Part 2 – Intimacy

Project 2 Still life – Exercise 3 Experiment with mixed media

For this exercise I set up quite an ambitious still life with bold colours and several extremely different textures.

I made several small sketches using different materials in my A3 sketchpad and then made two larger studies:

I liked the ideas but wanted to use ink with watercolour and perhaps gouache or/and oil pastel so I continued to experiment but on a larger scale:

Chinese ink, watercolour and oil pastel

This experiment was carried out using watercolour, chinese ink and oil pastel on Hahnemuhle 300g watercolour paper. I felt that the eggs and lemons worked but that I would have to work tighter on the chicken mesh basket and eggs in the basket! Some of the watercolour also needed to be bolder.

My next experiment was using a brush to add wash to the ink:

Chinese ink with pen and wash, watercolour, colour fineliner

 

Whilst I liked the effect of the chinese ink in this image, I was extremely heavy handed and need to be more delicate with this awesome medium. With the eggs I saw an opportunity to explore further with this ink in expressive mark making and use of tone all in one.

Eggs – detail

Maybe this is something I can revisit with the following monochrome exercise?

Experimenting with the chinese ink, I found that immediately after making marks it was easy to move a wash from the marks made but with EXTREME care or the ink can run disastrously.  Also I found that when the ink was very dry it was more difficult to dilute the marks with water, and that I could place a watercolour wash over the top with care.  I smudged the marks with my hand accidentally twice which was a disaster – I made two heavy mistakes this way with the result that I had to start again!

Workspace – Final piece in progress

My final piece worked reasonably well but I need to work with more care and precision – something that I am continuing to practice. During this final work I started with the ink first, then again I made a mistake but in doing so used kitchen paper to remove the mistake. I then used the kitchen paper to make similar ‘smudging’ of the ink rapidly all over the image. An innovation – but possibly resulted in the image becoming less fresh and a little muddied. Next I laid on some watercolour washes. Once this was dry I laid some heavier watercolour washes on top. Left this to dry and then worked once again with the ink. Finally I placed heavier colour over the piece using oil pastels.

Pancake day – mixed media on Hahnemuhle 300g watercolour paper

Overall I was pleased with my experimenting and use of mixed media – I feel that I have overworked the piece and lost some of the freshness available with the mediums used. I think the combination is ok and that I made a reasonable attempt at a very ambitious still life – I could have kept going with the experimentation but need to move on (and revisit the ideas in the future). Unfortunately my photos of the final piece do not do justice to the complexities of the build up of colours in the different mediums.

The approach was original and used a mixture of many ideas and influences from a wide range of images in books, Pinterest, and the internet in general.

 

Detail – basket

Detail – lemons

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Part 2 Intimate

Project 2 Exercise 2 – Still life in tone using colour

During my research and practice work for this part I completed two sketches of fruit using first just pencil – this helped visualise the tones within the still life – and then using coloured pencils:

Graphite pencil on A3 fine grain paper (detail)

Coloured pencil on A3 fine grain paper

In these studies I concentrated on the form and use of colour – also cross hatching and building up layer upon layer of colour of various shades to achieve the final result.

I tried hard to produce tone without line/heavy outlines – I believe I achieved my objective and produced a satifactory range of tones from light to heavy dark tones in between the fruits.  The LH shadow from the bowl and fruit could have been darker – especially in the colour version – to balance the offset orange.

My final study for this exercise was completed in soft pastels on black A4 pastel paper (A4 because I did not have any other size black pastel paper!)

I spent some time setting up the still life and the lighting. I wanted the vases to dominate the picture and chose three very distinct coloured vases each with a different texture, colour and pattern. I also wanted to concentrate on representing the forms of the flowers in an accurate but loose manner.

I was extremely pleased with the final result – the drawing took about 2-3 hours. Although I was totally immersed in the work, I did step back on several occasions and assess the progress (as called for in the exercise). The exercise was an exercise in tone so I concentrated on tone not line. I believe I achieved a good range of tone using colour and represented the flowers in the best way possible with the medium/format size.

Soft pastel on A4 black textured pastel paper

I felt that this picture marked a big step in my learning process and has given me more confidence to experiment and push myself more. I effectively simplified the forms of the vases and flowers using several layers of pastel to achieve the final result without using line. Another issue was composition where I used the small yellow vase to draw the viewer back from the two busy but orderly/dominant vases placed further back.  There was also a sort of grounding with this vase as it was rendered in similar colours/tones to the background.

The coloured pencil study used line and colour to achieve form – also a step forward for me in producing a piece that was like a stepping stone to more technical processes in other mediums.

Reflection on the last two exercises:

What aspects of each drawing were successful, and what did you have problems with?

Flowers/leaves can be challenging and I had difficulties working loosely but accurately rendering their forms/patterns.  Fruit is less difficult to render loosely. I successfully experimented with many different styles during these two exercises demonstrating a versatility within my work that needs to be exploited further.

Did you manage to get a sense of depth in your drawings? What elements of the drawing and still life groupings helped to create that sense?

Only in the smaller studies of flowers did I achieve a sense of depth using line and perhaps to a certain extent in the watercolour drawing. The greatest sense of depth was achieved in the last still life above where I used the placement of the vases to help with this. The use of lighter tones at the forefront of the images – for instance in the fruit grouping and the vases – also increased the sense of depth. Also see my comments above regarding the small yellow vase and its effect on the composition.

What difficulties were created by being restricted to line or tone?

Being restricted to just line or tone did not produce restrictions for me personally – on the contrary – it allowed me to look for other solutions and avenues to explore.

How did using colour affect your working method?

There is a lot more to think about when using colour – as it can alter the depth of the composition, change the focal point and even the mood of a drawing/painting. It has pushed me further … to think deeper during the execution of my work.

 

Part 2 – Intimacy

Project 2 Still Life – Still life using line

Before starting this drawing I reflected on works that I have found and studied recently – some of these images are shown below:

Raoul Dufy:

 

Raoul Dufy – Fleurs 1948

Raoul Dufy – Bouquet of flowers 1951

David Hockney:

 

David Hockney – Lilies 1971

David Hockney – Grey and blue plant 1986

Cy Twomby:

 

Cy Twomby – Il Parnasse 1964

Cy Twomby – Untiltled 1953

All of the above drawings/prints use line, but with the addition of colour, except the RH monoprint by Cy Twomby – this I thought I could imitate using wax crayons/oil pastels with ink or watercolour.

David Hockney’s prints include some complicated patterns in their backgrounds, whilst Raoul Dufy’s exquisite paintings use predominantly line with colour to assist in recognising certain elements of the picture and enhance compositional elements.

In addition to the above I started by producing a drawing thinking about the feedback from Part 1 and Jenny Saville’s use of charcoal in her Mother and Child series – using an underdrawing or smudged charcoal background under bolder/expressive outlines:

I was pleased with my mark-making and feel that I have captured the roses and lilies well – some of the the marks could be seen as too heavy, however this was also another experiment that I enjoyed – I do have a passion for flowers/plants!

My next experiment was using the idea of the B&W image by Cy Twomby:

 Here I used a white/pale yellow oil pastel first then painted black acrylic ink over the top – then in the LH image enhanced the image with white soft pastel and then scratched/scraped into the paper to make more interesting destructive marks. In the RH I added black and white pastel marks to the initial drawing.  The RH image worked better for me and I captured a couple of the roses better that in the previous one.  I need to practice/study individual flowers if I am to draw loosely but accurately!

I made some more quick sketches continuing to imitate the marks of Cy Twomby – this time in colour:

 

I tried to work loose but to maintain the detail and form of the individual roses. I was pleased with the result and with my range of mark-making usinmi g coloured pencils.

I have always greatly admired the work of David Hockney who never ceases to experiment and inspire.  I was taken by his images above and their complex simplicity. My version of his lilies – but with the same vase of roses as above worked well but lacked the impact of Hockney’s version:

It was also an opportunity to include an example of negative and positive space – this I thought worked well. I was pleased with the crossed hatched background which was a little unusual.

Finally, I had been waiting patiently for an opportunity to use watercolour and ink and the inspirational work of Raoul Dufy was a chance too good to miss.  Using his flower paintings/drawings as my guide, I made the following line drawing by first painting layers of colour to highlight individual flower/leaf colours and use this as the background for my loose/expressive mark-making. As before I need to practice drawing individual flowers more often – perhaps by contour/blind contour drawings – over and over again.

Final drawing – inspired by the works of Raoul Dufy:

 

Watercolour and chinese ink on 250g mixed media paper

 

Part 2 – Intimacy

Project 1 – Detailed observation of natural objects

Before starting this project, I relected on some of the media that I have used to date and enjoyed the start I made with coloured pencils.

 

I also noted that after using charcoal for the first time on this course this is a medium that I like working with.  Despite the difficulties I encountered with my first assignment, I love using pastels and in particular oil pastels – but will look at using them with more care and experiment with washes made with turpentine and also baby oil.

I have not to date experimented with wet media except for ink – I love watercolours and will also experiment with gouache (I have to buy some as I only have white!). I also think acrylics and charcoal are an interesting combination to explore.

Assignment 1 tutor feedback asked me to check out Jenny Saville (charcoal drawings), Henry Moore (Intense tone), Graham Sutherland (Use of ink, gouache and pastel), John Piper (use of frottage, ink, gouache and pastel), William Kentridge (Expressive mark-making) – also the Jerwood online catalogues. I have already started studying these artists and made a few drawings, sketches using their styles – I will continue to do so. I have also added to this list David Hockney early drawings (pencil drawings of still lifes), Edouard Vuillard (still life/interior paintings and drawings) and Alberto Giacometti (Interiors drawings and paintings).

During the still life section of Part 2 I wanted to concentrate on flowers and fruit and used this as the basis of my detailed observation of natural objects.  I have always been fascinated with flowers and plants!

I started by making detailed drawings of fruit:

The cut pomegranate has a great texture/pattern to draw:

I also tried to use the juice to stamp on the paper but it was too sticky and I had to remove the page!

Finally I made a detailed study of a Protea – a spectacular flower native to South Africa:

In the past I have not always been interested in making very detailed studies of objects, except portraits, but I have to admit I enjoyed making these studies – in particular the Protea. My markmaking and blending of the coloured pencils are improving.