Assignment #1: A Personal Still Life

Aim: To create a still life made with objects that have some significance to myself on a personal level and to create the drawing using a range of mediums and techniques that I have learned from this part of the course. (CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO ENLARGE IT OR RIGHT-MOUSE CLICK AND OPEN IMAGE IN A NEW TAB)

 

I have selected four specific objects that all have some significance to myself one way or another. The mug, Nintendo 64 control pad and the microphone all have some significance towards my creativity and demonstrates the multitude of creative interests that I have. I enjoy being able to do many different things from voice work to animation. I also enjoy making computer games although I have yet to get around to actually finishing one! The small elephant in the front is special because it is a present I got for my girlfriend and I know how much she likes it. Needless to say she is special to me and so I wanted to include it in my still life. I think if I were to show any of my friends this picture they could probably understand quite well the significance of these objects and why I chose them.

The Drawing

This drawing has been done on an A3 piece of fine grain cartridge paper using a variety of H and B Grade pencils and graphite sticks along with some soft charcoal. During some of the exercises on this course so far I have found that I sometimes start far too dark with the grades I use so for this drawing I began using a F pencil to draw the outlines and then progress onto a H pencil for the lighter tones and build my way up to at least 3B for the darker tones. Some shading like towards the bottom of the mug and the shadows beneath the objects I used a graphite stick usually 6B or 8B to get a much darker tone. I wanted to use at least one more medium to diversify the image so I saw the microphone foam cover as an opportunity to use a charcoal stick for two reason: 1) because the foam cover was jet black and I felt as though I could not get a dark enough tone with just graphite or pencil and 2) because I took special notice of the fact that even though it was so dark, there was clearly some sunlight reflected off the foam which I wanted to capture with the charcoal.

At first I was apprehensive about drawing the game controller which you can see on the left as it is such an unusual and complex shape, so much so that at one point I was going to replace it with a simpler one like the one below which as you can see, is nowhere near as complicated a shape:

This is a special item for me because it was in fact my first games console, yet the N64 controller means just that bit more to me and I think one of the reasons is because of how obscure and unique it looks. This was more than enough reason for me to continue using this particular object and I think the way it has turned out has given me the confidence to not be deterred by the complexity of an object as a reason to not draw something. Once I had drawn the control pad I felt more comfortable with doing the rest of the drawing.

I tried to capture the edges where light would reflect between two planes of shadow. For example the control pad below where the flat top meets the underside of the control pad. There is not a sharp edge and appears to have it’s own flat side as opposed to being rounded. I think that I achieved this well as you can see below.

 

Also on the top of the mug where the sunlight was coming from above, I aimed to get the smoothed over of the lip of the mug to capture the light and then use the outlining shadow to distinguish that further.

I am not entirely convinced by the shape of the mug and whether I have got that right, especially as the handle looks a little off. I think the lighting and reflections could have been done a lot better which is not to say that I didn’t spend enough time on this object, in fact  I probably spent more time trying to correct it than I did any other object, but it could have been the way I started doing the reflections and shading that led to these results. Perhaps next time I will try further to break apart the reflections on the mug to make them more convincing.

The elephant was a little more difficult to capture shadows as most of the surface was smoothed over almost all the way round but paying attention to the objects behind and how they project their shadows onto it gave me a better idea of where I should focus the lighting. Drawing this object did help me realise the importance of lighting and leaving certain areas white to illuminate edges and so forth, for example the ridge atop the elephant’s head is there to signify where it peaks.

The microphone was, generally speaking, quite an easy object to draw but it still came with some difficulties. I was concerned with the bottom part closest to the viewer as there were a  lot of hidden details such as the ridges along the outside rim and certain places where there was a lot of dark shadow against black plastic and vice versa. I think I managed to achieve the sense of the dark plastic while still retaining the elements of light and dark on the object. The top of the microphone with the foam, as mentioned earlier, was done using a soft charcoal stick. After the marks and lines exercise earlier on in this segment, I wanted to use this as another opportunity to see if I could actually do crosshatched shading properly. Now I know it is not a particularly challenging area to do so but I feel I have managed to capture not only the darkness of the foam by using charcoal but also the light that still falls on it from above.

One problem I came to realise a bit too late on was that I was not sharpening my tools nearly enough. I kept using them until they became flat which was good to get a decent spread over the paper of a particular even shade but I think I ended up sacrificing a lot of detail because of it. I did very much enjoy the choice of surface, it really had a good tooth for everything I used and will definitely want to do more sketching on this particular type of paper in the future.

Overall I think this assignment has been successful. I can see the areas where I am strongest and also where I need to improve. I will use this post as a reference for my future work so I can come back and learn from this piece.

 

Gallery Visit – Manchester Art Gallery

Today I visited the Manchester Gallery to see if I could find some examples of artists drawing styles. There is currently an exhibit on called The Sensory War 1914-2014 which examines artists work from 1914 to the current year and demonstrates war in all it’s facets from engineering to medical advancements. Not only were there plenty of extraordinary pieces on display for me to explore techniques styles but there was also with there being so many decades worth of war imagery that were both exciting and horrifying that the contemplating the importance of the subject matter and it’s effect on the piece became an invaluable part of my visit to the gallery. On a side note, it was completely unitnentional that I should visit the gallery on Remembrance Day yet seemingly apt that everyone else there and myself should experience this gallery during the two minute silence.

As the gallery did not allow the taking of pictures which is understandable, I made a point of marking down which artists stood out for me and that I could use as a point of reference for technique for my own work.

Wyndham Lewis

The first artist’s work on display that caught my eye was Wyndham Lewis. His painting “Two Mechanics” from 1912 demonstrated immediately some of the uses of mark making and line work that I have been learning at the beginning of the course. The figures have been drawn with abstract intention and yet the definition made by hard blocks of shading and thick outlines add a lot of obscurity them. I can see a mix of hatch shading with the watercolour that Lewis used in the background specifically. Lewis has done this with a lot of simplicity in mind, something I should take on board where there does not need to be a lot of it to create a lasting effect.

Heinrich Hoerle

Hoerle is a German painter who took inspiration not least of all from the aftermath of war. His work, Die Krüppel or The Cripple Portfolio contains some very striking imagery of those who have been most afflicted by the weapons of war, showing the loss of limbs and tragedy of those whose must live without them. He has a very distinctive style which is why I have included him in this post.

The Three Invalids 1930

 

The Three Invalids is definitely a subversive image. I looked at the painting for a good minute or two before reading the description to see if I could make sense of what it represented. At first I thought it was a celebration of man and maths with how some of lines are in perfect sync both on the buildings and the figures. Then I considered how it represented augmentation and robotics. At this point I was curious what year it was painted in and in reading the description, learned that there were elements of everything I had thought it to be and finally the name of the painting also made sense. In terms of technicality of the painting, I really admire the geometry of the shapes used for both the men and the buildings mixed with the more accurate representation of their heads. This to me demonstrates how since the war, these men have become more mechanical and also how much of their humanity has been forcibly taken from them.

The Cripple Portfolio or Die Krüppel 1920

Similar to The Three Invalids, Die Krüppel focuses on the aftermath of war and the results it bares. In this particular set of images there seemed to be a stark contrast from sadness to madness as is demonstrated by the two images above. The first one shows the man who has lost his arms and feet looking intensely at an arrangement of pots containing hands, indicating madness and insanity from the loss of not only his limbs but seemingly his mind as well. The second picture is something a lot more typical and perhaps something that each of us have witnessed at some point even in today’s world where a man begs for change while wearing the uniform he used for the war.

Both images are done using lithography and in it’s simplicity gives the onlooker a chance to focus on the subject. There is little detail and hardly any shadow or lighting and the figures are more like caricatures than depictions of real people. It could be the juxtaposition of the two that gives these images such an impact.

CRW Nevinson

One particular artist’s work that caught my eye almost immediately was that of CRW Nevinson (or Christopher Richard Wynne Nevinson). He was one of the foremost wartime artists and was also a wartime correspondant. His paintings would most commonly reflect what he had seen during the war and in doing so has created incredibly vivd imagery of those events which grab you as soon as your eye catches it. I managed to find a couple of examples of the work that I saw in the gallery. This was also my first time seeing lithography which I had not heard of until I researched this particular painter.

The first one I would like to talk about is called “Making the Engine” 1917.

I enjoyed how this picture focuses on one worker who seems to be engulfed by machinery and that he along with hundereds of other men in the factory, are all additional parts that make the machines work, like gears and cogs. This is emphasised by the lack of detail on the faces making them less personable and also by using a lithograph, producing one monochromed image where every aspect of the picture is equal. I really do like the contrast of the belts that stream back and forth and go right to the back of the room, suggesting an neverending production line.

 

Another one of Nevinson’s paintings that I saw was called “Acetylene Welding”. The image shows two women working on welding metal.

The combination of his fine line work and the lithograph print has created an explosion of light from the centre of the image. It really does feel alive with activity as the sparks fly out from the machine. I really admire the detailed line work of the objects and the people and then the fine layers on top which distinguish the sparks and light.

The last painting by Nevinson that I found particularly appealing is called “Sweeping Down on a Taube”

This was perhaps my favourite image not only of Nevinson’s but also the day. By knowing where and where not to put marks, Nevinson has created incredibly vibrant and vivid imagery which clearly depicts the energy and sudden nature of war. As the explosion bursts light beams through the clouds from below we can see it shattering the sky where the plane and a lone bird silhouette so effectively against it. Like the last picture of the welders at work, the lithography on the painting and perhaps even some slight decay over time, has left some hairlines scratches along the image which can easily be utilised as sparks once again.

 

I have learned a lot from my visit to the gallery and specifically this exhibit. A lot of very invoking imagery towards the war and yet much of it has been done using simple methods for striking results. I often consider how much detail I need to go into when doing my own drawing and that perhaps if I am trying to convey a message of some sort then I don’t need to think too deep to portray that message.

Project 2 Exercise 4: Shadows and Reflected Light

This exercise looks at reflective objects and highlights from lighting. I chose a large tea tin and a very shiny stainless steel teapot for my drawing.

 

I tried to use the cross hatching method from the previous sketch for practice on the shadow along with a mixture of broad strokes with the side of the charcoal stick. At first I was unsure about defining the lines of the reflections so much but I feel as though this has worked quite well and is effective at demonstrating them. The tin reflecting on the teapot can be seen and gives the impression well in my opinion. At least one area for improvement would be the tin as it does look a little more stripy than reflective. Also the shadowing underneath the objects could have been better defined but I think I was focusing on getting the reflections as good as I could.

The workflow this piece was quite interesting. Generally I really do not like to have to start a piece from scratch again once I have already started one of them. I got to doing the end of the reflection of the tin and was very unimpressed with my work so I started again while trying to focus on the doing cross hatching as you can see below.

 

Once I had gotten to this point I was even more unimpressed and so upon reflection of the original piece, I decided to return to it and see if I could improve upon it further. I was glad I did because the second drawing I started was infinitely worse than the first in my opinion. I got a better grasp of what it meant to represent a reflection and so the first drawing was finished.

I think in the future I will have a better idea of how to do reflections on objects now and I am very happy with my understanding of objects reflecting off of one another.