Wednesday 1 January 2014

Final - Landscape


This image shows a winter landscape drawing which was completed in 2 hours using chalk pastels on coloured A3 paper. The technique chosen was impressionistic, and the limited colour pallete is composed of only cold shades of blue, black and light yellow.

The composition is balanced and there are various points of interest which carry the attention of the viewer horizontally across the entire drawing. The complexity of the scene was handled using an impressionistic technique, hinting detailed areas with short thick strokes of chalk. The use of strong contrasting colours helps shape the landscape and give depth to the drawing. The cold colour pallete was also nicely chosen to express the various winter related elements of the scene - the snowy trees, the frozen lake and even the cold weather. The direction of the sun light is indicated in a subtle way using highlights.

The surface of the lake wasn't perfectly observed - the fact that it is frozen is unclear in this image, but the reflections were nicely hinted. The clouds are also successfully suggested with soft smudged lines, and their addition seems to balance the entire composition, as the right side is generally darker in tone than the left side of the drawing.

Final - Still Life


This still life drawing was completed in 2 hours and was done using chalk pastels on coloured paper. The arrangement of the objects is a balanced one which mixes various materials and is composed of two main colours - yellow and pink, with the entire scene done in a dark room with hard light.

The entire drawing has an interesting artistic style, and this is due to the impressionistic technique used, as well as the vivid colours chosen. There was an evident lack of focus on the correct representation of the objects, and because of this reason the perspective isn't perfect, especially for the glass or ashtray. The creases of the cloth should have been observed more carefully as well, for a better finish. Other details however are nicely suggested with short chalk strokes and strong highlights, and this manner of drawing creates various points of interest across the drawing - the shine of the apples, the metal chain, and the edge of the ashtray on the right.

Some materials were described well, such as the shine of the glass or the metallic ashtray, as well as the rings of the gold chain. The highlights on the apples are exaggerated though, and this effect makes them look as if they are made from a shiny material, rather than a matte organic one.

Final - Figure Drawing




This is a series of figure drawings, each being completed in around 20-30 minutes using charcoal on A3 paper. The aim of this drawing session was to further study human anatomy, pose and posture, and to practice figure drawing techniques.

There are visible construction lines and marks made which helped the measuring process when planning everything on paper. The proportions were kept mostly correct, and the angles of the body were nicely observed creating a good sense of balance, especially in the last image. Perspective seems a bit unclear in the second image however, as the pose of the model is quite challenging to study. The first two drawings also seem flat, and this effect is due to the lack of shading done to the studies. The third drawing however demonstrates effective use of shading for describing the anatomy of the model. Directional shading which follows the shape of certain muscles - technique most visible on the legs, and smudging along the spine, are effective techniques for an anatomy study.

The strong lines done with charcoal  successfully portray the silhouettes of the subject for each drawing, and prove a good understanding of the poses.