Assignment One - Second Drawing

Second Drawing

For this drawing I chose some kitchen objects, I wanted to include the tiles on my counter tops as these are quite reflective and give off interesting shapes. This was difficult though as I had to do the preliminary sketches standing up and the lighting isn't very good in my kitchen. However, I perservered and am quite pleased with the final results. I think the composition works well and the objects fill the page well. I decided to use pastel pencils for this, which I wish I hadn't used. It was difficult to use cros hatching and the paper I was using wasn't right for pastels, I ended up nearly rubbing away parts of the paper. I'm not happy with the way I did the shadows in front of the kettle either, it just looks like a big black patch, I wish I had used a darker shade of blue. I think I made a good selection of objects, its not too busy, but i did find it hard doing the spoon.

Assignment One

Natural Forms

Preliminary Sketch

For the first drawing I chose to use various vegetables which I thought had interesting shapes, patterns and texture. I tried a number of compositions and did find it difficult fitting all the vegetables on the A2 paper. This was mainly down to the fact that I wanted to include 3 sweetcorns, one closed, one partly peeled and one completely peeled. I wanted to do this to show the various textures of the cob, but found it hard fitting them in. There seemed to be a lot of negetive space around the bottom third of the sketch, so I decided to add an extra onion, which helped balance the composition a little but there is still a lot of space on the bottom right side.  I found the drawing ok, but found hatching and mark making slightly difficult with the coloured pencils. If I were to do this again I would try using an A1 piece of paper to improve the composition.

Still Life

Exercise: Still life sketches of made objects






Check & Log

I found it easier to suggest three dimensions on man-made objects rather than natural. I found it easier to suggest form and volume with the contents of my handbag, this may have been down to the shapes of the objects. The composition seems more rigid and I was able to create a sense of solidity within the objects by using different mark making techniques to build up shades.

Changing the arrangement of the composition did make a difference to the way I approached the drawing, once  I was happy with the compositon and felt the objects were balanced.

A number of factors helped me to decide how to position myself in relation to the objects. These included lighting, availability of space and how comfortable I was when drawing.

Reflected Light

Exercise: Shadows and reflected light and shade

This exercise didn't go very well. I think I was too concerned with the composition and filling the A2 piece of paper. Again the shadows are too dark due to me having the lamp to close to the subject and there isn't really any gradual build up of tone for me, its just too contrasting. I think I need to go back and practice the gradual tonal process and also think about the lighting situation and try to make an effort to draw in natural daylight more.

Reflected Light

Exercise: Study of light reflected from one object to another.



Light reflected from one object to another

I tried to use as many shiny reflective items as I could with this drawing. I think it works well and I like the composition. Looking at the drawing now I can see that on the glass spice jar that is reflected in the cheese grater, I have missed the reflections and highlights. The shadow that the cheese grater is casting behind the glass jar should also have included the light areas where the light is shining through the holes, nevermind.



Tone and Form

Exercise: Observing shadow and light formations on a surface

Shadow & Light 1

Shadow & Light 2



Tonal Studies



I found these exercises quite enjoyable, however, I think I may have placed the lamp too close to the subject matter as the shadows are too strong. I think I have achieved expressing the tonal graduations fairly well in Shadow & Light 1, but not in Shadow Light 2. I wish I had tried the same exercise with natural daylight to see what difference it would make. I really don't like the dark shadows on these drawings!

Basic Shapes & Fundamental Form

 


Boxes & Books 1




Boxes & Books 2






Jars & Jugs 1



Jars & Jugs 2

Jar & Jugs (Pen)





Supermarket Shop

I enjoyed this project. I feel the objects in the drawings are the correct size and shape in relation to each other, I particular like the Jar and Jugs in Pen drawing and the Supermarket Shop drawing. Both drawings are balanced and there is a feeling of depth to each one.




Research Point - Van Gogh Ink Drawing

The Road to Tarascon (Van Gogh)

The Road to Tarascon is a good example of the various mark making Van Gogh used in his drawings.

His use of heavy hatching lines on the tree trunks and branches naturally reflect the texture of the bark. This technique has also been used to indicate the grass in the foreground.

Stippling has been used on the fields in the distance and the leaves on the trees. This has helped to express the natural texture of these forms.

There is a lot of movement amongst the foliage of the trees giving the expression of a windy day. This has been achieved by scumbling, were Van Gogh has used layers of scribbled marks to build up the value and texture of the leaves and foliage.

In the Road to Tarascon Van Gogh has used a combination of hatching, stippling and scumbling to create a bold, expressive sketch which reflects the form and texture of the subject.

Drawing 1 - Making Marks

Hello,
This is the first post of my learning log, concentrating on the various exercises for making marks.

Exercise: Holding pens & pencils -  

I watched the mark making video tutorial on the oca website prior to starting this exercise and found it quite useful. It can be a bit daunting faced with a blank piece of paper, even for just a basic exercise, but the video gave me the confidence to just go for it. It was nice just playing around with different materials and making various marks. I didn't feel I had much control when holding the pencil at the top and the lines were very light, however holding the pencil nearer the nib gave me more control and allowed for heavier marks.

  

Holding pens & pencils


Exercise: Doodling

This exercise was just fun to do, I just relaxed into it and doodled away! I always find myself drawing flowers or circles when I doodle, this led to the larger piece (Doodle 2), which I am quite pleased with.

Doodle 1

Doodle 2

Doodle 3

Doodle 4



Exercise: Mark-making techniques

I enjoyed this exercise also, just experimenting with different media. I especially enjoyed working with charcoal.

Mark making

Exercise: Using Charcoal

After doing this exercise I realised just how versitile charcoal is, it makes me want to draw big! Its good to create texture and different effects. I think charcoal would be good to use on a large piece or for doing a quick drawing. Obviously this is a good medium for blocking in large areas and for creating contrasts with dark areas and highlights. I was inspired to carry on experimenting so decided to draw my couch  (Charcoal 4) as this was dark and I thought I could capture the highlights on it with the putty rubber. Its not brilliant, but I'm quite pleased with it.

Charcoal 1

Charcoal 2

Charcoal 3

Charcoal 4

Exercise: Line & Other Marks

I used various media for this from felt tip pens, biros, charcoal, pencils etc. This made me realise hat I enjoy using big thick medium such as charcoal or big thick felt tip pens, and I think I
prefer drawing big pieces rather that small detail.

Line & other marks