolors. Neville-Sargent Gallery, Chicago, IL.
• 1989 Don Lake - Watercolors and Drawings. Parkland College Art Gallery, Champaign, IL.
  

Selected Exhibitions (Group and Invitational)

• 2003
  • State fo the Art 2003, Siena Heights University, MI & Parkland College Art Gallery, Champaign, IL
• 2001
  • Watercolor USA 2001. Springfield Art Museum, MO. Purchase for Museum Collection in honor of Payne Stewart. Two Cash Awards. Patron Purchase. (Thirteen Watercolor USA exhibits 1977-2001. Awards nine years)
  • Watercolor Illinois. Tarble Arts Center, EIU, Charleston, IL. Best of Show purchase for Tarble Arts Center Collection.
• 2001
  • Watermedia 2000. Huntsville Museum of Art, Huntsville, AL.
• 1997
  • Twenty-First Annual National Invitational Drawing Exhibition. Emporia State University, Emporia, KS.
    
  • Gallery Artists. Elliot Smith Contemporary Art, St. Louis, MO.
    
  • Watercolor NOW, Springfield Art Museum, MO.
    
• 1996
• Midwestern Romanticism. Springfield Art Association, IL, and travelling to Freeport Art Museum, IL, Lakeview Museum of Arts and Sciences, Peoria, IL, Sioux City Art Center, IA, Beach Museum of Art, KSU Manhattan, KS (1997), and Gahlberg Gallery, Arts Center, College of DuPage, Glen Ellyn, IL. (1997).