Semester 2. Week 5, Independent study

For my independent study this week I wanted to push myself to accomplish what I found difficult in the previous lesson. I found the continuous line exercise hard, and I found it difficult to keep the focus on the figure when drawing the compositions with the life model and the blocks around her.

I feel more confident now in continuous line and the accuracy of it, and also in tone. I've also learned that I perform much better if I take my time with a drawing/ painting.

(1)

My Room

Continuous Line Drawing

Byro

20 Min

I did this exercise to further practice taking my time with my drawings rather than having a scribbly style, something brought up in feedback at the end of the last semester. I didn't give myself a specific timeframe in which I had to finish the piece, but instead took it very slow and timed how long it took me to finish the room. 

I like the result, I think it looks interesting, but much like in class, I found it difficult to get the placement of objects correct. However, I am still pleased with the piece and find it a successful experiment.

(2)

Basket of Fruit

(Caravaggio, 1599)

(3)

Self-Portrait

(Spencer, 1936)

After this exercise, before I did a tonal piece, I decided to research tone so that I could create a drawing with more knowledge behind it. This is because in class I found it difficult. Firstly, I looked searched 'artists good at tone' and found Caravaggio. I can see in his piece he has used the light background starkly contrasting with the foreground as a way to make the image three-dimensional. He has also used shadow well and made the focus of the piece central in its composition.

I then looked specifically for this portrait by Stanley Spencer. I managed to see this firsthand on a trip to Amsterdam in 2015 and fell in love with the piece. He has used colour and shadow cleverly to create tone in the piece, and contrasting with Caravaggio's piece, has used a dark background and a light foreground to create the three-dimensional effect.

(4)

Changing Room Composition/ Self-Portrait

HB Pencil, Assorted Charcoal, Chalk & Eraser

1 Hour 20 Min

This piece was drawn with reference to a photograph I took in a changing room. I was just trying on a top and I thought it would be a good composition so sat down to take some pictures. I also thought it would be interesting and challenging to use the mirror to give me a chance to make the main figure the focus of the piece (what I struggled with in class). Much like with my continuous line drawing, I took my time with the piece making sure proportions were correct before I began, and then focused on tone. I tried to remember how effective shadow is, from my research of Caravaggio and Spencer, and used this in the piece. 

I think it's a successful artwork and I'm happy with the results. The composition was layered and gave me the ability to build on what I had done in class.

References:

Caravaggio, M. (1599). Basket of Fruit. [Oil on Canvas] Milan: Biblioteca Ambrosiana.

Stanley, S. (1936). Self-Portrait. [Oil on Canvas] Amsterdam: Stedelijk Museum.

Artyfactory.com. (2017). The Visual Elements - Tone. [online] Available at: http://www.artyfactory.com/art_appreciation/visual-elements/tone.html [Accessed 4 Mar. 2017].