Assignment 2

I hate oil pastel. Every time I draw with oil pastel it ends up looking like a child has drawn it. So I decided to give myself a challenge with this assignment and use the material I feel least confident working with. I thought about using coloured pencil or charcoal, but I wanted to portray the vivid colours of the objects and I think oil pastel does this well. I am actually pleased with this drawing, although looking at it now, I feel there are a few things I could change - the bottles don't quite look right and the wall and table needs blending a little more. I think I captured the vegetables really well though, particularly the leek and the tomatoes, I managed to get the texture looking just right. Looking at this piece makes me realise how far I have come since starting this course. I have improved ten fold I think.

I practiced with the oil pastel in my sketchbook, which made me even more worried as the drawings I was doing did not look very good at all (check out the leek!) I then had a go at blending dark areas and decided that graphite pencil worked well.

Composition is something I always struggle with so I wanted to get it right this time. I did a few sketches in my sketchbook, and gradually added more objects. I looked at a few books on still life and this really helped me build up a nice composition. I think I filled the space nicely, and there is a good variety of shapes, sizes and textures.

Next I experimented with different papers. I chose four different ones, all with different grades of smoothness, graduating from super smooth to rough. I found that on the super smooth paper it was hard to blend the colours without the pastel lifting off the paper too much. The rougher papers I found were a little too rough, and too much of the paper underneath showed. This created a nice textured effect - however as some of the objects were smooth, I didn't think this would work well. I opted for paper number 2, which was slightly smooth, but still had a little bit of texture. I then practiced drawing some of my objects to get the correct colour palate and tones.

Summary

I've enjoyed this unit, and think I have improved my drawing skills greatly. While some of the exercises have been challenging, I feel I actually found this unit slightly easier than the previous. Perhaps because I understand the principles of drawing better now. I have definitely made some mistakes along the way, but I must be doing alright because of how my drawing is improving. How I see light and shadow has definitely improved, and I feel more confident with different materials. During this unit I have learnt how to use line and marks, how to hatch with colour - this is the one I am most pleased about I think as I have struggled with hatching. I have learnt how to use oil pastel correctly, and my compositions have improved a little. Overall I am pleased with my progress and can't wait to move onto the next assignment.

Fish on a plate

I was not looking forward to this exercise at all, I bought my fish - a rainbow trout and slid it out of its bag and onto the plate. I'm not a squeamish person at all, but I did not enjoy having a fish staring at me. I started by drawing the outlines of the plate and fish very lightly and then once I was satisfied I added watercolour to the coloured areas to add a better density of colour. I did some experiments in my sketchbook and found this way looked best - watercolour with coloured pencil on top. After about an hour or so, I really started to enjoy doing this exercise, and I am really pleased with how it turned out. Although looking at the photo of it I am going to go back to it and sort out the outline of the plate. I mostly used cross hatching to colour the fish in, which added the perfect texture. It was difficult getting the colours right at first, but I think I got the colours quite accurately, and succeeded in showing the iridescent shine the fish has. This is definitely a subject I would like to return to - despite the smell!


Check and Log

What were the main challenges of drawing animals?
I think the main challenge was Ralph not sitting still, which meant having to stop a drawing midway and starting again. I also found it quite challenging drawing the eyes, it is easy to make animals look evil by getting the eyes wrong! 
Which media did you enjoy using most and which did you feel were best for the subject matter and why?I enjoyed using the mechanical pencil when drawing the birds, as these are excellent at getting fine, delicate lines. I also found the charcoal enjoyable as it is nice and loose. And also very forgiving if you make a mistake, or two. The coloured pencils were fantastic for the fish drawing, they blend well together and the cross hatching created the right texture.
Where can you go to draw more animals? Think about the sort of places that will give you opportunities for animal drawing. Have you tried drawing a moving animal yet?
I am lucky to live right by a nature reserve so this will be excellent for practicing bird drawings. I haven't tried drawing a moving animal, I will definitely be revisiting drawing animals as it was enjoyable and I feel there is much more I could do.

Exercise: Grabbing the Chance

I found this exercise difficult as Ralph likes to get as close to us as possible, and as soon as I made eye contact with him he wanted to sit on me. These sketches were from two sittings, I am quite pleased with them as I managed to get his shape right - he is an English Bull Terrier so he is quite awkward to draw! He also sits in odd positions.

I then drew my brothers dog, I am quite pleased with how this drawing turned out, I like the effect charcoal gives and how I was able to move quickly without her moving too much. It was difficult getting the details like the eyes and nose right, but I managed to capture her face well.

 A3 Charcoal

Next I drew some birds from photographs. I wanted to experiment with using different lines to create textures, and thought that feathers were the best thing to draw for this. I'm really pleased with how they turned out, and it was interesting looking closely at the different textures of birds feathers, and also the direction and density of them.

 

George Stubbs

I found George Stubbs' anatomical drawings fascinating. I looked at Stubbs' work before completing the above exercise, so when I was drawing the animals I considered their muscle and bone structures. Particularly the drawings of Ralph as he is very muscular, and the structure of his muscles show through well, so this made it easier to get the shape of him right.

Project: Drawing Animals

Research point:

Durer

I love Durer's animal drawings, they are beautifully detailed and have a fantasy - whimsy feel to them I think. His creatures look perfectly formed and every detail has been carefully drawn.

Leonardo da Vinci 

Leonardo da Vinci's drawings of animals are a little looser and more relaxed than Durer's. He concentrates more on the movement and smaller details of the animals rather than the whole image. I like his sketchy looser style and would like to be able to create something similar.

Drawing Plants and Flowers

Negative Space

I chose quite a complicated plant for this drawing - well, when I looked at it before drawing it, I thought it was going to be very complicated but actually, once I got going it was quite easy. I concentrated hard on the negative space, drawing the shapes between the flowers and stalks to ensure the spacing between was correct and that the shapes and sizes were all right. It took a long, long, looong time, but I really enjoyed completing this exercise and I am pleased with the outcome.

Plants and flowers in coloured pencil

I spent quite a while preparing for this drawing. I practiced layering different colours, different pencils, using different paper, applying watercolour washes etc. I decided I liked the watercolour wash so tried that on A3 paper. I didn't stretch my paper though, and ended up with a crinkly mess. So I gave up on that idea - but I am glad it went wrong as I don't think it would've looked right anyway. I'm pleased with my drawing - the photo I took of it is a little too dark. For the first time my background does not look too awful! Yippee! It is not perfect though (the background isn't completely right, particularly the window and curtains) I am mostly pleased with how the leaves and the flowers turned out. I struggled at first when layering up the coloured pencils as I didn't think it was going to work, but somehow it all came together quite nicely. I am pleased with my composition too.

Drawing with other colour media

There is no image to follow for this piece as it came out terribly. I didn't even finish it because it looked like a child had drawn it, or like I had drawn it using my feet instead of my hands. I used oil pastel, and I just couldn't get enough detail with it, so it just looked like a scribbly mess. I will come back to this drawing though and start over another day- at the moment though I just want to continue onto the next project. I am disappointed as I really enjoy experimenting with other media.

Drawing with other colour media round 2

This is my second attempt at the exercise. I am much happier with this compared to my first attempt. I sketched out the outline of the plant, then with a white wax crayon I scribbled around the edges and highlighted areas of the drawing. Then with watercolour, I washed over areas, selecting similar colours but not being too precious about it. I then added some extra colour with oil pastel using loose scribbles just to highlight parts of the drawing. I quite like this style and will definitely experiment with wax crayons and watercolour this way again.

Check and Log

How will your experiments with negative space help your observational drawing in the future?

Experimenting with negative space has helped me greatly already. It made me concentrate on drawing what I could see - not what I thought I could see, it helped me to look really closely at the shapes I was drawing.

What techniques did you use to ensure you drew your plants in proportion?
I lightly sketched the outline of the objects to make sure they would all fit on the page. I then used my hand to 'measure' the objects to ensure they were all in correct proportion to eachother. I also looked at the negative shapes around the objects.

How did you achieve an effect of three-dimensional space in your drawings?
I found it easier to create three-dimensional space in my coloured pencil drawing, as I made sure I added in light and dark tones. I found it difficult to achieve this with the oil pastel - I tried, but it all came out far too dark. I also made sure the perspective of the windowsill was correct, I think this really helped to add a three-dimenstional feel to it.

Research Point - Ben Nicholson

Ben Nicholson was strongly influenced by his father, William Nicholson, he began by painting his still lifes in a style similar to that of his fathers.

This changed in 1920 and for the next few years his work altered rapidly as he experimented with different modes of working.

Throughout his career, Nicholson frequently travelled and painted inspirational locations, from the Scottish borders to Cornwall. He particularly liked locations that were remote and a sense of distance.
In the 1930s, Nicholson became Britains leading expodent of Modernism. Influenced by Mondrian, Picasso and Braque - Nicholsons wor was still ever changing, from his white reliefs to a series of blocks of colour, however Nicholson would still return to still life, incorporating compositions of cups and jugs like his earlier work.

One of Nicholsons great influences was his wife Barbara Hepworth, his work changed significantly during the time they met. Before the war broke out, they left London and returned to an area of great significance to Nicholson - the St Ives area in Cornwall, it was here that he created some of his most recognised pierces of art. Nicholson stayed committed to his love of abstration and reinforced the constructivist side of his approach. He seemed to pull together many aspects of his previous work, creating abstract - still life - landscape paintings.

Nicholson included windowsills and tables in his paintings, leaving the viewer feeling like they are involved in the image and can place themselves there. The idea then evolved to the objects becoming simple lines and shapes on the landscape which bear a similar resemblance to his earlier reliefs. The objects look as though they could almost be part of the landscape.

Drawing Fruit and Vegetables in colour final drawings

Exercise: Using hatching to create tone

I carried on using coloured pencils for this drawing as I really enjoyed using them when practicing hatching. I'm pleased with this drawing, I had a real breakthrough with hatching during this exercise and I think I've finally got the hang of it. Unfortunately though I am not pleased with my composition, I sketched out various compositions, and this one looked like the better option, however on a large scale it looks rubbish, there is far too much uninteresting negative space surrounding the objects. I think I concentrated too much on ensuring the objects fit on the page.

Exercise: Using markers or dip pens

I used a range of cheap felt tip pens for this exercise. This was my second attempt at this exercise, I first tried loosing hatching the objects, but this looked terrible. The dark areas came out too dark, and it all just looked like a giant mess. So I researched a few artists that use felt tip pens for their work, I then tried using the felt tip pens in a tighter way - making sure I was concentrating on the details of the objects, this turned out better - but I still didn't like the outcome of this piece. I have just invested in some better pens so will practice further using them, I think marker pens have the potential to look great! I also ruined this by adding in some colour in the background of the tablecloth. Doh!

Exercise: Drawing using oil pastel

I'm not very pleased with this, I think I captured the light and colours of the objects well - unfortunately the photo does not show the colouring accurately. This picture does look better in real life. I promise. Again I think my composition and background ruin the drawing. I will admit, I seem to lose interest after I have drawn my objects, and lose enthusiasm when I have to draw something less interesting such as a chopping board or tablecloth. But next time I will attack the background with as much enthusiasm because I have learnt my lesson!! I have ruined two potentially good drawings by rushing and getting the backgrounds wrong.

Check and log

Your composition should occupy most of the paper's surface. How much negative space do you have left?
This project has made me realise that I really struggle with composition, I usually end up with too much or too little space. this is definitely something I need to research and work on, as I feel I have ruined quite a few potentially good drawings by not planning my composition enough. My finished pieces are filled with blank, negative space, I also have a problem with including background which I have highlighted above.

What have you learned from drawing the details of fruit and vegetables?
I have learnt a lot from this project - I had a great breakthrough with hatching and learnt how to add colour using coloured pencils properly. I feel like I understand light and shadow more after completing these drawings, as fruit and vegetables have variable textures, it was a real challenge representing casting light realistically. As cheesy as it sounds, I learnt to keep trying! I had real trouble with felt tips and didn't like the techniques I was using, so I researched and tried a different approach and improved my drawing.

What did you find most challenging about this part of the course?
I found this part of the course the most challenging yet, but also the rewarding. I dedicated a lot of time to each exercise, really thinking about what I was doing, and found that at the end of each one I felt pleased and that I had achieved something. I think I have come quite far and improved a lot compared to the beginning of the course. My biggest challenge was getting to grips with the materials, the pen and oil pastel drawing was a real challenge as they are not materials I am confident using. I am pleased with certain aspects of each of the drawings, and think I have captured the objects well, the lighting and texture too - but it is just unfortunate that I choose awful compositions.