light – Tea and Doodles

Assignment 2 and reflection

This still life was inspired by the incredible skills and arrangements of the Dutch Golden Age painters. I have been in awe of their richness and detail and am already a little concerned that the perfectionist in me will struggle with making this picture become realistic without looking cartoony.

img_1007-1 — Adding detail and lifting tone

2019-04-22 15-52

I initially enjoyed working on the fabric but ended up spending all my time on it. I had to move away from it. I was struggling with the making the tones looked realistic and accurate. I realise that I have probably made work for myself in making the painting up by referencing and observing only parts at a time.

2019-04-22 22-36

As I have progressed through this piece, I think what I would do differently. A more cropped version is a possibility.

2019-04-23 14-37

In the feedback given to Assignment 1 I made noisy brushstrokes on the stool holding the flower pot. I remember thinking I liked the effect as it was a rough wooden trunk. Looking at it, it seems that it was a noisy effect across the whole picture. I thought this was a more relaxed, fluid approach that some artists have, with brushstrokes being visible. Maybe it was the texture of the paper making the noise. I think I have avoided that in Assignment 2 with smooth working and texture across the most part.

Looking back over the process of this painting, I see I have lost myself in each element and although I think I have flowed from one to the other in my composition, it feels disjointed to me. I could work on several aspects differently if I were to try this again. For a start, I would relax more. This took some time as I was constantly observing my still life elements in parts. Looking at the photograph of my painting I see that I need to add more shading on the flowers, leaves and the lantern and mountain shadow on the beach. I need to work on the glass vase as well. The perspective on the window stones is glaring at me. I think I could have made the window aperture bigger. With an infinite amount of time I could work on this continuously to amend and perfect. I will spend one more session amending and will call it a day.

I added a dark translucent wash over the blue sky as well as the beach.

2019-04-23 21-53 — Completed Assignment 2 – idea 3

PoP 2.3.5 – Still life with colour to evoke mood

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I’ve always liked John Brunsdon’s Pembroke II for the way he used a narrow range of tones, evoking, to me, an eerie atmosphere. When I show this to the children in my class, they mostly say they feel scared or nervous; it has a sense of foreboding. Some children feel nervous but hopeful when they think the house is a respite after being lost in the mountains. I decided to try to replicate a sinister, cold feel, just to be contrary as I always want to focus on the energy I feel when I’m painting, peace, calm…so I decided to play a bit. Same still life grouping but viewed from a different angle to generate a dominance of the objects.

I took on board the ‘language’ that Chevreul and Seurat, where sadness or other negative emotions could be interpreted through dark and cold colours with lines pointing down. With the latter, there are no obvious lines to point down but I found I was brushing in a downward direction, maybe subconsciously taking on this language.

(I need to be aware of white balance affecting tone when taking photographs of my work. The first photograph is truest to colour).

PoP 2.3.4 – Still life with complementary colours

2019-03-26 15-19 page 6

2019-03-26 15-19 page 7

2019-03-26 15-19 page 8 — These were my initial colours to play with but I anticipated difficulty in creating a consistent starting colour every time.

2019-03-26 15-19 page 6 — I initially found this concept hard to imagine so I tried it out in coloured pencils. This did help me especially where to combine the hues if to create shadow, where to lift tones for lighter values. It didn’t really help me think where to use which hue and its appropriate tone. At this stage RO was for lighter tones and BG was for darker tones in the objects.

2019-03-26 15-19 page 5 — Black and white helped me establish the levels.

2019-03-26 15-19 page 4 — Perspective lines

2019-03-26 15-19 page 3 — Building up and lowering the values. I was starting to see how this works, especially in the darker shadowy areas.

2019-03-26 15-19 page 2 — The blue became functional only in the creating of shadows where it was combined with vermillion.

2019-03-26 15-19 page 1 — The dark glass bottle was tricky but I feel it needed the blue to dominant as an object rather than combine to make a shadow tone.

If I continued working on this exercise:

The surface was too vibrant and needed work to reduce its chroma. It is too high-key against the rest of the picture.
Create shadows around the jar lid
Experiment with creating the dark blue bottle in shadow. How would I combine colours to do this?
Keep the fluidity of my work pace. I was loose and relaxed and this allowed brushstrokes to remain and add atmosphere.

PoP Research – Chiaroscuro

Supper at Emmaus (1606) by Caravaggio. Image via art history project.com

The Taking of Christ by Caravaggio (1602). Image via Wikipedia.org

Chiaroscuro’s Place in the Contemporary World of Art and Artists

Today, the term chiaroscuro is frequently applied to a wide array of dramatic lighting effects and it is used as a technical word linked to many mediums and kinds of art^[3]. It is related to literally any form of expression that possesses something dark and moody with strong slashes of shadow^[4] that emphasize the dramatic effect. Interestingly, the traditional power of the chiaroscuro pictures and the tense action within their frames had a massive influence on cinematography as the genres such as Film Noir heavily based their visuals on it. Many filmmakers have stated that this technique shaped the final looks of their movies – for example, Martin Scorsese actually referenced Caravaggio as one of his biggest inspirations behind many of his films.

Ralph Fuentes in Schindler’s List (1993). Image via sleeplessthought.com

Jesse Lane

Staying true to Caravaggio’s original roots of realistic depictions, Jesse Lane is an American painter who combines the concepts of Hyperrealism and chiaroscuro. His paintings aim to channel the emotional impact and capture intimate moments wrapped into a single instant presented to the audience. Lane’s pieces are rather open-ended, as the artist himself explained on many occasions, and his goal is to make the viewers create the narrative on their own. When observed from a technical standpoint, it’s hard to find a more talented painter than Jesse Lane both in regards to Hyperrealism and chiaroscuro.

Nicola Verlato

With his specialty being found in the fusion of popular imagery and traditional painting techniques, it’s no wonder that Nicola Verlato‘s amazing painterly world enjoys such a high level of respect within the art community. This Italian artist is primarily known for his highly refined allegorical surrealism that features spectacular light effects, twisting nude figures and dense compositions, all underlined by a commanding application of chiaroscuro. Wonderful and bizarre, his compositions are a true delight to analyze.

Chiaroscuro in Contemporary Photography

When used as a photography technique, the chiaroscuro style is often referred to as clair obscur or extreme low key. Just as the case is with movies, it’s rather interesting to investigate how this shading method traditionally associated with painting has evolved in order to become a viable option for modern artists. As far as the realm of photography is concerned, chiaroscuro kept its strong and bold contrasts between light and dark areas. Of course, the dramatical effects such photos are able to channel is often the reason why photographers opt to use this method of picture-making.^[5] The chiaroscuro style of photography is often well-suited for portraits^[6], still life compositions and boudoir. The pioneering attempts to translate this technique into the vocabulary of camera images can be traced to the early developments of black and white imagery – for instance, Alfred Stieglitz was one of the oldest practitioners to successfully use a form of chiaroscuro in his work.

Stepan Mazurov – Your Move – Image via thephotoargus.com

Tim Cantor

Assignment 3 and Reflection

Draw an outdoor scene of your choice. Try to find a view that includes some natural objects – trees, shrubs, pot plants, fields, garden plants. Also try to find a view that will allow you to demonstrate your understanding of aerial or linear perspective – in other words a view that has some demonstrable depth to it. Look for a view that offers an opportunity to draw straight- lined objects as well as items drawn from nature: buildings, walls, fences, gates and so on. This may seem like a lot to look for, but most views from windows and doors will offer you a bit of all of these things.

Do some preliminary drawings in your sketchbook to experiment with the composition.Try different versions, eliminating and moving objects if necessary to create a pleasing composition. Make some sketches to practise getting the perspective of the scene right. How are you going to create depth? Are you going to use receding lines (linear perspective) or use graduated tone (aerial perspective) and the receding size of objects, people and buildings?

Next do some broad sketches in charcoal or diluted ink and brush and trial other media before you select which to use. Think about the atmosphere and energy of the place and whether you’ll be able to give a sense of this through your chosen material and approach to mark- making.

With an A2 or A1 sheet of paper pinned or taped on a board or on a pad, get settled comfortably and keep your preliminary sketches around you for reference. Think about your successes in previous exercises and look very carefully at the scene in front of you. You should spend anything up to two hours on this final drawing, not including all the preliminary work you’ve already done.

Demonstration of technical and visual skills – materials, techniques, observational skills, visual awareness, design and composition skills

I continue to notice an increased confidence in my composition skills; I feel I have more of an eye for balance and this is happening earlier on rather than it taking over the exercise. My observational skills are also developing further – I am becoming more tuned in and thinking about how I could intepret what I see and what materials may work best. I don’t feel I have experimented with materials to the fullest as I would have made myself fall behind more than I already was. I feel my mark-making and final work is too formal, and so the techniques need to be simplified. As I become more relaxed I think that my techniques will broaden.

In attempt 1, I think I have lost the technicality with trying to represent the distance haziness of the buildings. In hindsight, I would not have started with a pen and ink outline as I ended up trying to cover this up with white and grey pastel. I would like to be less formal in this.

In attempt 2, more attention could have been paid to the size of marks in relation to the perspective, i.e. smaller further away. The marks on the first distant hill are the same as the marks in the foreground. I noticed this after as something was not quite right – the first hill seemed closer than I wanted it to be. I also need to think how the shadows of the towers should fall across the undulating ground.

I liked how I used the electric eraser in the same way as a pencil, making the same linear marks to create highlights. I also like the texture of the water colour paper. Definitely will try this in pen and ink in the style of John Virtue.

The atmosphere and energy of each setting was high up on my list when I was developing each piece. Particularly in attempt 2, the energy was running alongside my ideas and drawing the whole time. It consisted of elements of landscape from my holidays in Ireland and Cornwall, both spiritually energetic places anyway.

Quality of outcome – content, application of knowledge, presentation of work in a coherent manner, discernment, conceptualisation of thoughts, communication of ideas

Both attempt 1 and 2 are still formal pieces, 2 less so. I risked overworking the first one in particular by trying to make it look realistic; I have tried to include everything so that there is no risk of the viewer losing any context or perspective; despite there being no chance of this, I still got hung up on this. It took longer than 2 hours and I was still seeing things to change. Realising this and asking myself the question should I simplify my choices more, led me to attempt the assignment a second time. I was not satisfied and needed to create something more fluid, especially after my Virtue research. For me, it became more of a case of simplifying the techniques rather than the content.

I am more satisfied with attempt 2, I relaxed more and this helped as I had more of a direction by following Virtue’s drawing style. This piece has less preliminary work carried out, I just wanted to get the idea out on paper. Although this did still take longer than 2 hours…

This is one I will work on again for assessment; I can already see what I need to do. I just hope I remember to not over-formalise it.

Demonstration of creativity – imagination, experimentation, invention, development of a personal voice

I think I am becoming more practised at the work for the assignments – I am getting my head in the game three assignments in!

There is no doubt I am tuning into my imagination, but on the other hand I often feel I get carried away with some many ideas and processes running through my mind. With that in mind, the chaos may be in my head but I think I communicate well enough to plan and narrow down my thoughts. I am becoming braver with experimentation of materials but I don’t think I’m experimenting to the fullest potential.

I am inspired by so many artists, works of art, and colours and objects around me and at this point I have an amazing exhibition of my work in my mind! To get these ideas out with the investigation and experimentation needed, would require me becoming a full-time artist and I find that thought frustrating as ideas go untapped.

Context reflection – research, critical thinking

As far as critical thinking is concerned I need to learn how to compare, contrast and analyse pieces of work. I teach my primary school children the questions to ask about a piece of work and maybe I should bring my thinking back to basics as well.

I could be doing more research. Compared to A-level, I have got out of the habit of creating artist study pages in my sketchbook, where I would copy an artist’s technique and picture and then apply this to a piece of my own work. I need to do this more often.

I am always critically thinking, just not communicating it, it seems. I am not communicating ideas in depth on blog, as I write notes down as I go. It is all in my book and I end up uploading the photos of the pages rather than doubling my work load. I guess as long as you can read my writing that is acceptable?

P3 P3: Ex 2 Foreground, middle ground and background

It has taken me to select photos and sketches to work on this exercise, for me to let go of my previous composition for now. It was a more made-up impromptu landscape, which hasn’t allowed for in-depth study yet.

Whilst studying this section, I did watch the BBC’s This Green and Pleasant Land: The Story of Landscape Painting. It was certainly offered some much needed motivation and inspiration.

I am not entirely happy with the lenticular cloud, but I decided to stop working it. I’m also not so happy with the shape of the tree on the right. New version:

Reflection

Completed Assignment 2 & Reflection

This assignment is designed to pull together the fine observation and practice that you’ve done on this part of the course.
You’re free to choose your own source material and media, provided that you take account of the factors listed below. You can either work on a still life, or interior scene – or a combination of these.

In the work you produce now you must demonstrate a growing understanding of:

the use of colour in drawing
the most appropriate medium for the subject
composition and context
mark-making and contrasts of line and tone
accurate and expressive depiction of form, experimentation with idea, material and method.

Is this a creative composition?
Is my subject interesting?
Am I using the most appropriate medium, colour, method, etc.?

In my previous posts here and here I have shown my sketching and preparation for this assignment. I enjoy perspective and I liked the idea of combining a little still life of sorts with an interior scene. I am always on the lookout for interesting light shapes and tonal contrasts; I see how they could evoke a mood maybe in a photo and I would love to portray that in a drawing.

Reflection

the use of colour in drawing
composition and context

After preparing mostly in black and white, I chose to complete my final assignment piece in warm sepia tones to create a welcoming warmth to the room. If I worked with too many colours it would suggest a more balanced, natural light across the room. It was the late evening, with the house in darkness apart from one landing light, shining down the stairs to the left of the picture. ‘Leave a light on for me’ seemed an appropriate title as I noticed the shot when I came into my home late at night and everyone was in bed.

I think the shot struck me instantly as it was balanced in its composition without me having to tweak too much. It was in thirds from left to right – the bright light, bar area and stairs to the left, the darkness of the kitchen door to the centre and rear and the shadows of the dining table to the right.

the most appropriate medium for the subject
mark-making and contrasts of line and tone

An inviting, warm atmosphere required similar materials to recreate such a feeling. I started in black pen for all the sketches I did and, as much as I love pen line, it was too ‘matter of fact’. I had ink wash in mind from early on; I liked the way it ‘worked’ with oil pastel in its resist effect and it worked well to create that artificial lightness without risking it being muted by the ink wash. Maybe pencil to add definition and detail as the last stage. I thought chalks would be ideal for the soft, peaceful, ethereal effect but are not defined enough. I knew that mixed media approach would be ideal to show definition as well as effect. I finally settled on mixed black and Indian Red inks in various dilution helped to make a warm sepia picture, with subtle pencil detail. The pencil worked as an additional layer to show detail and contrast; it helped me to define the pattern in the sheer georgette curtain to the far right. A layer of pencil also gave a ‘veil’ to suggest tangible shadow.

accurate and expressive depiction of form, experimentation with idea, material and
method.

I was working to get a perfectly accurate picture as is my usual wont, but whilst I was completing this, an ongoing discussion was being had on the Drawing 1 forums regarding assignments, expectations and ability on the OCA drawing course.

There is some frustration that people come to a drawing course with little formal training and the OCA accepts them on a degree course/module. This might suggest that the OCA wants people who are willing to experiment, investigate and think outside the box rather than provide accurate depictions of still life. But then feedback given on the experimental and progressive assignments might be critical in the lack of technical skills. And it becomes a catch-22 situation; is this a technical course or an application of knowledge?

With that in mind, I seem to want to approach my work with a freer, more flowing sense, trying to think outside of the box, which is a contrast to how I have always worked in many aspects of my life. I am becoming more relaxed and I want to apply this to my art. A more expressive, investigative approach appeals to me.

I have really enjoyed this assignment in that, as the title suggests, it is an intimate look at my space, my home. I am entirely happy with my assignment, I really like it. Technically, I could do better; some straight lines are a little off and I am bothered with this. It was a little hard with a brush and the fluidity of ink.

Staying on a technical level and process, I stepped back and realised I had created a workflow without realising it. I initially thought, and maybe hoped that I worked more spontaneously. I focussed on what I wanted to achieve – an atmosphere and feeling of the place at that moment in time. This led me to practice with materials and find which suited the aim.

PART 2 P3 Ex 2: Composition – an interior

I have had no shortage of places to draw in the house. I had in mind I would draw my art ‘room’ at the top of the house as it is my bolt hole and a place to relax that nobody else visits. I found some beautiful light play and reflection at different times of the day and I was excited that this could make a good composition and assignment.

However, sometimes things can be overworked and I may have been forcing this line of investigation too far as I was losing the sanctuary and peaceful feeling of the room. Plus it was getting too hot to continue working up there.

I then found another area of the house at a certain time of day that invokes all sorts of feelings that I wanted to capture in a drawing – or at least see if I could.

I was locking up the house at bedtime and switching off the lights when I came across this view:

It is very peaceful, but almost eerie. Not a soul except me awake. The landing light being left on to guide me upstairs. Shadows and reflections being cast on the tile floor. What is where the light is? What does it lead to?

This could be a great inspiration to combine Philip Geiger’s simplistic domestic scene with more focus on tone and atmosphere.

Completed Assignment 1 & reflection

[post edit: my submitted work for this unit was lost in the post on return to me. I am already thinking of assessment submissions and am so sad that I do not have this unit to include.]

In my previous blog outlining my preparation for the first assignment, I brainstormed several objects around me that meant something in some way. Referring back to the mark-makimg exercises and the emotive response I needed to reflect on, I knew I needed to have a variety of reactions to the objects in order to deepen my drawing response. I also mentioned that the media I would choose for each object reflect the marks I want to make, I feel they matched the mood I would be trying to create in each part.

I see myself as a little nostalgic, happy to sit reminiscing about the smallest thing. I specifically started to look for objects that spark a memory with me.

The coloured vase takes me back to my childhood; I remember it sitting in the hallway of my grandparent’s house. It was a gift from my Great Grandad to my Great Nanny. It gives me a feeling of place, a grounding, a sense of belonging in a loving environment. Words I feel when I take myself back – happy, content, fun, cosy, interesting, creative, flowing. The gesture and marks need to be as flowing and free, and so brush and ink allowed me this movement.

I chose the Buddha statue as it evokes some mixed reactions. I am interested in the Buddhist philosophy and have enjoyed it teachings. This statue reminds me of this peace and structure. However, in a previous house, it had been blown down from the window sill by the blinds caught in the breeze. The stone statue landed on the floor where I usually laid my baby. She was in the cot at the time. There is a chip in it to constantly remind me but also to teach me a lesson! Straight, quick sharp marks with a black pen matched the emotion.

Simple and expressive contour lines for the photo frame helped to reflect a flowing and free time as I was finding my feet in life, shown by the photo taken the first year I met my husband 23 years ago.

The pointillism in the watch symbolises every movement in the time that I need to acknowledge (I said I reminisce!). Time is such a constraint that we have put on ourselves, that we don’t appear to be in that moment. The objects are on a baby blanket that I made whilst pregnant with my first child. I got so completely lost in making it and so here I was making the moment count. Charcoal allowed a soft, effect to accentuate the tones of the folds of fabric.

The gerbera was a flower in my wedding bouquet, soft, peaceful but carefree marks to match the memory of young love and laughter. I used a ballpoint pen which I now love. I wanted a contemporary and striking effect and the coolness and glow of the pen helped to gain this.

The assignment text seemed to suggest that I should use a variety of drawing tools and marks. As mentioned before in a previous blog, I thought I would use this obstacle and link the media. It didn’t have the softer effect I was imagining.

Looking back on this first attempt, I realise that a lot of my work needs to have meaning and symbolism. This is obviously no bad thing and is what the assignment text asked, but I would like to work with a spontaneous response to a subject and so maybe this will be possible in future exercises.

However I decided to have another go, making a simpler and quicker response to the objects. Firstly, fewer objects and secondly, using mostly one medium.

So much happier with this attempt, it is not so complex because of fewer objects and one medium. The marks may not be so apparent but the gesture and flow that I drew with reflected the feelings of the object.

Assignment 1 reflection using OCA assessment criteria for Drawing 1

Demonstration of technical and visual skills

I have definitely noticed an improvement in my observational skills over the last few years especially. As a primary school art teacher, I have go back to the basics with the children and find myself relearning along the way with them too. In drawing activities, I direct them to draw what they really see, and it’s not as easy as it sounds. I find myself often looking at objects wondering how to represent them best in drawing, what material or technique, where are the blocks of light and shadow.

I am getting braver in what material to use and in doing so I hope my perfectionism fades a bit. I would like to be more spontaneous and maybe with a less familiar tool, this would help me be more relaxed as I learn how to use it.

Through teaching the young children, I start to introduce composition to them in its simplest form. I try to apply this to my work but often I become too abstract and random and just try to get a feel for balance along the way. This doesn’t often make for balanced work but it does offer a more fluid spontaneous way of working…hmm, how to get both?!

I purposely planned the composition first of all in this assignment and noticed it didn’t really impede on the rest of my work flow. One bit of effort at the beginning can make for a more flowing drawing. I will make more of my composition planning in future.

Quality of outcome

I am pleased with the outcomes of both attempts, especially the second drawing as it is simpler. I feel I have managed to capture the light and shadow and also unified the picture to some degree despite using various drawing tools. However, I think I have tried too hard and it’s not ‘fluid’ enough; as I have mentioned before I would like to be more relaxed and spontaneous. I would like to do more with continuous and gestural line drawings. I am surprised about the effect of blue ballpoint pen and am glad I have another tool to my arsenal; I usually can’t stand it when the children write with it, but art is a different matter now!

Demonstration of creativity

I think I have demonstrated creativity in this assignment. I have interpreted the text my own way; I dealt with the original obstacle and thoughts on using more than one drawing medium, I have added personal meaning to the drawing and allowed my mark making to reflect this. I wonder if I could have actually practised my need for fluidity and produced another attempt in such a way. However, I think this owl have lost the original aim of the assignment in that mark-making in response to the text would not have been the focus.

Context reflection

No research was completed in this, it was more about me finding my feet in this module. I enjoyed researching Redon and in hindsight would have looked up and emulated some other artists but all I wanted to do was put my own pencil to paper at this stage. This is the first time I have completed my learning log online so I am still getting used to posting with some frequency. I have also got to get used to the 21st century social media problem of not getting any viewers or comments! I have to remember that is not why I am writing the blog 🙂