Drawings: OCA Part 2 III: Project - Drawing Fruit and Vegetables in Colour

Exercise: Using Hatching to Create Tone

 

 Studies of an Apple and Oranges

Watercolour Pencil - A4

 

 Studies of a Banana and an Apple

Highlighter - A4

Two Oranges and Lime in Wooden Bowl

Colour Pencil - A4

 

Redrawn Close-up of Previous Drawing 

I started this exercise using watercolour pencils in the first piece, beginning with the lighter ones and building the lines with darker ones like the purple and royal blues. I also experimented with highlighters though I can’t say I’m particularly pleased with the result but it was interesting to do.

 

I then positioned two oranges and a lime in a bowl and used colour pencil to draw this arrangement. I placed the bowl near a lamp to cause some strong tonal contrast and I think the highlight with the white pencil show this particularly well.

 

Just for curiosity as to whether this technique would also work well on a larger scale I used a viewfinder on the drawing and produced another one that increases the size of part of the original.

Drawings: OCA Part 2 II: Project - Still Life Revisited

Still Life Group in Tone

Oil Pastel A4

 

Because I wasn't entirely happy with my original attempt at this exercise as seen in my last post i decided to revisit it and have another go.

This time I stuck to cooler colours at the bluer end of the spectrum but used the same compositon so that i could compare the two results once finished. I definitely prefer this one, i find it a lot fresher and it feels much more harmonious.

Drawings: OCA Part 2 II: Project - Still Life

 Still Life Group using Line

Fine Liner and wash A3

 

Still Life Group in Tone

Oil Pastel A4

 

What aspects of each drawing have been successful, and what did you have problems with?

I really like the still life group using line, especially the mushroom and onion, these definitely worked well because of their shapes and textures. Unfortunately I feel the melon in the background was less successful, I found the texture was hard to capture correctly.

I can’t say the drawing of the still life group in tone is one that I particularly like but it did at least make me think about the tones more, as a positive I do like the colours I chose.

Did you manage to get a sense of depth in your drawings? What elements of the drawings and still life groups helped to create that sense?

The first drawing has a bit of depth to it and I think this was helped by the composition and the way that the objects build up as they go further into the drawing. If I’m honest I think the second piece is definitely lacking this.

What difficulties were created by being restricted to line or tone?

I found the main difficulty was that I wanted to be creative but the rules were quite prohibitive; I had to learn not to indulge the urge to be spontaneous. I also think that it is quite hard to accurately describe the objects without a combination of the two elements of line and tone.





Drawings: OCA Project - Detailed Observation

Line Drawing Detail

Fine Liner - A4

 

I thought a sliced through lettuce was ideal for this exercise, the swirling lines are almost like a labyrinth and it was an interesting process capturing them as they narrowed and broadened themselves all over the place.



Getting Tone and Depth in Detail
Pencil - A3

I chose a piece of firewood from our woodpile for this exercise, it’s a sawn off bit of a Cyprus tree with the seeds still attached. I used a range of pencils to hatch at different angles, it was hard picking out the different tonal values but I think I did alright.

Stipples and Dots

Ballpoint - A4

 

I found this poor thing clinging on to the end of its stem in the garden and thought it had some quite interesting and different textures to draw; I used a biro to try and capture them all. Though I can’t honestly say that I’m happy with the result it was still a good drawing experience.

 

Which drawing media did you find most effective to use, for which effects?

A fine liner is really useful for doing a strong clear line and it results in a very tidy drawing but a pencil is definitely more subtle. I like both and in the future I shall think a bit more about which to use before I start a drawing.

What sort of marks work well to create tone, pattern and texture?

I find I like hatching provided I have enough tonal differences in the subject that I’m drawing. Stippling gives an interesting texture but I don’t think that I chose the best object to try it on.

Did you enjoy capturing details or are you more at home creating big broad brusg strokes?

I like capturing different aspects of a subject and detail in certain parts can really lift it. I definitely like doing the broader sketches but I think if I can combine the two, then they might play off each other quite nicely.

Look at the composition of the drawings you hav done in this project. Make some sketches and notes about how you could improve your composition.

I drew the dead flower head in situ so I didn’t really put much thought into the composition but I could have played around with that a bit more. On the piece of wood I zoomed right in to get a close look but I could have added some more interest to the background and provide some sort of context for it.

Did doing a line drawing get you to look at space more effectively?

Definitely, it made me think twice before putting a line down to check that everything would fit where I wanted it too.

Drawings: OCA - Assignment One

Natural Still Life

Brown and Black Indian Ink on A2 Paper

 

Made Objects Still Life

Ink and Wash on A2 Paper

 

I decided to try the made objects for my first drawing, I took the idea of things found in my pockets and thought about drawing keys as they have a range of interesting, very clean cut unnatural shapes. I tried sketching out a few studies and found that employing the hatching method worked very well and helped emphasise the shapes of the keys. I added a few more objects that worked well with the keys such as the locks and whistle, playing around and trying an ink and wash drawing. I liked the variety but found the result very scattered so I added the watch to bring a focal point to the drawing.

I saved the Natural forms drawing till last and started by doing some studies of different leaves. I found I liked the Ivy leaves best so I went back and drew a few in brown and black Indian inks with a dip pen; I really liked the result the earthy colours worked well. I gathered some more natural objects and sketched these all individually. I liked the Cyprus seeds as these worked well with the dip pen and inks and I thought the small details the wisteria flower heads would complement the broad ivy leaves. I played around with the composition to try and fully cover the paper, literally branching into all the corners.

Sketchbook Pages- Playing around with the composition.

 

Did you do enough preliminary work before starting work on your final pieces?

I think I could have done with doing a bit more playing around with the composition for my first piece of the made objects, I did quite a bit for the second piece of the natural objects, and I feel this arrangement maybe turned out better because of it. It really helped to make sure I was using the right materials though.

Do your large drawings give an accurate interpretation of the still life groups? If not, what went wrong?

I believe they are fairly accurate, the dip pens and earthy brown colour really helped to achieve the right feel in the natural forms. Some of the keys I’m not entirely happy with as the shapes are a little off in places.

Did you make a good selection of objects or did you try to include too much? Would you change the arrangements of objects if you were to start again?

Looking back I think I may have fallen into the trap of using too many objects, I have to contradict myself though because I also quite like them for it. If changed them at all I would try and make objects fill all the corners of the page better.

Do your drawings fit well on the paper or could they be improved by working on a larger sheet of paper?

I think the scale of these two pieces is quite good, it worked well with the media but if I was using something bolder like pastels I might have struggled a bit more.

Did you have problems with drawing or find hatching too difficult?

I really went for it with the hatching on the first drawing of the made objects, it was a lot of work on all the different keys and locks but I think I pulled it off. I held back and tried to do it with a bit more subtlety on the second piece, and again I think it worked.

 

 Study of a chub key and playing with ink and wash for Made objects

 

 Studies of an Ivy Leaf and Wisteria Flower heads.

 

Indian Ink Studies of Ivy Leaves and Cyprus Seeds

Drawings: OCA Project - Still Life

Composition of Natural Objects.

Indian Ink on A4 Paper

Do you think it is easier to suggest three dimensions on man-made or natural objects?

It is definitely easier to define the shapes of man-made objects in three-dimensions because they are made up of regular geometric shapes with corners and faces. Natural objects such as fruit and plants do not conform to these regularities and tend to have lumps and bumps that make a subject harder to define.

How did you create a sense of solidity in your composition?

I used black Indian ink applied with a brush to lay down some bold defining lines. These lines helped to give the drawing a sense of depth as the black seemed dense and heavy against the white of the paper. Then I added water to some of the black ink to dilute it for the mid-tone wash; helping to bind the dark and light tones of the drawing together.

Do you think changing the arrangement of your composition makes a difference to your approach and the way you create a sense of form?

I think it was good to experiment with different compositions before starting on the final drawing as it helped me to find an interesting layout for my objects that was still comfortable to draw. It also helped me to see how different objects could interact and play off each other to convey the sense of form.

How did you decide to position yourself in relation to the objects?

I decided I wanted to view the objects from a slightly elevated position this gave me a good view of all the objects together and of the shadows cast by the light coming in from the right hand side. I also liked this position because the fruit formed a sort of triangular arrangement and the flower stems seemed intertwine around all the gaps.

Photos of sketchbook pages

Still life sketches of made objects & Natural object composition arrangements.

Both in Black Ballpoint Pen

Drawings: OCA Project - Reflected Light

Study of light reflected from one object to another.

Charcoal and Chalk on A3 Sugar Paper.

Shadows and reflected light and shade.

Charcoal on A2 Paper.

What are the difficulties in separating cast shadow from reflected light and shade?

When using both charcoal and chalk in the first drawing, it was difficult using both these tonally opposite mediums and still trying to create a range of tones without the whole drawing just turning into a smudgy grey mess. I attempted to get over this problem by using the blue of the paper as a mid-tone thus separating the two. The cast shadow had much more solidity and a much harder quality to it so I used just charcoal when trying to portray these bits, most noticeably in the shading on the surface upon which the objects are standing.

The reflected shadow and light follows the contours of the objects. How have you shown this in your drawing?

When applying the charcoal or chalk I followed the shape of the object, allowing the contours to show and define themselves. Like ont he bowel in the first picture and especially on the pepper grinder in the second picture.