Assignment One.

(A Personal Still Life.)

I confess, at first I was somewhat baffled when it came to doing a personal still life,but looking round my room I found a few things belonging to my grandfather, that I was deeply attached to. I collected together some of his art materials. not only were these things "personal" to me,but I thought they also made an aesthetically and geometrically pleasing set up for a still life.

My first attempt was a still life of the large wooden lay figure  and a big box of pastels, I liked the was the light fell on the pastels in the top tray, picking out each one clearly. But ultimately (after a several endeavours) I reached the conclusion that the composition wasn't satisfactory (not having enough detail or separate parts to in) and I was having difficulty with getting the angles of the box right, somehow with the tray on top it seamed to make it much harder.

For my second attempt, I substituted the pastels box for a smaller box, a glass jar with brushes in and some pens in the foreground. This was a better composition but not quite right. I came to realize by having the figure facing and sort of pointing out of the page was making the eye drift off the image.

Seeing this problem, I thought I couldn't do much better  than  look at the old masters for inspiration. And so, when putting together this still life, my approach was to turn my thoughts to Michelangelo's painting of Adam on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. 

I couldn't get the lay figure into the exact position, and I did it for fun as well as a good thing to think about, I enjoy putting in references and paying homage to some of my favourite artists.

The figure, taking up most of the composition now, and there being no room for my box, I filled in the corners with a ink pot some pens and a stack of six small boxes, and the jam jar with fewer brushes than the  piece before.

I chose a white support and graphite stick as a medium, (I wonder now if it would have looked better with a light cream colour support, and to have put highlights on with a white pencil or something). I had my light source coming from the left and slightly tilted up, I liked the shape of the shadow it cast. I chose not to indicate the background very much, I thought the picture was quite busy enough. I am glad I chose graphite, I like it very much, it is (when in big sticks) more interesting then pencil but not as difficult to use as something like charcoal or conte, and I like the tonal range you can get with it. 

I was told, or read somewhere that the triangle was good to use for a underlying geometrical shape in any drawing, and pleasing to the eye. So I filled this piece with them.

On the whole, I don't think its a bad picture, just not very interesting, there are a few parts that I am pleased with more then the rest. But really I think its rather boring. This may be because of the thin and boring lines although trying hard with my "mark making" it was all over too similar, and a bit to neat and  finicky, I should have had more variation in the line, and tried to be a bit bolder and more sweeping.which  would have suited the somewhat dramatic set up.

Exercise 4 (Shadow and reflected light)

(some thumbnails in my sketchbook.)


 


I started with a white support, then roughly worked out my still life in line, marking out were I was going to leave white paper for the brightest highlights, then covered most of the support in charcoal dust (that I shaved from a stick), then worked it round the paper (in the areas I wanted) with a paint brush, after that I put in the darks in blocks of tone with a charcoal stick, then took some more out with a rubber, then used my fingers to blend the it all together, I continued to work on it, putting in more shadows and taking more out and so on, then found I had some compressed charcoal and put some of that in, in areas. Then I had to stop, for I had been working on it for quite some time, but I feel I could have worked on it more, (if I had had the time.)  
I dislike the peace of art work, and found it hard going, not unpleasant to do, but hard. I don't like working in charcoal nor do I like my end results, I find it hard to get much rang of tone, compressed is a bit better but not much. Probably just my incompetence and inexperience with it. Also I got lots of the shapes wrong. it also strikes me now that, although there were a good deal of reflected light and shadows in the set up I didn't emphasize them enough.
I will try not to use my fingers on a charcoal picture again....I dislike the affect it producers.
I worked on a large-ish scale, which I find hard.
I tried to use some of the methods used by Odion Redon which I learned about.

Research point - Odion Redon

I have been looking at the Noir pictures of Odilion Redon today.He had a really interesting way of working. It seems he usually used a cream paper support, and covered it with charcoal powder and then scraped and scratched and scrabbled and wiped and erased the surface to produced various mid tones, He then used soft pastel and compressed charcoal to create darker areas. He also used his fingers, both fingertips and finger nails, a lot to make a further variety of marks. His finger marks can be seen in several of his works.
He wanted to ceate mysterious and ambiguos spaces to stimulate the imagination. He draws us into the melancholy depths of his work , where the light just catches a figure or some detail but does not define it.

Project (2) Exercise 3 (Creating Shadow Using Lines and Marks.)

(Here I have done a quick test page)

I used a ballpoint pen (top left), a fineliner pen (top right), a dip in pen (bottom left) and a Chinese feather brush (bottom right).

I set up strong one sided lighting coming from the right, casting interesting but simple shadows on the inside and down the left outside of the flowerpot also across the surface I had set it on. I heartily enjoyed bringing into play the varied techniques I had practised on the page before.

I hope, by practising first, I can be more confident with my mark making.

  

I found that (as well as enjoying this mental and artistic exercise) it made me contemplate the idea that one shouldn't use and treat every material the same way and should properly learn how to use a new tool. encouraging me to explore, discover, relish and savour all mediums.

 

I also did this still life of some juggling equipment.

I quite like the way the shadow turned out, I was trying to indicate that it fell on a ridged surface.

 

Project (2) Exercise 2 (Observing shadow and using blocks of tone)

Exercise 2

(Observing shadow and using blocks of tone)

 

 

 

 

Here I chose some simple objects. I used the same objects in all the pictures, because, it wouldn't be a struggle to get the shapes and I could focus more on the shadow and tone. 

In order to get strong shadows and create a interesting dynamic range of tones, I had a strong one-sided lighting, every picture I did, I changed the position of the two objects and my light source.

I used charcoal throughout, and although I usually find it quite difficult and messy, I felt quite comfortable with it.  

I enjoyed experimenting with different ways of depicting the background. I also enjoyed picking out the highlights with a small rubber.

Project (2) Exercise 1 (Groups of Objects.)

Before I did the main picture for this exercise, I did a few quick drawings in my sketchbook. drawing the objects see-through and then again in solid form.
 

 
 

 
 

 
 


 
I chose a group of tins on the kitchen counter, invoking a soft and comfortable feeling.
I worked out the shapes with pencil and then worked on from there with charcoal.
I wasn't particularly pleased with the finished picture, but liked some areas of it.
I wish I hadn't made the cylinder at the top so dark and and had more darks on the closer objects to help them come forward.
I tried to imagine that I could see through the objects by sketching it in pencil first but the lines are not visible in the final drawing.
It was uncomfortable for me drawing on a large scale, I hope it will help me to become more flexible and to tackle larger pieces.

Project (1) Exercise 1 (Expressive Lines and Marks)

(1) Calm.

 

I used various types of graphite pencil, charcoal and ink.With these drawing I was exploring the theme of calm. Feelings for me, that I associate with calm, might include peace, harmony, mildness. 

I created four drawings in which I looked at different ways of expressing my theme, using rhythmical, gentle flowing lines.

(2) Anger.

 

I used just ink and charcoal on this one, I laid on the charcoal (stick) fast and aggressively.....and used a chain dipped in ink to make a storm of marks.

(3) Joy (in the morning)

 

Charcoal, graphite and ink, I used the graphite pencil too in a quick jabbing motion (creating lots of squiggly marks) and the charcoal in a fluid flowing way, and using the chain again for an outbursting, upward moving feeling

(4) Frustration.

 

Charcoal and compressed charcoal. I tried to simulate frustration with a couple of different mark making techniques, some sort of dripping, others dragging and a few looping around and around.  I was trying to get a trapped or blocked kind of feeling.