Project Detailed Observation

Exercise Line Drawing Detail

I have really struggled to capture each shape whilst trying not to lift my pen. I also found it very difficult to fill the paper without any guidelines or framework for the mass of the object. I think I chose a difficult subject in a skull, and repeated the exercise over and again without much success. However, I did understand a lot more about a skull at the end of it, and that, I guess, was the point, rather than an accurate execution.

The Man with Two Noses

However, Sarah Simblet’s words ring in my ear (see previous blog entry) and I am really dissatisfied with the lack of rigor. I went on to produce another drawing, hopefully more rigorous, in silverpoint. I am really enjoying experimenting with this, but still struggling with subtleties of tone. I understand that the tone of the drawing will develop over time with oxidization which will be really interesting to see.

Exercise Getting Tone and Depth in Detail

My focus in this exercise was to really observe and accurately draw the detail in a shell with fractal complexity. I had trouble finding an angle which showed the features I wanted to describe, the tone in the hollow, the spikiness, the underlying spiral volume and an interesting crop.

 

 

 

 

My prep sketches were confused and I resolved on a view with quite a large quiet area to offset the mass of detail. I think I have arrived at an accurate representation and I like the dynamics of the main lines through the composition. I think the detailed representation lacks the excitement of a more impressionistic approach. I am not satisfied with the tonal balance although I think it is pretty accurate. I really enjoyed immersing myself in the shell.