Assignment One: Reflection

Did you do enough preliminary work before starting work on your final pieces?


I did as much work as I felt necessary in the sense that I explored all the different medias and techniques presented to me in this section of the course, as well as exploring a few of my own, and was able to take the logic steps to creating two pieces of work that I feel best represent the style I would like to have as an artist, namely that of an mild impressionist, by putting my own spin on reality.


Do your large drawings give an accurate interpretation of the still life groups? If not, what went wrong?


They are as accurate as they can possibly be considering that they are my impressions of them. My first drawing for example, I believe you can still see that it is a rose, even though I have chosen the complimentary  colour to what it's natural one should be. As for my second drawing I believe I have managed to maintain the correct proportions to the objects I've chosen.


Did you make a good selection of objects or did you try to include too much? Would you change the arrangements of the objects if you were to start again?


I certainly don't feel that I included too much, more likely that i didn't include enough objects in my pictures, but for the natural drawing, I want to shoe the many textures that just one object can hold and felt that my piece would stand out more if it was less cluttered. As for my second piece, by enlarging the image to just focus on the reflection in the bauble and the train which is close to it, I gained an unusual perspective of the object that would have been lost amongst other more complicated items. I would possibly try to place something unusual in the natural picture, like a dragon fruit to make it more interesting, but generally I am quite happy with how the work turned out.


Do your drawings work fit well on the paper or could they be improved by working on a larger sheet of paper?


I don't believe that a larger piece of paper would improve my drawing, but possibly a different shape of paper might. If I had sketched my natural piece on a round piece of paper, I would have shown more of the rose, and may have looked more interesting.


Did you have problems with drawing or find hatching too difficult?


I did encounter so problems, one of the major ones being that I have my pencil comfortably with a firmer grip than most to combat my shaking hands, and this meant that I had to work harder at building up the subtle tones to a drawing. Despite that though, I quite enjoyed hatching; it was stippling I had the most trouble with, mainly because I don't have the patience to build up an image one dot at a time. It could be that I was doing it wrong and need to research how to use this technique, but personally I would rather use hatching.

Assignment One: Second Drawing

Assignment One: First Drawing

Check and Blog Seven

How successful were you in copying the lines from the smaller squares to the larger squares?


Quite successful as I believe I've kept the drawing in proportion.


Are you satisfied with your larger replica of the image? What would you do differently another time?


I would make the squares smaller on the first image, say 1cm squares instead of 2cm ones, so on the larger image I can more accurately show the details of the objects.

Enlarging a simple flat image

Project: Enlarging an image

Exercise: Enlarging an existing drawing

Check and Blog Six

Have you discovered any new ways of using your drawing tools to depict surface and texture?


I tried doing a wax crayon rubbing and then scraping the wax off to show lines that form the image of a rose, however the tool I used (a scalpel) only partially worked because as I applied too much pressure in places, I tore holes in the drawing. Maybe if I were to use cardboard instead it may have a better effect.


How successful were you at implying form with little or no tonal hatching?


What are your impressions of frottage as a drawing technique?


I really like it. Its fun to do and gives instant texture. I think it may be limited to natural still life however as I can't see how it could be used in man-made compositions effectively.

A drawing with textures

Project: Using Texture

Exercise: Experimenting with texture

Frottage:

Guess how surprised I was to find out that this word has a second conatation which was sexual. The original meaning of the word is to create an image using a rubbing of a strong texture like grained wood or brick. I like to see the two as related seeing as the sexual meaning inspires thoughts of passion which may lead to creating life, much the same way as making a piece of art work come to life with a rubbing.

Max Ernst invented the artistic version of frottage in 1925 and here is my interpretation.

Observing negative space and perspective

Check and Blog Five

Do you think it is easier to suggest three dimensions on man-made or natural objects?


How did you create a sense of solidity in your composition?


Do you think changing the arrangement of your composition makes a a difference to your approach and the way you create a sense of form?


How did you decide how to position yourself in relation to the objects?

Composition of natural objects

Project: Still Life

Exercise: Still life sketches of made objects

Check and Blog Four

What are the difficulties in separating cast shadow from reflected light and shade?


If the light source is strong, the reflected shadows can become as bold and as striking as a cast shadow, so sketching the correct tonal lines can be tricky.


The reflected shadow and light follows the contours of the objects. How have you shown this in your drawing?

Patrick Caulfield and his 'White Ware'

Patrick Caulfield

(29 January 1936 – 29 September 2005)

Patrick Caulfield constantly studied art, and yet the over simplistic shapes and colours in his White Ware collection give the impression of an artist at the start of the career path and not at his peak. However, the simple bold colours certainly make an impact and the lack of complications to the prints, such as shadows and tone allows the viewer to enjoy the pictures for what they are and not wasting time working out if he has captured the correct perspective of the objects. It also gives and on-looker a puzzle as all you can see is the positive and negative space, but no or little object space, so they must make sense of the picture themselves. By keeping the prints simple, his draws attention to the most mundane of objects and makes them stand out and seem special. In the 'Vase and flowers in a garden' drawing by Eric Ravilous the vase is merely a vessel for the flowers, whereas in the 6 'White Ware' prints below, the vase becomes the focus of the pictures.

Below is a drawing I made using a similar style to Caulfield. I kept the detail and the colour scheme to a minimum and concentrated on making my daughter's clothing and blanket stand out.

Shadows and reflected light and shade

Project: Reflected Light

Exercise: Study of light reflected from one object to another

Check and Blog Three

How difficult did you find it to distinguish between light from the primary light source and the secondary reflected light?




How has awareness of light and shade affected your depiction of form?

Research Point

Odilon Redon

Born: 20th April 1840

Early Life: Originally his was called Bertrand-Jean Redon, but was nicknamed 'Odilon' by his mother as a way of showing her fondness for him. He was interested in art from a very young age, and as many websites and books will tell you that when he was ten, he was awarded a prize at school for a drawing. Later on his love for drawing grew and he wished to study it, but his father did not see how a living could be earnt this way, and so he insist that Odilon pursue the study of architecture. 

Later on he would attempt the entrance exam to Paris' Ecole des Beaux-Arts and would fail, so his career as an architect could not be pursued.

His work:






The piece on the left is simply called 'reflection' and I enjoy it because the female figure looks almost Pre-Raphaelite, which part of me wonders if it is a nod towards the famous trio who founded the 'brotherhood' which began in 1848, two years before he won his first prize in art.











The sketch above is of Rodolphe Bresdin, Odilon Redon's tutor. I find this drawing interesting as it reminds me of Leonardo di Vinci's work, which shows that Odilon clearly studied all the great artists of his time and tried out all their techniques before embarking on his own style.

Tonal Studies

Project: Tone and Form

Exercise: Observing Shadow and Light Formations on a Surface

Check and Blog Two

Are the objects in your drawings the correct size and shape in relation to each other?


Mostly yes, but looking back at them I can see that the glasses case in my curved objects drawing does look a little out of proportion. I don't believe I drew an accurate perspective of the curves.




Do the shapes between the objects look correct?


I believe so. The main flaw that I would with sketching what I see in front of me is that as soon as I look away from the objects to my sketchbook, a little bit of knowledge get lost in translation, and so I don't feel I have yet the skill to show the correct dimensions of the shapes between the objects in my drawings.


Do the objects in your drawings look solid?


The supermarket shop and boxes pieces definitely do in my opinion, but I have a lot to learn about drawing the angles of curves correctly in order to give them a 3D look, and therefore make them seem solid.


Have you managed to create the feeling of depth in your drawings?


The supermarket shop drawing shows this the best I feel as the colour adds depth to the drawing through shading. As the other two objects have a transparent composure, you have to see depth in the image through the angles of the objects alone, and that only works if I got the angles correct in the first place.

Supermarket Shop

Jars and Jugs

These pictures contain a sports drink bottle, a cotton wheel, a glasses case, a watch and a plate.

Project: Basic Shapes and Fundamental Form

Boxes and Books

Check and Blog One

How did holding your pen or pencil in a different way affect your drawing?




Gripping the pen/pencil firmly meant that I bore down on the paper a lot more than when i held it wih my finger tips. Due to a nervous condition I must hold my pen/pencil more firmly when i write so that I have more control over my work, so barely holding the pen/pencil at all gave me very little contol over the direction or the strength of the line. The same can be said for when I clasped the pen in my left hand as I am right handed.


Which drawing tools suited the different mark-making techniques you used?
Thick medias like wax crayon and charcoal meant that it was harder to define details in my work, but charcoal and pastels were great for adding tone to an image and giving it dimentions. Pencil was the best all-rounder as it presented multiple grades of softness so it could add detail and form to an object. Stippling I feel is best achieved with an ink tool like a pen or felt tip, where as hatching works best with a soft tool like a pencil, or a thinner media like a fine liner.




Did you find that any marks or tools you used matched particular emotions or feelings?


Calm = soft light blue pastel               Frenzy = dark red thick felt tip




How did the introduction of colour (soft pastels, Conte crayons) affect your mark-making?


In some pieces it made my work come to life and added more depth to it, whilst in others it just didn't seem appropriate. I enjoy using colour and would like to use it in my assignment where possibly, but I know if I choose a somber item to draw, or if I just wish to focus on its shadow and tone, rather than its impact I will stick to pencils and charcoal. 


Which of these experiments have you found most interesting and rewarding?


Probably the hatching experiment as it allowed me to practice it with many different media, so I could learn which medias I prefer to use as well as showing me which medias do not work well with hatching, like thick tools like charcoal; that is unless you are making quite a large drawing.

Eric Ravilious

Eric Ravilious Born:                           22 July 1903 in Acton, London. Brief History:           He began his studies at Eastbourne School of Art and then moved on to the Royal College of Art where he met his tutor Paul Nash. It is from Nash that Eric Ravilious was most likely inspired to become a war artist when he eventually joined the Royal Marines, where he held the rank of Captain. He left college and embraced the art world as a muralist, but it wasn’t long before his work got noticed by such high-renown names as Wedgewood whom he supplied some ceramic designs. He also dabbled in wood-engraving, where people saw him as the “leading light”, however it is for his watercolour paintings of the South Downs that he is most well-known. Death:                        At the age of 39, Ravilious was taking part in a rescue mission off the coast of Iceland with his allies in the Royal Air Force when the aircraft he was in failed to return to base and Ravilious was pronounced a casualty of War in 1942. Below:             Left: “Downs in Winter” (1934) Right: “Vase of Flowers in a Garden” (Date unknown).   I assumed at first that because this painting appeared unfinished when compared to his other vibrant watercolours that maybe he had died before its completion, but after delving into the artist’s history I found that he had created the “Garden series” in the late 1930’s which it is quite possible this was a part of. Therefore I have gathered that it is more likely that this picture was the artist’s attempt at experimenting with his own techniques, which he then abandoned. The vase of flowers appears fully coloured in another piece of his called, “Flowers on Cottage Table”. I like how the scratch marks give the impression that he has made a rubbing of a plank of wood, making the piece look a lot less controlled, almost chaotic when compared to his other work.

Research Point

Vincent van Gogh

     Vincent Van Gogh, Cottage Garden, reed pen, quill, and ink over graphite on wove paper, 1888 

In the picture above, van Gogh captures the different textures of the scenery by using many different types of media in one picture. He uses hatching to show the texture of the fence panels, and stippling in the bottom right to give the impression of a small stream or possible an overgrown path. His use of stippling in the sky makes it appear as though it is overcast, or possibly that the sun is setting. I like how van Gogh has used the unpredictable nature of ink and graphite to make the garden appear wild and out of control. 

Trying New Media

All of these were done on a piece of cardboard

Line and other Marks

Using Charcoal

Using Charcoal

*Need to make notes

Mark-Making Techniques

Hatching

Music Experiment

Size: A5 x 2

Mika - Grace Kelly

   

Sonata Arctica - White Pearl, Black Ocean

Findings:    I cleared my mind and instinctively used media that I felt reflected the style of music. The two songs contrasted each other in a multiple of ways, such as volume, beat and the types of instruments used, so I predicted that the pieces would look dramatically different from each other. However, despite the obvious differences, both pieces still seemed similar in that they appeared chaotic. I think I will try and incorporate an unpredictable theme to my work later on as the charcoal piece in particular was very pleasing to the eye.

Doodling

Size: A2 + A3

Findings:     I experimented with various medias and then applied some of them to describe some dreams that I have had. The charcoal on its side was very powerful and useful for dragging a straight, thick line, filling in the shadow of a building. I also enjoyed using the soft pastels to describe the subtlety of the calm water in my dream.

Project: Making Marks

Size: A3

Findings:        - Dangled HB pencil = light marks, unpredictable

                    - Held at the tip HB = deep, sharp, limited span

                    - HB, sweeping motion pivoting at the elbow = soft marks

                    - Tip pressure with fine liner 005 = poor result

                    - Tip pressure with fine liner 08 = powerful

                    - HB, flat with thumb on top = controlled, limited span

Heylo...

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