Kayleigh's Canvas. Life Drawing.: Part 1A - Banbury/ Brackley (Week 11 & Week 12 : Independent Drawing Assignments)

06/01/17

I spent the day in Banbury (one drawing completed in Brackley on my way back) completing the first half of Drawing Reporter Part One. I chose to do this in two parts because I wanted to compare my hometown against Worcester - small-town against city-scape.

I explored parts of it that I saw as specific to a small-town and that I saw as archetypal to Banbury. I started with the canal, (1), and really enjoyed using chalk as a medium. I haven't used it in a long time and it took me a moment to get the hang of it. After fifteen minutes it started to rain and as I had no shelter I had to leave the piece as it was. I feel like this drawing did not reach it's potential, though I am proud of it and received a compliment from a passer-by.

Next, I drew the bus station (2). I don't like this drawing, I can't pinpoint why but I think maybe I should have used different mediums e.g. oil pastel for the background. That may have made the piece more interesting.

I did (3) on a small piece of black paper I ripped and stuck in my book. I drew the closed down pasty shop with watercolour but it didn't come off well on the paper, so I added acrylic and it worked more. Although the image lacks detail, I like it and feel like the message of the drawing comes across; broken.

(4) went terribly. I bought a Tipex pen to experiment and thought it would be like painting acrylic with a pen. Unfortunately, I found it terribly difficult to use and so only did a five-minute drawing. I don't regret it because it's always good to experiment.

I'm fond of (5), it looks delicate and pretty which is how I see the gazebo in town.

I am not a fan of (6). I don't enjoy using oil pastels but in wanting to use a range of mediums I chose to bring them with me. It's not awful but it's not very clear. In hindsight I would have used oil pastels on a bigger piece, not a smaller one - then it would have been more detailed.

I drew (7) near my house when I walked home from the bus. The lights were bright against the dark sky and so I thought it would look great. I should not have stuck the black paper at an angle though because however nice, compositionally, it looks; it made perspective and angles confusing. This is not something I foresaw and so will learn from this in future e.g. doing the drawing then mounting it at an angle.

(8) was drawn from the viewpoint I had at the back of the bus. Luckily there weren't any people, except for at the front of the bus, so I had a clear view to draw the architecture of the transport many people use to get from place to place where I live. I like it but I wish I'd spent longer on it, however, I did not start the drawing until well into my journey and I needed to prepare to get off the bus.

(9) is my favourite drawing. It is the potato van outside my place of work. I enjoyed this as I incorporated the tree and I love drawing nature. I've done something with the angle that I didn't see until looking at the piece later, this is a lesson in really looking at what I'm drawing and also to possibly get an easel/ choosing my viewpoint better.

(10) is my second favourite. By using the felt tip and the byro I created depth. I also like the way I've mounted it (done previous to drawing). The combination of nature and architecture is pleasing, so is the perspective.

Overall I enjoyed this exercise, though not as much as I enjoyed e.g. the cafe drawings exercise where we drew people moving. I thought that the lack of people in my drawings would take away from them, but actually, they don't always need that. I enjoyed experimenting with only two colours (black and white) and using white on black paper. I need to work on really looking at what I'm drawing and assesing angles and viewpoints more, but apart from that I'm pleased with what I produced.,