Composition and Tone

In today's session, we completed some exercises in composition and tone with the use of both pencil and pen plus water. We wanted to develop our skills from last session so that we are more prepared to develop more of our skills in creating compositions for a drawing and creating compelling tonal work through unique means.

In this first drawing I created, I explored the medium of pencil in straight-forward way instead of the past experimental ways so I could see if it was still of relevant use to me in the near future of my future drawing work. I believe it still is as it can create some really nice subtle tonal changes that can become more detailed if you put work into it and I found it comforting to use line again as a skill instead of discarding it because it may not produce the most realistic of results. However I still need to work on this technique if I wish to become significantly skilled with the craft and I think the areas that needs working on the most in my pencil drawings is the use of proportion and the my tonal consistency.

In this second drawing which was completed through the medium of pen and a water wash was an exercise in exploring the medium of ink as well as try to improve those skills since I did a ink and water drawing last fortnight. I think I did relatively well as I filled in the space quite well this time instead of just leaving it blank but I still need to practice more with this medium as by far its probably my weakest form of drawing. For example I still haven't managed to handle how the the ink and water spreads so I try and fail to clean up some mistakes that become painfully obvious if you look to closely at the drawing.

This last drawing was an attempt at a final conclusion of my previous drawings and a final go at the mastery of the technique using pen and ink wash to create unique tones. I also used drawing ink to darken the more darker tones within my image, and a lot more contrast and dynamism that was lost in the last image I drew. Overall I believe I have made some good developments in my skills with drawing with inks and water but I still need more practice to become better at it. I really like how the drawing ink I painted added much needed contrast and darkness that was absent from the rest of my ink drawings and how well it blended in with the rest. However the rest of my tonal work can be quite muddy and some tones look too similiar to each other that you can't get the perspective from the image correctly.

Final Lichfield Composition

In today's session we completed a final composition based upon our studies and photographs of the Lichfield Cathedral based upon our previous experiments we did last session. I decided to draw the statue head that I drew last session but on a bigger scale with a blue wash and drawn in chalk. I chose the medium of chalk because of its natural graininess and its way to create smooth transitional tones, and the fact that chalk is a type of mineral so it relates quite well to the texture of stone.

The first step I undertook was the wash for the background that I created by mixing black and turquoise ink with a little bit of water to thin and then applied it with a thick brush. I chose the turquoise colour because the original statue had a blue hint to it's colour and I thought it would be better to add a ground then just leaving the paper blank white and uninteresting. I think the backwash works well for the first part of my drawing work and adds a nice blue tint underneath the white chalk. Although I will add another darker wash around the finished image s that it pops out more and doesn't blend as much into the light blue background.

Here is my start at colouring in my initial sketches in pencil with the medium of chalk and the detailing of the statues collar. I really like how my chalk drawing is coming along as I have managed to capture how the light catches the stone and the graininess of the chalk adds to the texture of the image as well as create a few inconsistencies in the shadowing that you would in most stone ornaments. I also like the tone that I have created with the chalk like on the folds of the clothing which look visually appealing and the slight highlights on the nose and the brows help to show how the light hits and shines off of the stone statues head.

Here is the final image with the completed chalk drawing and the new wash around the statues head. Overall, This particular project is probably the best drawing that I have done for the drawing sessions so far. I think its because of the medium I chose for the drawing was perfect for the image and my skill with said medium was quite high when I completed this drawing. I also think it was because that the subject that I was drawing was something that I was actually interested in, the anatomy of stone statues, so it kept me focused and motivated to draw the actual object with a high level of enthusiasm and the because I wasn't trying to be too experimental with my materials that it was completely untread territory like my other experiments that weren't nearly as successful.

Drawing Techniques

In today's session we tried out a new technique of sketching that was inspired by the artist Georges Seurat. The technique involved holding out our pencils at about arms length, whilst holding our pencil like a dart and then starting at the centre of the image make small figure of 8 motions with the pencil and adjust the pressure to adjust the tonal aspects of the image. This was a strange technique to get used to because it involved going against the notion of creating an outline before adding the tone and instead create the shapes or form just with the tone. It was a bit tricky to get used to at first but overtime I adapted to the new way of thinking and got used to the little motions that I had to make, although it did hurt my arm after a while.

The first image I drew was just in plain pencil with a little bit of compositional awareness in mind and was used to help me get used to this new technique. I really like the unique look of this piece as the tone is gradually built up from the pencil marks and this new idea of creating a image without the aid of line really opened up to me as a area of exploration after doing this particular piece. However, although I tried to keep the best compositional ideas in mind as I was creating this, I had failed to make a compelling composition out of the image because of the fact the image was improvised from the centre of the page I had no idea how the final image looked and it unfortunately lacked any of the compositional ideas and techniques that I learned last lesson. 

This was the second image of the explorational stage of this new technique but I decided instead of using pencil this time around, I instead used fine-liner and the reincorporation of line to explore the full potential of this new technique. I even added water to the piece to incorporate more tone into the piece and create a shadow like effect. I like the composition of this image a lot better then the first one because it incorporates a lot more elements/ objects into it and there isn't so much negative space that it makes the image look small and unfocused. However, my foreshortening technique isn't up to par in this image as I have flattened the brush so it looks like its standing up when it actually is lying down. Also I don't like how the bristles of the brush turned out and I wish I didn't add water to it because it looks messy and unlike real bristles that you would find on a brush.

Lichfield Aftermath

Today we followed up on the previous sketches and photos we took in Lichfield with a series of sketches and small productions that we used to explore different themes. We also tried different materials from the ones we used before so that we could explore the full drawing spectrum with inspiration from the artists that I have listed.

This first image was copy of one one of my photos of one of the corners of the cathedral printed on A3 drawing paper, and I decided to experiment with the tonal aspects of the image by using white chalk for the highlights and ink cross-hatching for the darker areas. What I really like about this experiment is the use of the chalk for highlights as really adds some much needed contrast to the image and overall makes it more visually appealing. However at times the cross-hatching isn't up to par and to be honest there isn't much recognisable difference in the image expect for the darker lines in some places.

The second image was taken from a memorial stone within the church and was sketched with pencil initially and then filled in with oil pastels to give colour and tone. What I like about this image is its general atmosphere of mystery and, in a way, magic because of the wispy dream like swirls of smoke and the almost Arabic design of the gauntlet within the image. However the tonal aspect of the image is leaves much to be desired and overall needs a total revamp or a change in sketching material.

This is the start of a large A2 experiment in tone and and line that first started out as a large sketch of a spire of the cathedral which was then covered in shavings of graphite and rubbed in, then was given a watered down acrylic wash over the tonal areas and finally partially drawn lines of the details within the structure drawn in fine-liner. I believe this to be the least successful of my experiments and that was partially the reason a gave up on it. It looked good as a large sketch and then a tonal study in graphite but when I added the wash it blended the tones together, losing the darker striking tones and making it look like a giant graphite smudge, and then the lines didn't help either by making the structure seem flat and less imposing as it was. If I could go back in time I would have forgotten the wash and the fine-liner and instead have focused on the tonal aspects to create line and contrast instead of the amateurish harsh lines of a pen.

This image was done in the last few minutes of the lesson and was when I stopped working on the third image. It is a pencil sketch of a stone sculpture's face on green recycled paper. If I was to work on this more I would begin to add tone and rub out my previous lines to create a tonal study of this sculptures face and maybe even add a bit of white chalk to emphasise highlights on the lighter parts of the face when necessary.

Composition

In today's session we did some exploration of the idea of composition and the placement of items in a image. I used a viewfinder to select an area to draw and then I drew an outline of the subjects within the piece and only cross-hatched the areas of negative space. What I found interesting while doing this exercise is how much a image is made up of negative space and how useful it is at defining the forms of subjects within a piece. What I also found interesting about this exercise was that the positive space did not take up such a huge area that I thought it would and only covered about half the page which means that within this chosen are of interest there is just as much amount of empty space within this sketch then the actual drawing itself.

As a finally to the lesson we did a final sketch of a chosen area in fine-liner and a water wash. This wash combined with the ink pen created tone and smoothed it out evenly across the page. What I like about this sketch is how the ink spreads across the page when water is applied but yet the original lines where the tone was still stay there even though they have been washed over so it still had that graphic novel like look to it even though there was still tone. The thing I don't like about the sketch is my line work because I draw way to rough and because of this looks way to sketchy and amateurish to be considered a decent piece of work. If I got the chance I would try it again and choose a more interesting subject to draw unlike this uninteresting iron and box so that I can add more detail and overall create a improved final piece.

Lichfield Cathedral Visit

Today we went out to the Lichfield Cathedral, a large Gothic structure with a lot of different structures, statues, and historical stylings which was very interesting to draw, sketch and photograph. We were tasked to get some inspiration from the building for next weeks session where we will be taking our study materials and turning them into pieces.

My first initial reaction to looking outside the cathedral was the sheer scale and majesty that it has as well as the medieval Gothic architecture that it possessed. The huge spires towered high above all of the other city's architecture like it was at the centre of everything. The colours of the stone were interesting as well with the reddish tints and back outlines over the smaller parts of the structure. At times it looked like it had a black outline around it like a graphic illustration. When I got up close I could see the years of weathering it had all over  as well as where it had been repaired and built up upon over the centuries. Just outside of the Cathedral I saw a tourist sign that said a great battle of an English Civil war happened here which ended up destroying one of the spires. It's amazing to thinks that this Cathedral was once the sight of a bloody battle long ago. It also mentioned that some of the statues and stone decorations were damaged by the soldiers there as they were sharpening their swords on them and their marks could still be seen on them to this day. It's quite amazing how much this building has been apart of history and still shows the marks that it left on it I present day.

Once we went inside I got a deep feeling of calmness within me and felt somewhat at peace. The atmosphere was heavy within the building which was so quiet and cool in temperature. it made me really think about how people in the past had come here for sanctuary and peace so they could escape from the troubles of their lives. As I walked around the building I noticed that the corridors and arches were not in a straight line and were in fact uneven. This reminded me of the fact that this building was made by hand and not from machines and that blood, sweat, and tears went into constructing this place in tribute for God and not for the reasons we would a build a construction today, which today would probably be to either show off our wealth or power, or create space for work, shops, or any other conveniences that we highly demand this day. Its fascinating to see how much society has changed during the last several centuries back when this was built.

It occurred to me, while I was sketching a statue of a praying man, how much this building was completely saturated in the imagery of the Christian faith. I mean that might seem obvious because we are in a cathedral but literally everywhere you turn you could see tribute to the faith; on the ceiling, the floor, the paintings, the table cloths, the gold and stone decorations, the furniture, the windows, and even in the tiniest, most insignificant corners of the building you could see some kind of symbol for something mentioned in the bible. I find this funny because I remember reading about a 14th century painting that they uncovered that the people of the time covered because they feared that they would start to worship the imagery of God instead of the real God and, consequently commit blasphemy by worshipping a false idol. And now the Cathedral is covered in the imagery of the almighty. It's also incredibly ironic that the part of the painting that was supposed to depict god had weathered away by the time it had been uncovered.

What struck me when I observed the graves that surrounded the Cathedral was one particular grave that stated that this was where the person who died met his end aiding the construction of the Cathedral and that this is where they buried him. That's when I looked up and saw over a dozen other graves surrounding the side of the building. I'll admit it when I first looked up at that image I shuddered a little bit, but then I looked down again and read that the grave stone had been donated and sculpted by his fellow workers as a tribute to his memory. I really didn't know what to think at the time as it stirred up a lot of questions in my mind; did this person volunteer, was he religious, did he have a family, how many others met the same fate, were all those graves the ones that worked on the Cathedral? Now I realise that this grave really sums up the human condition; the belief in something higher, wanting to pay tribute with a offering, self-sacrifice, and a sense of community between fellow man in the face of adversity. I really wish sometime in the future I could hope to achieve in capturing the feeling that I felt during that moment of realisation in whatever field of art I wish to pursue. Today had been more enlightening then I imagined it to be and I'm glad it was.