Archive for the Category »Sketches «

Nov

I’ve done a quick sketch for my Creative Composition class tomorrow. The emphasis isn’t so much on composition but more on line drawing. I’ve never done line drawing before..I’ve never even seen one being done, so it was a bit of a challenge.

This is quite an interesting course. We will do line, tonal, and shape representations, then we will work on image placement through various elements such as contrast of scale, isolation and absence of focal point. Finally we will look at visual transformations or temporal transformations. Thankfully we can use whatever media we like, so it’s a chance for me to go mad!

On another note, remember I said I’d been nominated for a special achievement award? Well, today I received a letter telling me I’d won the award, so it means a nice award ceremony, plus a prize and I get professional photos as well. The ceremony is on 15th December, so I’ll be sure to post a piccie afterwards, so watch this space!

Category: Project, Sketches, Visual Arts Tags: Art & Design, creative compostion, line drawing 4 Comments

Nov

Analytical Drawing – New Objects

Heather

I’ve been absolutely swamped with work these past few days, so I haven’t been able to post as much, but I finally managed to get the sketches done for analytical drawing using my new objects – the ones I made from clay. I’m really glad that I had a go at creating my own sculptures because at least they are unique items, plus it was good experience, even if I toiled ever so slightly! Anyway, here is my drawing:

Anyway, hopefully I’ll be able to talk a bit more tomorrow. Depends how swamped I am. For the moment, I’m off to watch the new episode of Metalocalypse then bed! Night world!

Category: Abstract, Sculpture, Sketches, Visual Arts Tags: analytical drawing, Art & Design, sculpture 6 Comments

Nov

Analytical drawing is a bitch!

Heather

As I mentioned yesterday, I picked 3 objects for Analytical Drawing, and I started working on them yesterday. See below:

I chose a troll thingy, given to me for Christmas many years ago by my dear friend Sarah; a piece of rock from a Roman settlement in Tongeren (the oldest town in Belgium), and an African statue. Oh, and the girl in the picture is Suz, one of my friends from class. She sneaked into the shot, and I had to put it up here!

The idea was to take objects that you have a personal affinity with. I collect tribal ornamentation, and objects from early civilisations. I have many ancient artefacts such as an earthenware jug from China c. 2000BC; a Tolita culture head from the pre-Columbian era – roughly 500BC-300AD; an elephant bell from the Khmer Samrong Sen region c.1200-1500 AD; bronze age arrowheads; mammoth teeth; and fossilised fish. I also collect ancient books. The items above aren’t old, except for the rock from the Roman settlement. I didn’t want to carry my artefacts around with me in case of damage, but these give an idea of the type of things I like.

I wish I hadn’t bothered! I should have taken much easier items to draw. The problem is that I am now being taught to draw using certain methods of measurement. Of course, I understand completely why I’m taught to measure using these methods but they are so alien to me, that it is taking me hours to measure pieces. It has really slowed down my drawing, to such an extent that I cannot complete a drawing in 2 hours in class, and it is agony to draw. It is making me more tense, because I’m standing with arm stretched rigid. It doesn’t help that I have shaky hands, so it takes me a bit of time to get the measurement just right. No doubt I will get quicker, but just now it is hellish! This is making it very difficult to draw these items as there is so much going on – well for me as a beginner it is. I spent all afternoon just trying to get this sketched outline in:

It just feels so mechanical, and has absolutely no soul to it. So I reiterate, analytical drawing is a bitch!

Tomorrow, I have more analytical drawing. Fun, fun, fun, but I also have a new class: Sculpture! I’m soooo excited! I can’t wait to get my hands messy. I’ve said before that, for me, the visual aspect is the first response to art, and that the tactile aspect should be the second. It’s just a personal thing, but something I truly believe. I want to touch art – not be made to stand at a distance from it. Sculpture should be exactly that. There’s a saying here: You see with your eyes and not with your hands. It would be said, usually one child to another, when you wanted to look at something that the other had. I disagree completely with that sentiment. I get really excited when I run my hands over a piece of art that is full of texture. Am I weird? To some, probably! Anyway, I’ll let you know how I get on with that tomorrow! Peace out.

Category: Drawing, Sculpture, Sketches, Visual Arts Tags: analytical drawing, Art & Design, Drawing 9 Comments

Oct

My Space project update with some life drawing

Heather

I’ve done a bit more work on my project today, and I think I’m nearly done with it. This has been quite a challenge for me, as I’m completely outwith my comfort zone, in terms of colour and my work method. I’m not usually this adventurous with colour, and that in itself has been quite a major hurdle to get over. Colour terrifies me. Well, new colour terrifies me. I feel so reserved when I use colours and I tend to stick to the same colours.

Creating this has given me the chance to be a bit bolder. I’m trying to learn not to be so ‘precious’ about what I’m creating, in the sense that if I don’t like how it’s going then I’ll paint over the top of it. This has been something that I’ve been scared to do. I’ve kind of felt that since I’ve just spent hours creating it, I have to live with it. Silly, I know. However, I’ve painted over this several times and you really can’t see much of the original colouring. I’ve used all sorts of colour here like reds and pinks, alongside blues and yellows. Combinations I never thought I’d use. So, yeah, I’m really enjoying this.

I’m back to college tomorrow and I have been working on my life drawing skills for my assessment, also tomorrow. The feet I did in the classroom with a live model, but he wasn’t there the last class before the holidays, so we had to work on the hands at home. I’ve drawn my own hands. It’s really difficult to try and hold a pose when you’re trying to draw it at the same time. Your hand or whatever your drawing tends to move. Obviously that’s something you have to get used to, and you have to adapt. The drawings aren’t great but since I’m just learning I’m not too down about it. Thankfully my tutor is really interested in expression at this stage, and not overly concerned about exact detail.

So, I’m actually getting on really well with my final pieces. I’m just about done with the top painting, so that’s My Space out of the way. I have a drypoint etching to do tomorrow for Coast, which I would do today but I have to paint the surface first and run it through the printing press before I can do the etching. I also have my collograph to print and I have my lino cut ready to go. So basically all I have to do is my printouts, and that project is finished. I just have to do my paintings for Painting To A Theme, but I will have 2 weeks to complete these, and since I’ll be finished everything else I’ll have the whole 2 weeks to do these. That will be plenty of time! I can’t believe I’m so far ahead with everything, especially given the state of panic at the start of the course. I’m really, really pleased with how I’ve coped, and I feel I’ve come on massively since the start. I really can’t wait to see where I’ll be in a year’s time!

Category: Abstract, Art, Drawing, Life Drawing, Mixed Media, Painting, Project, Sketchbook Development, Sketches, Visual Arts Tags: Art & Design, Drawing 2 Comments

Sep

Coping with Life Drawing

Heather

I haven’t been able to post any of my Life Drawing images because we’ve been working on them in the classroom. I still don’t have the drawing/painting I did of the skeleton, with the human form laid over the top, as it is still up on the wall at college. I haven’t had a chance to get a photograph of it either. There are only another 6 weeks left of this term, so no doubt I will get it back then.

I couldn’t wait to start Life Drawing, but it is proving much more difficult than I’d expected. I know it was going to be more difficult, no doubt, but not as difficult as I’m finding it. I find the lighting rather hard to cope with, and I need to go for an eye test for new glasses and contact lenses. I definitely think I need to wear my glasses for this classes rather than my lenses. The vision with lenses is never as good as with glasses.

Because we are sitting at a certain distance from the model it makes it harder to see all the subtle nuances of the face/body. Although I’m inclined to think that the eyes are trying too hard to see things that we know are there but aren’t able to discern from a distance. I know that I should just draw what I see, rather than what I think should be there, but it is difficult to break this habit. I am trying though.

The part I found most difficult to draw was the mouth. The gentleman’s mouth we are drawing is very small, the lips are very thin, and I find it too difficult to see the subtleties in shade. My tutor said that sometimes you have to force what you don’t see onto the image, which kind of contradicts his other statement of just drawing what you see. So, my question would be: At what point should you force something or just draw what you see?

Matt has told me that it will get easier with time. I’m sure he’s right but it feels like a struggle just now. Here are the images I’ve done so far: