An experiment linking to artists

On of the challenges that I have is that of considering artistic style and approach. One challenge my tutor left me with is to:

“Link your work to that of others and make it clear
that this is what you’re doing”

Part 3 Formative feedback

So, lets start by considering one artist whose figurative work I admire – Maggi Hambling. To start, lets examine a number of her figurative drawings that I like:

Portrait of Dr David Brown

Drawing into Sculpture…

I had a quick reminder as to why I’m doing the drawing course last week – on a clay modelling course. Although the work produced might not be the height of artistic achievement, it was very much based in drawing. The following images from my sketchbook illustrate the point – when combined with the “finished” work from featured image.

Project 3: Composition

It took some re-reading and thinking to understand what this exercise was really asking for. I decided that this was one of the projects which is effectively a single piece of work. The first part is to play with ideas for a major composition. The second part is to create an A3 landscape drawing based on the selected composition.

Exercise 1 Developing your studies

Seaside sunset

Some initial thoughts in my sketchbook…

Man sleeping on a train

Part of my on-going efforts to draw people. Getting better. This is starting to form a series: I’ve taken a set of photos on trains, at stations and commuting in general to use as subjects for sketches.

Project 1: Feeling and expression

Reworked following part 2 feedback.

Ex 1: Expressive lines and marks

This was an odd exercise, and one it took me a while to start. That may have had something to do with December not being a productive month in general though.

High Tooth Paper

Some of the exercises in the course talk about using large paper with significant tooth. The biggest paper I had with significant tooth was A3, so I picked up an A2 pad of ‘Daler and Rowney Mixed Media‘ paper which I’ve previously picked up an A4 pad of.

Croquis Cafe: Heads up

Practice based on Croquis Cafe expressions practice video. A series of 1 min poses followed by a 10 min pose.

Reflections on my Sketchbook

I’ve been reflecting on “my Sketchbook” of late, after reading the OCA article on keeping sketchbooks posted recently. (View article…) I’ve also been having to rethink my approach based on the printing work I’ve been doing. For most of the course my sketchbook has been a book I carry around and draw in. That clearly isn’t what this article is referring to as a sketchbook. So, am I keeping a sketchbook in these terms at all? I don’t have a set of bound physical pages that contain the sorts of thinking and information described as a sketchbook – so on the face of it “No.”

Part 5: Drawing Clothes and Drapery

Whilst starting to consider the drawings needed for the Storyboard and my planned Photomontage I realised that my understanding of the drawing of clothes and drapery was all too weak. I started to research how to approach drawing clothes more effectively.

Assignment 4 Feedback

Feedback, written up by myself based on a video session…

Overall Comments

Overall, this part represents good assignment submission, where you have clearly enjoyed yourself and improved you observational drawing. You have clearly engaged with the part and learned a lot about drawing and the use of negative space. The work shows good progress through the exercises and the sketchbook.

Sketchbook sunset

Coloured pencil on white sketchbook paper. Enjoyed this one. Would like to do bigger in pastels. There are issues in the rendering, as might be expected in a sketch, but I think the idea has potential.

Assignment 3 feedback

Overall Comments

You have learned a lot from using charcoal and developing your use of tone and line in this assignment. Your contextual work isn’t connecting, as you know, but we have discussed this and I feel confident that you are gaining a better understanding of what is required.

Reflection on Tutor feedback

On consideration I’ve decided that it is appropriate to reflect on my tutor’s feedback again. This is more for my own thinking than as a response. After my Assignment 2 feedback I realised that I hadn’t understood and/or followed some of his advice. Considering each point explicitly at this point seems worthwhile as a completeness check, and to build a “further work” list.

How to do Analysis and Reflection?

An area that I’ve spent a certain amount of time researching, but didn’t get around to writing up is around analysis of art, and reflection for learning. This is an area I spent some effort on before Assessment 1, but I went back round the whole idea when I received the feedback for Assignment 2. The feedback made it clear that the my process left something to be desired. What to do about that, however, was still quite open. I needed some ideas on how to approach resolving the feedback satisfactorily.

Project 3.1:Starting Again

Practice Reflection

I’ve been looking back at my practice sketches from December with a critical eye and my current study of perspective in mind. Issues start to build fairly quickly, although in many ways it is still an improvement on previous work. Possibly the biggest single issue is that the cupboard sketch was supposed to be face on, so the top and bottom of the cupboard facing should be parallel. They aren’t, and in fact they slightly diverge.

Assignment 2 feedback

Received feedback for Assignment 2 from my tutor.

Dear David,

Thank you for your second Assignment

Overall Comments

Thank you for taking my advice and keeping to the requirements of the course so that you have submitted only some evidence of the projects as instructed in the coursebook.