Exercises 1 & 2

Exercise 1 Groups of objects. Two attempts both on A2 newspaper one using charcoal one using Blue oil pastel.

I managed to get myself twisted in knots over the course over the last month and achieved little, however thanks to the advice of my tutor and the encouragement of my fellow students I’m back on track. I’m posting a couple of exercises I’ve completed from Project 2. The first exercise I had a couple of goes at using newspaper to draw on. First of all with charcoal and secondly with pastel. I found using newspaper was liberating in the fact that it is so available and cheap that I didn’t mind taking chances with it  . On the flip side however it isn’t very robust and heavier use of the charcoal stick did result in a small tears. I also found that lighter lines get lost in the print which could be a benefit in some cases. There are also distortions most notable in the bottle i don’t know if that’s due to the newspapers lightweight texture and tendency to move as you apply pressure or the fact I’m not comfortable with the materials yet.

I preferred the charcoal version but should have tried to put more detail in the bottle and tin labels. the other items were a denim jacket a book a cushion and an old work boot.

Exercise 2 observing light and shadow using blocks of tone A2 white paper, charcoal.

For project 2 Exercise 2 I have included a photo of the set up although the lighting was different when I began the drawing.

Not accurate rendering of the items. The mug and bowl are both out of proportion and distorted, however, that being said I am happier with the tones and reflections in the bowl and to a lesser extent the mug. I found myself concentrating on whether I was looking at a reflection or shadow rather than light or dark and I think that approach was more confusing than helpful. Once I started looking purely for light and dark patterns it became easier.