For this exercise I was asked to collect at least six objects of different sizes and shapes and, on A1 or A2, describe the objects by mapping the forms. I was asked to consider the previous exercises in relation to texture and mark making as well as try to evoke some kind of expression in the marks.
I first looked around the house and found some different and fun things to draw: a bottle of wine, a dinosaur teddy, a bottle of beer, a box of cookies, a box of sweets, a paper bag of rice and a material pencil case.
I placed it all on a small table near the window and first started by drawing lightly to create the main forms and shapes of the composition I had created in a still-life sense.
One of the first books I have started reading as per the recommended reading materials is Juliette Aristides’ ‘Classical Drawing Atelier’. I went back to her explanations of measuring to think about how to go about starting to get the main forms onto the paper and then when I went to work realised that I tend use a mix of relational and comparative measuring which works well for me.
Having then used the full A2 sheet and got the composition the way I wanted, I started going from left to right so I didn’t overly smudge the pencil I used. I was told I could use coloured paper, newspaper or the links and that it didn’t have to be white but I decided to stick to white to start off this first drawing exercise and using the classic graphite pencils ranging from soft to hard to get the tone.
The paper was actually not too grainy but still had a fine grain to it and so I quickly realised I could get texture for the teddy by using softer pencils and different pressure to get the effect I wanted. I used harder and lighter pencils for the outlined and first over wash of fill and then used darker and softer pencils to get shadows and texture.
However I then realised that it would be hard to get a ‘smoother’ texture for the objects that were flat or glossy like the boxes and bottles. I tried rubbing in the graphite with my fingers which helped lessen the texture and also used a rubber to help with highlights and light shining off the two bottles which I think worked well. I only had a normal rubber so I will experiment perhaps with putty or other rubbers that might help make that even smoother in the future.
The dinosaur took me ages because of all the lines it has in its corduroy textile but I quite enjoyed the challenge of getting the lines and form right and adding shadow and texture. The boxes I found less interesting and quicker, even when trying to ensure that there was a shift in light on each face of the box. The bottles and the light reflections, liquid inside and funny patterns they gave were also interesting to draw and use the rubber and darker pencils to create the illusion of the reflective surface. I tried to ground the objects with shadow underneath and around in areas where there was light so it would contrast also.
In terms of putting in my own expression, I struggle somewhat to understand how to do that. I perhaps should have not been so ‘classical’ and ‘exact’ in my drawing and could have perhaps been much more subjective. However, I look forward to hearing my tutor’s views on that as I also understood it was about understanding form so I was trying to be as accurate about the form as I could.
I do think that for texture, even though we were only allowed to use one colour, perhaps it could have been easier to get a smoother look with some kind of acrylic paint which does give a more plastic look and thus smoother and shinier.
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