Part 2 is about the close observation and interpretation of nature, paying attention to detail, working both expressively and more tightly, using colour and a range of media. Being able to look closely and analyse what you see will help you select the most appropriate tools and techniques to reposond to your subject matter. At the same time you will be exercising discernment about what is essential to include in your drawing and what can be disregarded. Being able to do this is key to making a sucessful drawing, it comes with practice. You were asked to use strong directional light to define forms and highlight details and textures.
Overall Comments
Well done Joanne, you have produced good work in all the areas above and I continue to be impressed by commitment given the fact that you have three small children. Your sketchbook and learning log show the quality of your preparation, reflection and analysis, which is admirable.
Your observation of form, surface, proportion and relationships of objects is very good. You use of colour and composition is effective. You are often too reliant on your technical skills and producing an ‘accurate’ observation rather than a drawing in its own right. All drawings are journeys of discovery and if the viewer can sense this journey, with it’s meanderings and getting lost, it makes a drawing more alive.
You need to explore a ‘felt’ or ‘kinaesthetic’ sense in your work. Be more confident about building on your sketchbook explorations. Now is the time to trust in your skills and find ways of bringing a more intuitive response to your subject matter into your finished drawings. Give yourself permission to play on a larger scale.
Exploring coloured media
You demonstrate a confident and selective use of colour in your drawings but your should expand your materials and media.
Detailed Observation
Very well executed and observed drawing of leaf. You have combined technical skills – detailed observation with a range of marks and tones and kept the drawing vibrant.
Still life
Ex.2 An interesting exercise with complimentary colours. There are areas where it’s difficult to read the objects as they merge with the shadows particularly on the left-hand side. I appreciate there were strong shadows but more gradation of tone with the purple or a blend of purple with the other two colours would have reduced its dominance. The colour blending of the yellow tones and description of different surfaces is successful.
You were asked to use a strong directional light which is shown by your shadows but there aren’t any real highlights. There isn’t enough difference between the detail in surface of the orange close to us and the apple further away to create a sense of distance. The same strong purple colour in the foreground and background also flattens the perspective.
Drawing fruit and vegetables in colour
Ex.2 Good colour combination, nice loose mark making and well done on the very subtle lines on the banana. You might have been better off limiting the red as it makes the surfaces of the satsuma and melon rather similar. See your sketchbook drawings where the fruit are more differentiated.
Ex. 3 The coloured card deadens this drawing and unfortunately undermines the careful work of describing the fruit and vegetables.
Drawing plants and flowers
Ex. 2 You have clearly taken a great deal of care over this drawing and your skill is apparent. I like the visual interplay shadows on the plants and the wall and the striations on the plants, these are well observed. The shapes, proportions and relationships are all convincing and carefully executed. At the moment the drawing is leaning more towards 2D pattern than 3D form, a bit like a botanical illustration or textile design. It needs more substance. To bring the flower heads to the fore a greater range of tones would make a difference, darker darks and lighter lights. I would have liked to have seen you bring the vibrancy of the coloured pastel, ink and felt tip pen drawing of the flower head in your sketchbook into this drawing.
Drawing Animals
Fish on a plate. Good to see you loosening up here. You could go over the washed pencil with another subtle layer of pencil to bring the pull the drawing together. Make sure you p[ay attention right to the edges if you don’t want a fading out effect.
Grabbing the chance. Lovely free mark making in the sketches. Again it’s good to see you working loosely and at a larger scale. I know this was drawn from a photograph but you have managed to give the cockerel some life. I think the sketchbook version is even more alive.
Feedback on assignment
Assignment two asks you set up a still life of largely natural objects, contrasting in size, shape and texture. You are required to be selective in your choice of objects, not cramming in too many and removing those that do not contribute to the overall composition. You were also asked to use a strong directional light, natural if possible otherwise using a lamp.
You say that the subjects depicted were not your first choice, this may be an advantage in that you may be less attached to them and more able to see them more objectively.
Well done on the thorough preparations made in a range of media, these are almost art works in themselves.
Your final drawing shows a dynamic composition that makes effective use of negative. The interplay of colour the blue green of the vase and yellow green of the pairs works well. Biro used on top of another medium can draw attention to the fat that a drawing is just marks on a surface and undermine the three dimensionality of objects, especially if used to outline. See the difference in the pears and the bag flap in in the small scale study and assignment drawing.
Sketchbooks
Excellent preparatory work. I am encouraged by your explorations like the third marker or dip pen drawing in A3 sketchbook. There some very direct and responsive drawings in your A3 sketchbook, try and bring this direct response to subject matter and range of mark making to your finished drawings.
Be careful of making your sketchbook pages too precious at the cost of free exploration. In the future I would like to see you doing some preparatory work on a larger scale, using brush and ink, charcoal, pastels. Your A2 pastel of the cockerel shows that you can work in a spontaneous way at this scale.
Bring more play into your sketchbook activity.
Learning Logs
A comprehensive learning log with relevant research into masters and contemporary artists.
Apart from continuing to develop your drawing practice think about what you want to explore through drawing. What concerns might you be able to express through this and through painting?
Suggested reading/viewing
Have a look at John Virtue’s bold black and white landscape work.
Bonnard’s mark making and colour in his landscapes and interiors.
William Kentridge’s drawings of trees.
John Piper’s atmospheric descriptions of architecture.
Eric Ravillous’s almost childlike landscapes.
George Shaw’s naturalistic descriptions of places without people.
19th century Dutch landscape painters for their clouds and skies.
Assessment potential
I understand your aim is to go for the Creative Arts Degree and that you plan to submit your work for assessment at the end of this course. From the work you have shown in this assignment, and providing you continue to commit yourself to the course, I suggest that you are likely to be successful in the assessment.
Pointers for the next assignment
Part three is about getting outside and drawing the world around you, an enormous source of inspiration; however your assignment drawing uses A3 paper and therefore requires you to think carefully about selecting what you want to include and leave out. Pay attention to composiition and perspective with plenty of quick sketching both to explore whole composiitons and important details.
- Do some sketches with charcoal and/or ink on A2 sheets, just relax and respond to your surroundings. Fortunately we’re coming into summer so you can do this outside.
- Try to express the atmosphere of the environment you’re drawing.
- Carry around a small sketchbook and do lots of quick sketches when ever you can.
- Try collaging newspaper, print from magazines and other monochrome paper to create distance in landscape, individual and groups of trees.
My BA (Hons) Creative Arts Journey with the OCA 