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].

Semester 2. Week 5, Life Drawing & 3 Dimensional Form.

I found this lesson challenging as I find creating tone and a 3D effect difficult. The 180 degree drawing (figure 1 and 2) was particularly challenging. I kept getting confused as to where I was drawing, how much and where; this made me feel insecure about the drawing I had created, something I have to work on as I know these tasks are not about being good - it is about experimentation and learning.

I find increasing freedom in the tasks we are doing this term which is great in the sense that I can create my own compositions, but I am also finding it difficult to discern how much we can differ from the task - I'm sure that after practice I will find a balance between what is expected of me and what I would like to create. 

I got a lot out of this lesson with regards to tone. I also learned about myself in the sense that I like to take my time with pieces rather than rush them, this is so I can work on my feedback from last semester; that I need to make my paintings/ drawings less scribbly so that one can see what is being depicted. I am very pleased with my last piece (figure 5) as I definitely took my time and created a composition, tone and overall piece I am proud of. 

(1)

Continuous line drawing, 180 degrees

Byro Pen

15 min

(2)

Continuous line drawing, 180 degrees

Byro Pen

15 min

I found these two pieces quite confusing and difficult to compose. I wasn't overly happy with the results but I was pleased with my commitment to take my time and not slip into the habit of using scribbly marks to cover my mistakes. 

(3)

Charcoal, Graphite & Chalk

30 min

This piece, I feel, is proportionally well executed, but I went wrong somewhere with tone. The legs are very dark whereas the upper body (where I think I did the tone quite well) is light. It is as if I was creating two separate drawings. I also feel as if the figure does not stand out from the background enough. 

(4a)

Charcoal, Graphite & Chalk

This was my first attempt at the composition below. I did not make the figure big enough and so flipped my paper over to start again.

(4b)

Charcoal, Graphite & Chalk

30 min

In the process of this piece, I received feedback from my tutor that the figure fades into the background; possibly because she is the same texture as it. I could have smudged the background to make the difference in ground more visible. I think stylistically this piece is interesting, and I do not dislike it, but it is a shame it is not as good as it could be.

(5)

Charcoal, Graphite & Chalk

1 hour

I am proud of this piece and it is my new favourite. I received feedback during its execution that the figure was beginning to blend into the background and get lost so i smudged the background and rubbed out the line on the top part of her body, showing just light. I feel the figure looks 3D, there is good proportion and tone, and that it is an interesting composition. My only gripe is that the leg on the left looks unfinished, letting the piece down slightly.

Semester 2. Week 4. Independent Study. Experimental Picture Making

After the lesson, I had an idea in my mind of what I wanted to create. I was really pleased with my accidental birch tree background in my last piece so I wanted to recreate that as a backdrop.

I began by attempting that, using black acrylic on white A1 paper with a small roller. On my first attempt it didn't go perfectly, but by the third try; I had a good backdrop and some textured paper to use for collage.

I usually time each drawing I make but in this case, I was working on both pieces and their counterparts as the other was drying. The entire process took roughly 3 and a half hours to complete.

I am really happy with the results although I should have created more tone in figure 5. However, I do like this piece as it contrasts with figure 6. I am really happy with figure 6; I think the piece has a magical/ fairy tale mood and conveys a narrative, fitting well with the brief. I wanted to play with scale in one piece, and spend a lot of time creating a magical mood with the other and I feel I achieved that.

(1) 

Experimenting

Black Acrylic on White Paper

Here, I wished I had a variety of rollers to create the effect of variation in size with the trees, however, I used what I had and I still think it turned out well.

(2) 

Experimenting

Black Acrylic on White Paper 

Here, you can see two of my textured pieces. The left was what I used in figure 6. I used black acrylic, then white using the roller. The left was a horizontal and vertical straight movement, used as the backdrop in figure 5. I am happy with how both came out.

 (3) 

Experimenting with white on black &

White Acrylic on Black Paper

&

Drawing life model, reference from previous drawings.

Charcoal on White Paper

I did not like the effect of white acrylic on black paper. It did not have the same impact and so I used the black paper as part of the hedgehog in figure 6. The figures are drawn with reference to the previous week's drawings of the life model. I edited the poses slightly to suit my pieces.

(4) 

Positioning life model to see where I wanted her, which one I wanted to use.

 (5)

Final Piece 1

Acrylic Paint, Charcoal, Chalk

(6)

Final Piece 2

Acrylic Paint, Charcoal, Chalk

Semester 2. Week 4. Life Model, Animals, Birds...

I thought last week was a great lesson, but this week was even better. I like to draw animals in my own time so this task was fun for me. I also enjoyed the Worcester Museum and Art Gallery study we did last semester, so was interested in drawing artefacts from their collection yet again. 

Much like the previous lesson, we got to play with composition a little more again, giving more me more freedom to create an interesting composition. Experimenting with scale and position was great in the sense that it created a narrative within the images, particularly with figures (7) and (8). 

I learned a lot in this session, about composition and about, when doing a slow drawing, to concentrate on the line and not always use a scribbly style. I definitely need reminding to do this as I have to admit, I hide behind this style when I find a drawing hard. Though when I did slow down, seen in figure (6), I created a really nice piece. This boosted my confidence and will think back to this in future when I feel overwhelmed by a scene I am drawing.

A difference in my practice this week was that instead of using an easle, I sat with a board on my lap. In some ways, this was an advantage in that I could sit close to the life model and taxedermy. However, it had a negative impact in the way that some of the tableaux in front of me was obstructed from view sometimes, such as the life model's feet. It also made it difficult to draw anywhere but the middle of the page, due to not being able to distribute the weight of the board unevenly on my legs, or be able to draw portrait without completely obscuring mine and everyone behind's view. I'm glad I tried it, but next time I will use an easle. 

(1)

Charcoal on Paper

Left: 5 Min

Right: 2 Min

These are very scribbly images just getting the shape of the animals. I am pleased with them and they were a good warm up.

(2)

Charcoal on Paper

10 Min

I am pleased with the owl in this piece, I think it shows character. The life model, however, looks a bit odd. I think I made have misinterpreted the tone as the shading on her face doesn't look right or create a 3D effect.

(3)

Charcoal on Paper

5 Min

This piece is ok, this was an exercise in shape and I believe I achieved the general shapes in the tableaux, although the life model's legs look not quite right.

(4)

Charcoal on Paper

5 Min

This piece was ok tone wise, but the face is odd and her legs could have been drawn better. I don't hate this piece, but I definitely need to work on my proportion in quick drawing.

(6)

Black Byro Pen on Paper

15 Min

This piece was pivotal to my learning. I started the image on the right, using a scribbly style, but then as I was drawing my tutor gave me feedback to slow down and concentrate on making precise lines. I dreaded this, as I thought I would create a bad drawing by slowing down. As I mentioned in my introduction, scribble-style is a comfort zone and so I was reluctant to leave it.

However, the minute I did the piece started looking better. I have never drawn like this and will definitely be using the technique again, it looks 3D and has it's own style - even if the animals look funny, it's in a stylised fashion, and i've very pleased with my depiction of the life model.

(7)

Textured/ Prepared Paper Collage, Black and Brown Fine Liner & Chalk on Paper

37 Min

I found using collage and textured paper, and embracing the chaos of cutting and sticking on the fly, immensely fun. I had to think on my feet as collage is usually something you sit and think over, move pieces around and take pictures with, but here we had to speed up. I ripped some bits, cut some, and found enjoyment in the different style that came through. I also enjoyed playing with scale and composition here, making the animals large and close to the life model, out of their glass cages.

(8)

Charcoal, Black Fine Liner & Chalk on Textured/ Prepared Paper

13 Min

Aside from my continuous line drawing (Figure 6), this piece is my favourite. I chose this textured background over the others I had prepared because it reminded me of birch trees - which are incidentally my favourite kind, I love to draw them. Because I chose to use an A3 piece of it, I had less space for detail; I concentrated on the life model and one animal. I think it turned into a really illustrative and storybook-like piece. This defintitely creates a narrative in ones mind; why is this bird caged in the forest? Who is that woman? And as a joint honours student with Creative Writing, I loved that element.

Semester 2. Week 3. Independent Drawing Task, Spooky.

I decided that for this task, I would take a mundane setting, and using the medium of charcoal create a spooky mood. I chose the street I live on, and inside my house. I feel like the pieces are successful and that the way I drew each one gave the desired effect. 

I am really starting to enjoy using chalk with charcoal as I've found with some of the charcoal I use, it is difficult to create white marks on top with an eraser alone.

(1)

Charcoal, Chalk & Tissue

15 min

This first drawing is of the kitchen door in my house. The hallway is dark and the light is seeping through the door. I think it creates a narrative of, "what's behind the door?" and has a good light/ dark contrast. 

(2)

Charcoal, Chalk & Tissue

20 min

This was the street outside my house. I love the street lights and how they light up the areas surrounding them. I do think, however, that I have skewed the pavements somewhat. I have made it curvy, which it is not.

(3)

Charcoal, Chalk & Tissue

20 min

This is my favourite piece as I feel it fits the brief most. It is a drawing of my front door. It has an ominous feel to it, much like figure 1, in the sense that it makes the viewer think, "what's behind the door?" Also, it was unintentional, but the door fades to black as it reaches the floor, adding to the spooky vibe.

(4)

Charcoal, Chalk & Tissue

15 min

Lastly, I have another image of the street. I think I showed the light very well here but maybe not proportion. I find cars difficult to draw in general, let alone from the angle I chose. It also doesn't look as spooky as the other pieces, so is my least favourite. 

Semester 2. Week 3. Class. Skeletons, Anatomy and the Gothic.

This lesson was the most interesting life drawing lesson so far. I really enjoyed figuring out composition between two forms; flesh and skeleton, and learning new techniques like drawing with a candle

I enjoyed the freedom of adding mood to my pieces (figures 6 and 7 were particularly successful in my opinion) and find myself beginning to see the benefits of charcoal, a medium I have not enjoyed in the past due to the mediums predisposition to smudge and make a mess. 

(1)

Candle, Diluted Ink, Tissue Paper

Within 20 min warm up

(2)

Candle, Diluted Ink, Tissue Paper

Within 20 min warmup

Figure 1 and 2 illustrate the warm up exercises we did with a candle and some diluted ink. I found this an interesting exercise and good for getting out of my self-critical mindset. I tried drawing with both the wax and the ink itself, of which I found the ink nice to draw with for the full figure, and the wax good for the head. It is a technique I would like to explore more, possibly using different inks and coloured paper backgrounds.

(3)

2B Graphite Stick

25 Mins

I received feedback during the execution of this piece (figure 3), that I had not used a good composition. Because of this, I added people in the background to make it better but I could have made it more interesting from the get-go with some planning and a view-finder. I tend to take things literally and so did not realise I could create my own composition, this is why I chose to include the entirety of both figures. In future, I need to be less worried about making mistakes and go with my gut. Saying all that, I like the piece. I think I've done well proportionally, though I may have made the life models neck too long. I didn't necessarily like using the graphite stick as I couldn't make really dark marks, though the point of this exercise was creating the correct shape, I dislike the lack of tone.

(4)

Charcoal 

25 Mins

I found this composition difficult because the life model and the skeleton were sat fairly far apart. I felt that focusing on the bones made me focus less on the flesh because there was more to draw, and so I created a less tonal depiction of the life model, making her less 3D. I find the composition fairly boring and don't feel it is an entirely successful piece. 

(5)

Charcoal

25 Mins

I decided to do my own composition and go outside of the box, after feedback from my previous pieces and looking at what my peers had done. I like this much more than my previous pieces because it's interesting. The only criticism I have is that, again, I have used less tone on the life model because I am concentrating on getting the bones correct. Nonetheless, I really like this piece.

(6)

Charcoal, Chalk and Eraser

30 Mins

I loved doing this piece. I found it difficult to draw at first but once I'd got my proportions sketched in, it was just adding tone. I experimented and rubbed out a white circle where the light source was on the life model to keep me on track, which worked really well. It also gives the piece a fantasy tone as it looks like a moon. I only wish I'd made the shadow underneath the figures darker.

(7)

Charcoal, Chalk and Eraser

30 Mins

Here I feel like I got the tone right, but I don't like the face I've done on the life model. I used the technique of marking my light source again and it really helped. Also, I smudged the charcoal used for shadow which made for darker lines, improving on my mistake prior. I am really pleased with this piece and feel it is one of my best life drawings so far this year.

Semester 2. Week 2. Independent Study, Portraits

This independent study task, I found, was the most challenging yet. With a still photograph to work against, I found myself being more self-critical than I would in a life drawing class - seeing every mistake. I also found it hard to go outside of my comfort zone technique-wise, using less soft lines and more gestural marks. I found myself slipping back into my own style rather than embracing that of Elizabeth Peyton, but in doing some drawings multiple times - I feel I did get something from the exercise. 

For some of the images I chose the same photo to recreate, but for others I experimented with different images so that I could try different lighting. My favourites are figure 4 and figure 8, simply because I feel they most successfully illustrate the technique I was trying to emulate. In future I need to learn to let go of self-depreciating thoughts as I draw so that I can 'let go' more and create more quick and emotional marks with media and create a new effect.

(1)

Newspaper Image Attempt 1

Anthony Hampton

Coloured Pencil

10 Min

(2)

Newspaper Image Attempt 2

Anthony Hampton

Coloured Pencil

10 Min

(3)

Newspaper Image Attempt 3

Anthony Hampton

Coloured Pencil

10 Min

Drawing from a newspaper image was particularly difficult. All I had to hand, which is a reminder for myself to be more prepared, was a newspaper and it only had small images of people in it. When I finally found a candid image I found it hard to replicate. I tried a few colours, more harsh lines, hashing - different mark making techniques, but in the end, I found attempt 2 (figure 2) to be the most successful in creating an image with life.

(4)

Friend Attempt 1

Boyfriend

Charcoal

20 Min

(5)

Friend Attempt 2

Boyfriend

Charcoal

20 Min

(6)

Friend Attempt 3

Mother

Charcoal

20 Mins

Although I found each attempt at the 'photograph of a friend' task useful, I actually prefer attempt 1 (figure 4). This is because I chose a photo where the light was easily identifiable and I think it shows in the image. Attempt 2 was good for practising mark making techniques but there is less life in it, and I am not happy with attempt 3 - it's not awful but I'm not proud of it.

(7)

Favourite Musician Attempt 1

Dolly Parton

Pencil 2B - 6B

30 Mins

I found this image the most fun to recreate. With more time than in the previous drawings, I could relax a little bit and take more care with the piece, looking at the image and changing bits when I saw they were wrong. I used sweeping, swirling movements for her iconic hair, and more curved harsh and fine lines on her face to show shadow. I feel I could have made my marks more free in this piece, but I like it as it is.

(8)

Historical Figure

Malcolm X

Charcoal

45 Mins

Although I am pleased with the mark making on this drawing and happy with the life that comes from it, I'm so disappointed that I got the proportions wrong in some areas. The forehead is too big, the eye too small, and I had to reposition the neck towards the end of my drawing. I did however, learn from this piece because of that. I drew it sat down with my pad on my lap, and I should have had it at more of an angle so that I could see the proportions better - in future I will endeavour not to make that mistake. 

References for images copied that I did not take myself:

Figure 1, 2 and 3 -

Griffiths, D. (2017). Worcester City club chairman Anthony Hampton (left) watches on at Bromsgrove's Victoria Ground. [Photograph]. Burrow's Worcester Journal Newspaper.

Figure 7 -

Photo of Dolly Parton found on website:

Sakamoto, K. (2015) 20 beautiful portrait photos of Dolly Parton in the 1970s. Available at: http://www.vintag.es/2015/03/20-beautiful-portraits-of-dolly-parton.html (Accessed: 12 February 2017).

Figure 8 -

Photo of Malcolm X found on website:

Photographs (2015) Available at: http://malcolmx.com/photographs/ (Accessed: 13 February 2017).