I seem to have been at this stage for ages. I have been. It's taken me a long time to get through this section because I decided that to improve my skills, I would benefit from redoing the assignment 1 exercises and also that my learning log needed jazzing up.
My learning strategy is to alternate new assignment 2 exercises with old assignment 1 exercises. This seems to be working.
So now to the Check and Log questions in this section.
Which drawing media did you find most effective to use and for which effects?
I found that drawing pens are good for recording detail but are very permanent and if you make any mistakes you can't correct them. They produce even width lines and are good for shading and stippling.
I found graphite very flexible and easy to work with. I've now invested in quality pencils which are better because they have strong leads and you can maintain a sharp point. You can also use an eraser to correct mistakes. I found using the watersoluble pencils good fun and I liked the effect the faint colour wash made.
Did you enjoy capturing details or are you more at home creating big broad brush sketches.
I enjoy capturing details more than big broad brush sketches. I like concentrating on the detail of a small area.
Look at the composition of the drawings you have done in this project. Make some sketches and notes about how you improve your composition.
A technique to improve composition would be to choose good objects, preferably interesting ones, make sure that the proportions of the objects work well together, consider the placement of the objects, look at lines created by the objects, balance positive and negative space, add contrast, remove unnecessary distracting details and balance colours carefully.
Did doing a line drawing get you to look at space more effectively.
Yes. I also found that drawing in a larger space ie A3 meant that more detail could be captured.
Overall I am pleased with what I learnt my going back to the basics of Assignment 1 and being more observant in this section.
30 March 2011
27 March 2011
Another attempt at P1 Study of light reflected from one object to another exercise
Another go at Assignment's 1 Study of light reflected from one object to another exercise. Pleased with the results.
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| Study of light reflected from one object to another |
23 March 2011
P2 Contrasting Style Research - Two artists who work in contrasting ways
I m trying as much as possibel to include in research artists whose work I am able to see & study for real. For this exercise my two artists are going to be Piet Mondrian (tight and rigorous) and Ludwig Kirchner (sketchy and expressive). At the Tate Modern I saw Kirchner's Bathers @ Moritzburg and Modrian's Sun Church in Zeeland. Unfortunetly neither of these pieces of work are in Bridgemaneducations's online library so I have included other examples of their works instead.
Piet Mondrian
http://www.bridgemaneducation.com/ImageView.aspx?result=27&balid=221010
Piet Mondrian (Pieter Cornelis Mondiraan 1872 - 1944) was a Dutch artist born in Amersfoort. He was associated with Ven Doesburg in founding the De Stijl movement in architecture and painting. He began by painting landscape in a traditional sombre Dutch manner but after moving to Paris in 1909 he became under the influence of Matisse and cubism. He then began painting still lifes which are analysed in terms of the relationship between outlines and the planes. In the hands of Mondrian these became increasingly abstract so that eventually the patterns became more important than the subject itself. During World war I he discarded the subject altogether and concentrated on constructing grids of simple black lines filled in with primary colours. These rectilinear compositions depend on their beauty on the simple relationships between the coloured areas. He was a great theoretician and in 1920 published a pamphlet called Neo-Plasticism which inspired the Dutch philosopher Schoenmaekers. He went to London in 1938 and from 1940 lived in New York. Mondrian's work has been a major influence on all purely abstract painters.
Ludwig Kirchner
http://www.bridgemaneducation.com/ImageView.aspx?result=8&balid=117381
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (1880 - 1938) was a German artist born in Aschaffenburg. He studied architecture at Dresden but became the leading spirit in the formation of Dresden, with Erich Heckel and Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, of 'Die Brucke' (The Bridge) (1905 - 13, the first group of German Expressionists, whose work was much influenced by primitive German woodcuts. His work was characterised by vibrant colours and angular outlines. He moved to Switzerland in 1914. Many of his works were confiscated as degenerate by the Nazis in 1937 and he committed suicide in 1938.
Piet Mondrian
http://www.bridgemaneducation.com/ImageView.aspx?result=27&balid=221010
Piet Mondrian (Pieter Cornelis Mondiraan 1872 - 1944) was a Dutch artist born in Amersfoort. He was associated with Ven Doesburg in founding the De Stijl movement in architecture and painting. He began by painting landscape in a traditional sombre Dutch manner but after moving to Paris in 1909 he became under the influence of Matisse and cubism. He then began painting still lifes which are analysed in terms of the relationship between outlines and the planes. In the hands of Mondrian these became increasingly abstract so that eventually the patterns became more important than the subject itself. During World war I he discarded the subject altogether and concentrated on constructing grids of simple black lines filled in with primary colours. These rectilinear compositions depend on their beauty on the simple relationships between the coloured areas. He was a great theoretician and in 1920 published a pamphlet called Neo-Plasticism which inspired the Dutch philosopher Schoenmaekers. He went to London in 1938 and from 1940 lived in New York. Mondrian's work has been a major influence on all purely abstract painters.
Ludwig Kirchner
http://www.bridgemaneducation.com/ImageView.aspx?result=8&balid=117381
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (1880 - 1938) was a German artist born in Aschaffenburg. He studied architecture at Dresden but became the leading spirit in the formation of Dresden, with Erich Heckel and Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, of 'Die Brucke' (The Bridge) (1905 - 13, the first group of German Expressionists, whose work was much influenced by primitive German woodcuts. His work was characterised by vibrant colours and angular outlines. He moved to Switzerland in 1914. Many of his works were confiscated as degenerate by the Nazis in 1937 and he committed suicide in 1938.
P2 Stipples and Dots exercise
Had 3 attempts at this to try out different drawing pens / fibre pens. The first drawing was of some leaves of a spotted laurel , the second a bowl of strawberries and the third, a few strawberries just on a table.
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| Stipples and Dots - Spotted Laurel |
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| Stipples and dots - bowl of strawberries |
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| Stipples and dots - strawberries on a table |
20 March 2011
Richmond Printmakers at 20 Exhibition
As I learnt yesterday, you don't have to go too far to see a good exhibition. This one was the Richmond Printmakers at 20 Exhibition (http://www.richmondprintmakers.co.uk/) hosted by The Stables Gallery at Orleans House, Twickenham (http://www.richmond.gov.uk/home/leisure_and_culture/arts/the_stables_gallery.htm).
It was an anniversary exhibition to celebrate 20 years of creative activity. Past and present Richmond Printmakers displayed their work and workshops demonstrating the many different methods of printmaking were also on offer.
My favourite a print called The Heron by Tessa Charles (http://www.tessacharles.co.uk/). I loved the subject, the colours, the design. The whole print was a delight to see and I was sorry that all copies of it had been spoken for.
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| The Heron by Tessa Charles, printmaker |
16 March 2011
Tate Visit Collage
Picking up on point my tutor made in my Assignment 1 feedback that it would help me to look at art asking the question 'how did the artist do that' rather than observe art as a connoisseur, yesterday I made my first visit to the Tate Modern (London). Whilst I have seen the outside of this magnificent building many a time as I've trotted up and down the Thames on many a river cruise with the grand-children, I've never seen the inside. I was lucky enough to go with a friend who is an artist and she guided me through.
First of all we saw the Ai Weiwei Sunflower seeds installation- all 100 million of them! The installation itself did nothing for me until I saw the accompanying film which put the whole thing into context and explained how each seed had been individually sculpted and painted by specialists working in small-scale workshops in the Chinese city of Jingdezhen. Quite something.
I had prepared for the visit by making a list of artists that had been mentioned so far in the course literature and noting which ones had works being exhibited in the Tate. I was able to see quite a lot of works from Picasso to Matisse from Max Ernst to Juan Gris and it was a huge revelation to view art as my tutor had suggested. Seeing for example the Frottage pieces of Max Ernst (The Entire City - oil on paper laid on canvas and Dadaville - Painted plaster and cork laid on canvas) was extremely enlightening and I learnt the difference between seeing art for real and as an online display.
Sadly there were only a few drawings on display but there was one by Picasso (Faun Revealing a Sleeping Woman - Etching and aquatint on paper). Although I appreciated the techniques that had gone into creating this masterpiece, I'm afraid it did nothing for me - probably because I just didn't like the subject - a faun.
But we did get to see Picasso's Nude, Green Leaves and Bust painting which was sold at Christie's in New York last May for a world record price of $106.5 million (£65.5 million) and is only on temporary loan to the Tate by its private owner. It of course makes you realise that when great masterpieces, particularly ones in private collections are on show, you need to grab the chance to see them.
All in all, I had a great day out. It was a great learning experience and has whetted my appetite to see more. below is a collage of photos I took of artwork that caught my eye.
First of all we saw the Ai Weiwei Sunflower seeds installation- all 100 million of them! The installation itself did nothing for me until I saw the accompanying film which put the whole thing into context and explained how each seed had been individually sculpted and painted by specialists working in small-scale workshops in the Chinese city of Jingdezhen. Quite something.
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| Sunflower Seeds in the Tate Modern |
Sadly there were only a few drawings on display but there was one by Picasso (Faun Revealing a Sleeping Woman - Etching and aquatint on paper). Although I appreciated the techniques that had gone into creating this masterpiece, I'm afraid it did nothing for me - probably because I just didn't like the subject - a faun.
But we did get to see Picasso's Nude, Green Leaves and Bust painting which was sold at Christie's in New York last May for a world record price of $106.5 million (£65.5 million) and is only on temporary loan to the Tate by its private owner. It of course makes you realise that when great masterpieces, particularly ones in private collections are on show, you need to grab the chance to see them.
All in all, I had a great day out. It was a great learning experience and has whetted my appetite to see more. below is a collage of photos I took of artwork that caught my eye.
13 March 2011
P2 Getting Tone and depth in detail exercise
I am having a lot of trouble with tone. So I have done 3 different drawings and I think a tangible improvement can be seen with each one.
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| Getting tone and depth in detail V1 |
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| Getting tone and depth in detail V2 |
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| Getting tone and depth in detail V3 |
P2 Line drawing detail exercises
I've had 2 goes at this exercise - the cabbage definitely took me a lot longer to do but I think the benefit is that you can really see the detail. I am quite happy with my cabbage
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| Line drawing detail V1 |
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| Line drawing detail V2 |
12 March 2011
P2 Simplified Still Life Forms Research - Ben Nicolson
Ben Nicholson
http://www.bridgemaneducation.com/ImageView.aspx?result=18&balid=84752
Ben Nicholson (1894 - 1982) was an English artist, born in Denham, London and the son of Sir William Newzam Prior Nicholson, who was also an artist. He exhibited with the Paris Abstraction-Creation group in 1933-34 and at the Venice Biennale in 1954, designed a mural panel for the Festival of Britain (1951) and in 1952 executed another for the Time-Life building in London. As one of the leading abstract artists, he gained an international reputation and won the first Guggenheim award in 1957. Although he produced a number of purely geometrical paintings and reliefs, in general he used conventional still-life objects as a starting point for his finely drawn and subtly balanced and coloured variations. He married 3 times and his second wife was Barbara Hepworth.
http://www.bridgemaneducation.com/ImageView.aspx?result=18&balid=84752
Ben Nicholson (1894 - 1982) was an English artist, born in Denham, London and the son of Sir William Newzam Prior Nicholson, who was also an artist. He exhibited with the Paris Abstraction-Creation group in 1933-34 and at the Venice Biennale in 1954, designed a mural panel for the Festival of Britain (1951) and in 1952 executed another for the Time-Life building in London. As one of the leading abstract artists, he gained an international reputation and won the first Guggenheim award in 1957. Although he produced a number of purely geometrical paintings and reliefs, in general he used conventional still-life objects as a starting point for his finely drawn and subtly balanced and coloured variations. He married 3 times and his second wife was Barbara Hepworth.
STREET ART IN LONDON
I love London and my favourite place is the South Bank. I'm only 20 minutes away by train and there's always something going on. I love strolling or cycling along the river and I love the fact that when the tide recedes, there is a little beach that no-one ever seems to notice. Not yesterday though! As I strolled along and came Gabriel's wharf I noticed a crowd peering below and the 'beach' looking very nice and sandy (could have closed my eyes and imagined myself in the Mediterranean. Closer inspection revealed 2 street artists at work on the 'beach' - one was creating wonderful shakesperean busts out of the sand, the other had created a couple of nice sofas for him and his 'companions' to sit on so he could serenade the crowd with his guitar. Just fabulous. They were advertising http://www.dirtybeach.tv/ who are enthusiasts who clean the beaches of the world and make beautiful, environmental friendly art out of sand. There we are! A fine start to the weekend.
10 March 2011
Enhancing the Blog
I've taken a week out to learn how to make my Blog more interesting. It's been quite a technical journey but I am happy with the results and hopefully if you are vising my Blog you will find some interesting links on the right hand side. The slide show features drawings of artist featured in the Drawing 1 coursebook (taken from Bridgemaneducation resources. There are also links to art news, websites and blogs I want to follow.
Now back to the drawing................
Now back to the drawing................
9 March 2011
P2 Detailed Drawing Research - Two artists who exemplify mastery of detailed drawing
This was a bit of a challenge which led me to spend several hours looking though websites.
I knew immediately who was going to be my modern artist except I could not remember his name but then I remembered that his nickname was 'Human Camera'. The person I mean of course is Stephen Wiltshire.
Stephen Wiltshire is an artist who draws and paints detailed cityscapes. He has a particular talent for drawing lifelike, accurate representations of cities, sometimes after having only observed them briefly. He was awarded an MBE for services to the art world in 2006. He studied Fine Art at City & Guilds Art College. His work is popular all over the world, and is held in a number of important collections.
Sadly none of his works are on the Bridgemaneducation website and I could not find any copyright free images to include but his work can be viewed on his website http://www.stephenwiltshire.co.uk/
My pre 20th century artist is Albrecht Diirer.
The rebirth of Western drawing in the 15th century came with the widespread production of paper. At the same time the artist became interested in representing in great detail the physical world around him. Renaissance artists made innumerable exploratory sketches and studies of objects, figures, and nature. They formulated laws of perspective, foreshortening, shading, anatomical proportion, motion and direction, and other principles and techniques of drawing. The primary aim of many Renaissance draftsmen was to create the illusion of visual reality in their works.
Albrecht Diirer, a contemporary of Leonardo da Vinci, was also among the first great graphic artists. Diirer is famous for his detailed studies of anatomy, plants, and animals, as well as for his religious subjects, which include the Holy Trinity (Boston Museum of Fine Arts) and St. Catherine (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City).
I knew immediately who was going to be my modern artist except I could not remember his name but then I remembered that his nickname was 'Human Camera'. The person I mean of course is Stephen Wiltshire.
Stephen Wiltshire is an artist who draws and paints detailed cityscapes. He has a particular talent for drawing lifelike, accurate representations of cities, sometimes after having only observed them briefly. He was awarded an MBE for services to the art world in 2006. He studied Fine Art at City & Guilds Art College. His work is popular all over the world, and is held in a number of important collections.
Sadly none of his works are on the Bridgemaneducation website and I could not find any copyright free images to include but his work can be viewed on his website http://www.stephenwiltshire.co.uk/
My pre 20th century artist is Albrecht Diirer.
The rebirth of Western drawing in the 15th century came with the widespread production of paper. At the same time the artist became interested in representing in great detail the physical world around him. Renaissance artists made innumerable exploratory sketches and studies of objects, figures, and nature. They formulated laws of perspective, foreshortening, shading, anatomical proportion, motion and direction, and other principles and techniques of drawing. The primary aim of many Renaissance draftsmen was to create the illusion of visual reality in their works.
Albrecht Diirer, a contemporary of Leonardo da Vinci, was also among the first great graphic artists. Diirer is famous for his detailed studies of anatomy, plants, and animals, as well as for his religious subjects, which include the Holy Trinity (Boston Museum of Fine Arts) and St. Catherine (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City).
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Hands of an Apostle, 1508 (brush drawing) |
8 March 2011
Another attempt at P1 Observing Shadow and Light formations on a surface
I've had another go at this but am REALLY finding tone hard to do. I feel 'line' are now coming along but 'tone' still needs a lot of work. I can see the different tones by following the screw your eyes up mrthod but I just can't translate what I can see visually into what I am drawing. This is just an area where I have to keep trying and trying more.
Another attempt at P1 Supermarket Shop exercise
I enjoyed this exercise first time round - I think it was because i enjoyed using coloured pencils. I think this attempt is an improvement on the last.
Flickr and slideshows
Although I have been doing some drawing (yet to be uploaded) quite a bit of time since my last posting has gone into improving resources etc. I have been spending time re-organising my OCA folders and files and also this Learning Log. I've started to add labels to posts and a slideshow of drawings done by artists featured in my Blog. I'm pleased witht he results.
3 March 2011
Another attempt at P1 Jars and Jugs exercise
I've taken more care to pay attention to the lines in my collection of jar and jugs. I've noticed the elliptical shape the tops of circular objects become and I've tried very hard to keep lines straight. I'm pleased with the result
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