Still Life Composition

I was asked to make thumbnail sketches of a themed selection of objects with a pencil, pen, pencil or ballpoint using a technique such as hatching. I did three pictures and found that I was concentrating on the vertical and horizontal elements of the drawings. I tried to get the eye to travel over the paper rather than just the centre. I started off just drawing a few things individually and then put a group together. It helped me to construct the shapes more quickly in the thumbnail composition. To start with my three drawings were a bit big for thumbnail sketching so the second group of three were sketched smaller.

The first composition I felt drew the eye too far to the left as the gravy boat just made the picture a bit cluttered and I felt I wanted to shift everything to the right a bit.  The verticals worked and I liked the space between the jug and the rest of the objects.
The second composition I think I liked the best. The glass makes  interesting reflections of the objects behind and the stem of the glass draws your eye towards the jug and kitchen roll.  My only reservation is the amount of negative space to the right of the picture.

The third compositon is balanced but I think it is a bit dull.  It may have proved more interesting if I had turned the jug and gravy boat in different directions.

The first selection of natural objects I just felt it didn't show the objects to their best, It was as though  they were fighting one another.

                                                         Drawings 2 and 3        
  
The second composition was very horizontal and not enough height. the leak cuts across everything and dominates the picture. I think that this composition is the worst of the three.
The final drawing I think is the best. The aubergine gives height, the leak gives a horizotal plane, the pepper in front of the bananas breaks up the lines with its round shape. Colour wise there is no conflict and none of the fruit is lost on the plate. I like the mushroom off the plate it adds extra interest. For the first time I felt I had used the hatching technique in a more relaxed way and it worked.

I decided to draw some more fruit using the hatching technique and it is certainly becoming easier I am even begining to like using this method!

Reflected Light

I was asked to consider reflected light as apposed to direct light.  This again I had never thought of and just copied the tone I saw.  I now appreciate the importance of reflected light as it doesn't just reflect light but colour as well which adds to the interest of the painting.  My first attempt at drawing two objects one of them shiny and the other ceramic was a bit distasterous as I am still getting to grips with hatching I do not think that the hatching on the tin works but it certainly looks better on the cup.  I strive sometimes too hard to achieve the technique at the expence of tone and form which I normally do not have a problem with, but I know eventually it will all come together!

I was asked to do an exercise in shadows and reflected light and shade using charcoal and a putty rubber on A1 or A2 paper. I chose A2 and 2 silver plated mugs.  I seemed to see reflected light from a wide source as the mugs were bulbous and picked up a lot of reflections.  I used pastel mat which is excellant at holding the charcoal in place.  I enjoyed doing the exercise but the business of the reflections made it a very hard subject. 
The difficulties in separating cast shadow from reflected light particularly using charcoal is that reflected light carries the colour on which it is reflected from and therefore tone, so, the reflected light may appear slightly darker and it is important not to lose it completely.  In this drawing the reflected light comes in the shape of the adjacent tankard and the handles which appears elongated in the reflection.

Odilon Redon

I was asked to find out about Odilon Redon and his work, and again this is an artist that I hadn't heard of by name but recognised one of his charcoal pieces of work. His is a symbolist and produced work that invoked his mood and spirit, drawing from daydreams and nightmares, producing obscure beings and I think work from his pysche.
Odilon Redon 1840-1914(www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odilon_Redon)
Odilon was born in Bourdeaux on 20th April and was the 2nd son to Bertrand Redon and Marie Guerin.  His birth name was Bertrand-Jean Redon and his mother nicknamed him Odilon, Odie for short.
In his youth he was entrusted to his uncle who owned a family vineyard Peyrelebade near Lisac in the Medoc region.  Here Odilon was greatly influenced by his enviroment, the colours from the soil and light envoked his liking for the obscure. (www.odilonredon.net/biography.html)
He was recognised as a good potential artist at the age of 10yrs when he won a drawing prize. When he was 15yrs old he began to study art but was under pressure from his father to become an architect.  According to wikipedia he failed his entrance exams to become an architect at the Ecoles des beaux art but reading information from www.odilonredon.net/biography.html he actually failed his architect exams.  I have trawled around the websites but haven't been able to cross reference to clarify the facts.
He briefly studied painting under Jean-Leon Gerome in 1864.   He took up sculpture and Rudolfe Bresdin instructed him in etching and lithography.

                                           The Eye Charcoal on Paper downloaded from Bridgeman library

In 1870 he joined the army to serve in the Franco-Prussian war and when the war ended he moved to Paris where he painted in charcoal and lithography.  He called his work his 'noirs' which I think is aptly named as it describes his work and his state of mind.  The first part of his life he was unhappy and in 1874 his father died and during the spring he goes to Brittany where his most distressing noirs were done.

                                           The Crying Spider downloaded from Wikipedia
                                       
In 1880 he marries Camille Falte and they honeymoon in Brittany where Redon paints his first pastels. In 1881 he exhibits his charcoals and the reaction is cool and he produces his first version of the spider.
He did many mystical lithographs and was greatly influenced by the works of Edgar Alan Poe.
In1884 his brother Leo and his sister Marie die in close sucession and in 1886 his first son died which left him  depressed and saddened until the birth of his 2nd son.

                                The Flag Pastel on Board downloaded from the Bridgeman library
In 1890 he has contact with Gauguin and he gradually moves away from his noirs and paints more in pastel and oils and after 1900 he produced no more charcoal paintings. 
In 1905 he was awarded the Legion of Honour (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odilon_Redon) which is an honour established by Napoleon Bonaparte.  The order is the highest decoration  in France.  Odilon Redon died on July 6th 1916.

Summary of exercises so far Mark Making

Using different tools was very interesting and just playing around with them. Charcoal which I haven't used much in the past was fun and immediate. It helped me to work quickly and more freely, it also made me less worried about making mistakes and I tried copying a picture of William Heath Robison copied from a charcoal picture By Thomas Erye Macklin which just happened to be on the front cover on our local free magazine. It took me 15 mins and I was amazed how quickly I was able to work.

Stipling was quite intense and confined and not very effective with coloured pencil as not enough of the colour is deposited on the paper but great with pens and probably fun to do with paint.
I have played around with various tools and ways of using them and I will be referring back to these studies in the future.
Certain paper is better for some tools than others i.e. oil pastels which again I have not had much success in using in the past would sit well on a textured paper, pen and ink seems to be better in smooth paper. I also did a quick sketch of my husband again in charcoal at the computer and it was again very quick and easy to get the tones. I would probably use the charcoal when planning bigger pictures to get the feel of size and proportion.
I then went to basic shapes and fundermental form and was asked to draw books and boxes at different angles. I think that the boxes sit well together and I think I have got the perspective about right.

The next exercise was dealing with cylindrical objects.  I began by drawing cylinders inside a box and concentrated on trying to get the elipses correct it was then repeated looking at the same objects but from a different angle.  I enjoyed the exercise and it helped putting in the guide lines.  Elipses are something I will really have to practise.  I haven't quite got them right the pepper pot on the lower picture works. 

I then used a number of objects to produce a still life in colour. I enjoyed using watercolour pencils which again is not something I am very familiar with. I found that once the pencil has been applied and water added the paint does not move around and and also deeper marks do not disappear and that could be useful to know when doing cross hatching and retaining the effect.  I did not make a good job of the elipses and rushed them, so that was disappointing,  but my drawing on the whole is improving as I am trying to sketch something everyday and the important thing I have found that I am tackling more complex objects with more confidence.
Tone and Form
 This exercise has been quite challenging as I haven't done hatching in the past and I was asked to create tone using hatching in 5 cm boxes and then draw some simple objects usint hatching.  I have continued to practice hatching in my sketches and it is becoming easier and it makes me really concentrate on the tone, where it is and how deep.  I also tried a piece of fruit using watercolour pencils and it was for me a reasonably sucess. It is also important to know where the light source is coming from, I started one sketch in the morning and left if unfinished till the afternoon using natural light but of course by the time I got back to my sketch the light had moved and was coming from a different angle.  Moral of this story complete what you start in one go when using natural light! 
I found using strip lighting that the shadows were not so pronounced on a flat surface and it was harder to pick out the medium tones.

A Brief History of Eric Ravilious 1903-1942

I was asked to find out some information on Eric Ravilious and the techniques he used.
www.bookpress.co.uk
He was born in Acton and brought up in Bournmouth, where he went on to study at the Royal Academy of Art under Paul Nash. He became friends with Edward Bowden who was sometimes his work companion.
In 1930 he married Tirzah Gorwood who was also an artist. He befriended Peggy Angus also an artist who lived at Furlongs near Firlie in Sussex. It was from here he began to paint his downland subjects.
He designed for the pottery company Wedgewood and in 1937 designed the GeorgeVI commemorative coronation cup and in that same year designed their Nursery ware and Alphabet cup.
In 1938 he did a series of lithographs for a book by J.M.Richards called the HIgh Street which depicted Victorian shops.
In 1940 he was appointed the official war artist and was commissioned as a Captain for the Royal Marines (www./wiki/Eric_Ravilious) where he produced water colour paintings of coastal defences.
In 1942 aged 39yrs he was posted to Iceland where he assisted in an air to sea rescue aboard a Hudson plane he and the crew of 4 never returned.

Eric Ravilious 1903-1942

Image Demonstrating a Gun obtained from www.bridgemaneducation.com
The Techniques used.
Fine stipling over the foliage and the foreground is painted in long horizontal lines. It looks to me as if he has used a wax crayon or some masking medium in the foreground to show highlighted areas on the grass.
The wonderful negative relief of the soldiers in intricate in detail. There is also negative relief to the right. Was this done with a masking medium or very cleverly painted around?

Men at Break Penicl and Wash www.bridgemaneducation.com
Has very delicate use of light and minamilistic use of colour, mainly on the four figures and the rounded ceiling giving the clastraphobic feel of a submarine.
He uses the wash to give tone to the figures giving a suggested form. He applied a light wash over the pencil drawing of the inside of the submarine which pushes all the piping and the mechanical components of a sub into the background.
The unpainted fadder in the foregrouns is a palin linear drawing and gives a feel of escape in theis trapped enviroment.

Lithograph Provided from the Book The High Street by J.M.Richard www.bridgemaneducation.com
The use of hatching and cross hatching is a very effective of producing tone and form for lithographs and he has also used some stipling on the figure. The light is very effected and adds a warmth to the picture.

Summary
Ravilious used a variety of techniques in his work producing a distinctive style,stipling, hatching, cross hatching, water colour, pen and ink, negative space, scratching out and produced fresh and unlaboured work.
Although Ravilous work ws neglected for many years an exhibion at the Imperial war Museum in 2994 has brought back the importance of his work.

Observations on a Pen and ink drawing by Vincent Van Gogh 1853-1890

I was asked to find a pen and ink drawing of an outdoor natural scene by Vincent Van Gogh from the internet and make observations of the types of marks he employed. I have found The Olive Trees a pen and ink on paper downloaded from the Bridgeman Education Library.
Types of marks used:
1.  The foliage of the trees are a series of short lines in undulating columns each column going in different directionsgiving a feel of movement of wind blowing through the trees.  He has also indicated darker tones using a darker coloured ink.  The lighter strokes appear to be of a sepia colour and the darker strokes in a grey/black hue.
2.  Hatching is used in the field in the background towards the right and also small hatching strokes on a 'rocky' area in the foreground in the lighter coloured ink.  He has left larger areas of white paper here giving the impression of light.
3.  Short lines in the foreground to the left some rounded off to look like small rocks or mounds in the darker ink .  He has also used this technique under the trees on the left in a more concentrated fashion with the darker ink and the sepia colour gining depth and deeper shadow.
4.  He has used stipling in the foreground along with short marks and this gives a textural feel of short grasses and shrubland.
5.  He has also used zigzag lines to indicate foliage/plant shapes on the ground.
6.  Small hatching strokes on the bark of the trees.
7.  Stronger lines over distant rocks and softer lines on the foreground.

The use of the two different coloured inks the sepia and the grey/black give the picture a Watteau feel in a very Van Gogh way.
  I just love this picture, I have never looked in so much detail at a picture to discover how an artist created a piece of work it was very enlightening and exciting.

Visit to the Roayal Academy to see the Drawings of Jean-Antoine Watteau

Study of a woman from behind Jean-Antoine Watteau ( Bridgeman education Library)

20/4/11 I went to the Royal Academy to see the Drawingsof Jean-Antoine Watteau. Knowing very little about Watteau I was totally fasinated by his free style of drawing. The fact that most sketches were done with chalk chiselled to the finest point for the delicate work he did was amazing. The usuage of red, black and in his later work white chalk is so pelasing to the eye. The tonal values are subtle around facial features but showing all the expression and emotion.
His work is lively and unposed and even a sitting or lying subject is not inert.
The freedom of his strokes and confidence in his sketches is due to the practise in the amount of studies
Jean-Antoine Watteau 1684-1721 (Watteau The Drawings byPierre Rosenberg and Louis-Antoine Prat with a contribution by Martin Eidelberg Copyright 2011 Royal Academy of Arts)
He was born In Valenciennes on 10th October and his parents came from a modest background of roofers and carpenters. Very little is known about his earliest apprenticeship but he worked through the studio of Guerin. He was 18yrs old when he came to Paris 1702 and by 1703 he was working for a picture dealer named Etienne Desrais in his shop situated on the Pont Notre-Dame. In 1712 he was accetped in the Academie Royale dePeinture et de Sculpture where he presented several paintings. In 1719 he left for London to see Dr Richard Meade as he had tuberculosis and in 1721 he died in Nogent-sur-Marne, near Paris.

Artists who have Developed Stipling

Georges Seurat 1859-1891 www.ibiblio.org/wm/aurth/seurat/ was born in Paris and at the age of 16yrs trained at Ecole des Beaux-Arls under Justin Lequien a scutptor and later with an artist called Ingres.

Seurat studied colour theories and developed a unique style of applyiung paint. His mose famous painting Bathers at Asnieres was rejected by the official Salon so he and several other artist founded the Societe des Artistes Independants and in 1886 his renouned Sunday Afternoon on the Island of the Grande Jatte was centre piece. Picture downloaded from the Bridgeman Education Library

His private life he kept secret and it was after his death that his friends learned about his mistress Madeleine Knoblock who bore him a son who died 2 weeks after his father suddenly become ill and died of an infection.

Paul Signac 1863-1935 Also born in Paris and trained as an architect before persuing his lilfe as an artist at the age of 18yrs. In 1884 he met Claude Monet and Georges Seurat and became intrigued by Seurat theory of colours and became a devotee. Many of Signacs paintings were of the French coast and he loved to paint water. He experimented with various media and many pen and ink sketches with small dots. He ws president of the society des Artistes from 1908 until his death in 1935.Picture down loaded from the Bridgeman Education library

Making a Mark

I have completed the first three exercises and I know I will need to continue to practise these over again.  I experimented with pencils, pens, charcoal, coloured pencils, watercolour pencils, pastels, crayons, conte crayons, and felt tips.
I found that holding a tool differently produced different levels of control and tone.  I have in the past automatically used pencils in this way but never thought about it.  Drawing on A2 paper was initially intimidating but using your whole arm to sweep across the paper was very liberating.  Circles and parallel lines were free flowing and natural, there were no rules and I would like to draw like this more often, this is so outside of my comfort zone, of being so precis in copying.
Using pen and ink was interesting and I enjoyed stipling to produce tone I tried a leaf in my sketch book and although I do not think that I produced a good tonal picture I think that it is a technique that I will try again.  Stipling with coloured pencils not very effectice as not enough of the colour is deposited on the paper, but with coloured ink pens it was more dynamic.

Jayne's Learning log

18.4.2011

 I retired from my full time job 7 years ago and for the past 4 years I have been to a weekly art group where I learned to paint with water colour and to draw.  My drawings have been mainly from photos and pictures and I felt I was stuck in a rut of transferring one image on paper to another as accurately as possible.  What I want from this course is a wider skill base and the freedom and confidence to paint and draw from life around me and not always from printed images.

My Expectations From the Course

1.   To achieve a sense of freedom when tackling a piece of work and to be able to try new techniques and ideas and to evaluate the outcome.

2.   To develop my own artistic style by studying other artists work and their techniques and experimenting.

3.   To be able to appreciate the work of some of the masters, to know more about them as artists and understand the political and social restraints of their time and how that may have influenced their work.

4.  To embrace and enjoy the new experience of working to a schedule and learning new skills.

As I go through the course I may discover more expectations but at the moment I am going to enjoy the journey