Semester 2. Week 6, Life Drawing & Movement

Today's lesson was really enjoyable for me, which has been a theme throughout this semester. I believe it's a mixture of becoming more confident not only in my drawing abilities but in being able to draw and not worry so much about the outcome. I've also found each lesson very engaging in topic. This is probably because last semester we were learning the foundations of life drawing and though we are all still beginners, it is now getting more complex - challenging me in a way that makes me look forward to the next lesson.

One thing I decided to do differently today, compared with previous lessons, was to take notes during the session. I don't know why this idea never occurred to me before! I take notes in every other lecture but I've been preoccupied with drawing continuously in this class. What I did was, if I had time after changing paper, I would jot down some notes about how the piece went, then during the break I wrote more; though I didn't manage to make any notes for the final two 45 minute tasks while in class. I think this process helped me evaluate myself better in my blog because I could see exactly how I felt about pieces at the time of drawing them.

(1)

Charcoal

Top Left: 5 Min

Top Middle: 4 Min

Bottom Left: 3 Min.

Bottom Middle: 2 Min.

Bottom Right: 1 Min.

Middle Right: 30 Sec

Top Right: 15 Sec

As I was prepared to do a quick sketch so accidentally rushed the first drawing (top left), as you can see it is overworked. I found this exercise fun to get myself ready to draw quickly. I am particularly pleased with the 15-second drawing and feel I have captured the essence of that pose.

(2)

Centre: Three Main Movements and Inbetween

Top Right: Multiple Quick Sketches as Finished Centre Image

Charcoal

15 Min

At first, I found this exercise quite difficult. The life model kept moving and for a while, I could only focus on the first two poses. After a few minutes though I really got into it and enjoyed it. I made the lines thicker for the main poses and added in the transitions in a less harsh mark, this was inspired by the art piece shown in the Anim1003 blog that used a similar technique. The 3rd pose was the most difficult as I found trouble getting the angle right, and I can see now, on the second pose, the model's left foot is in the wrong place. Overall I'm very pleased with the piece.

The sketches top right are there because I had a few minutes spare and I didn't want to overdo the main piece, I believe they were beneficial in getting used to drawing transition poses.

(3)

Moving Across the Room

Charcoal and Red Watercolour Pencil

15 Min

With this task, I'm not sure why I didn't take the same approach as to the previous. Sometimes you have to try something different to see that it doesn't work and this is the case here. I definitely found it more difficult because the model was moving across the room not just moving in the same spot. I noticed, and upon feedback, it was agreed, that I did too many in between poses instead of focusing on a few and making them look good. It looks quite messy and overcrowded and in future, I won't use the same approach when conveying movement.

(4)

Moving Across the Room and Action

Charcoal and Red Watercolour Pencil

5 Min

I found this pose really difficult to draw. I feel like it was because I knew I only had 5 minutes to draw it so put pressure on myself. Although the two main poses are good and show movement, the transition pose is faint and evidently rushed. It is a shame because it was an interesting pose and could have made for an interesting drawing.

(5a)

Attempt One of Drawing Below.

I started by making the model too tiny so I flipped the page and began again.

(5b)

Focus - Proportions & Angles

Charcoal

19 Min

I decided to focus on proportions because it was part of my feedback from last semester, with regards to what I need to improve. I also wanted to focus on angles because I feel that a lot of the time that's what gets me in a jam in the first place. When I'm drawing, I'll get one angle wrong and reference other things from that wrong angle, thus ending up with a disproportional or wonky piece. 

This went fairly well, I received feedback that the foreshadowing was good and that without the life model as reference the piece looks well proportioned, but that the mistakes were visible. I could see them also and wanted to push myself so got a second piece of paper.

(5c)

I marked the areas I needed to improve proportionally with X's and an arrow to show I needed the shoulders closer together. I then taped this to the bottom of my easel to reference it as well as the model when I drew my next piece so that I did not make the same mistakes again.

(6)

Focus - Proportions & Angles

Charcoal

20 Min

I feel like this method worked really well. By drawing the pose once and seeing where I went right and wrong, I could reproduce the image looking at the life-model with the specific pitfalls in mind. I am very proud of this piece and feel I have achieved my focus on angles and proportion as well as foreshortening well. I also drew in the hands, feet and face in detail as sometimes I avoid these features and I wanted to use this task to push myself.

(7)

Focus - Close Up Hands

Charcoal

6 Min

Because I didn't want to overwork the previous piece and I had a few minutes left, I did a close up of the hands as I find hands difficult. I like this drawing but the model's right hand looks a bit smaller than it should.

(8)

Focus - Continuous Line

Byro Pen

16 Min

I did not enjoy doing this piece and regretted my decision immediately. I would have tried something else, but my reluctance was a sign I should challenge myself and move forward. I found it difficult to put everything in the right place and find the composition a bit odd. Generally, I think it was an unsuccessful attempt.

(9)

Focus - Tone

Charcoal, Eraser & Chalk

21 Min

I wanted to practice tone without line and so with this piece, started by creating a background then rubbing out the lightest parts of the piece. I then went in and shaded the darkest parts. Then I added mid tones and went on from there. I felt this was valuable as I did not use an outline and that is definitely a crutch for me when it comes to tone. Everything is in proportion so I feel I've gotten over my no-outline fear and created a nice piece of art.

(10)

Focus - Drawing Movement/ Quick Sketching

Charcoal

7 Min

Again, in fear of overworking my previous piece, I spent the last few minutes doing small drawings. I decided to draw people drawing in the room in preparation for this week's independent study task. I like the piece but my favourite figure is the top middle, you can see the movement in it and I think it's down to the pose. This is something I will think of when planning what I will draw for the independent study task. 

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.